Finally, cultural and creative products need to return to the essence of culture, truly integrate with history and traditional culture, and make the Forbidden City from a "super online celebrity" to a "wise man with stories", so that it can have lasting market vitality.

The Palace Museum, which has just experienced the "New Year Celebration in the Forbidden City" and will soon usher in the "Forbidden City Shangyuan Night", will celebrate its 600th birthday next year.

In recent years, with the deep exploration of the value of IP and the launch of a series of popular cultural and creative products, the Forbidden City has become a "cute" old urchin, constantly bringing surprises. At the Yabuli Forum on February 17, 2019, Shan Jixiang, the president of the Palace Museum, unveiled the account book of the Palace Museum for the first time. In 2017, the cultural and creative income reached 1.5 billion yuan, more than the revenue level of more than 1500 A-share listed companies.

Cultural attractions such as the Forbidden City often have the phenomenon of "tourists' single experience and weak sense of participation". According to the relevant survey, 45% of the tourists who visit the Forbidden City complain that they cannot watch from close; 30% felt that "the onlookers affected the overall visiting effect of the hall"; 39% said that "too many onlookers could not see the exhibits clearly"; Another 28% believed that "too dark light is the main reason affecting the visit".

The development model of "modern consumption+traditional culture" created by the Forbidden City is a good attempt. For example, the Imperial Palace has launched a combination of traditional Imperial Pearl and digital product earphones in the Qing Dynasty, as well as popular cultural and creative products such as the "Twelve Beauties Picture" calendar, the Qing Dynasty palace dolls, the Palace Museum's national treasure color lipstick, and the Palace Museum's beauty mask, all of which were snapped up as soon as they came into the market. In addition, the Forbidden City has also cooperated with Internet companies to build APP platforms such as the Palace Museum of Ceramics and customized games in the Forbidden City, finding a smart way to generate income, which is worth praising.

However, while the author is gratified by the vitality of traditional culture, he also deeply realizes that cultural and creative products still need to return to the essence of culture. The cultural and creative products of the Forbidden City should not be limited to simple superficial combination, but should be truly integrated with history and traditional culture, so that the Forbidden City can move from a "super online celebrity" to a "wise man with stories", and can have lasting market vitality.

The so-called cultural and creative products in the Forbidden City are simply endowed with some creativity in cosmetics and daily necessities, mostly limited to patterns and patterns. This simple combination has many hidden troubles. For example, the Palace Museum lipstick, which was launched in a hurry at the end of 2018, once triggered the "battle between the common people and the common people" in the Palace Museum, leading to a sharp decline in market reputation. Some people even sighed: "The Forbidden City has been overdrawn. The streets are full of Forbidden City. Every article is being forwarded, praised and bought.".

The cultural and creative products in the Forbidden City still have room for deep excavation in the integration with traditional culture. For example, in addition to focusing on the appearance design, the perfumes produced in the Forbidden City can also be classified into different perfumes set in different periods and sub halls of the Qing Dynasty, such as the Heart Nourishing Hall, which is suitable for study and work, the Hougong, which is suitable for women's health, and the pepper room, which is conducive to the health and growth of the fetus. The lipsticks produced in the Forbidden City can also be classified according to different levels of concubines or different occasions, such as the lipstick style used by the empress dowager when offering sacrifices to heaven, the lipstick color used by the concubines when visiting the garden, and so on. Only in this way can consumers really touch the traditional culture and feel the charm of history when using the products of the Forbidden City.

Consumers are willing to pay for cultural and creative products in the Forbidden City at a higher price, mainly because of their love for traditional culture. If the Palace Museum simply grafts products and culture, it will not allow consumers to deeply experience the historical taste and cultural charm, and may be trapped in the strange circle of "seeking quick success and instant benefit".

The road of cultural creation should not forget its origin. Commercialization of traditional culture is the requirement of market economy, which is beyond reproach. However, if the traditional culture rich in profound historical deposits is exposed to too much copper odor, it is a desecration of traditional culture. "Colorful makeup" represents China's long history of makeup culture. There is a poem saying that "I love thin and elegant makeup, but also dress in yellow"; "Aromatherapy" represents the incense burning culture of "Baoding tea is still green"; The "notes" and "atlas" represent the skillful painting art of "which material can't tie the string of Zheng, and one dream of Bianliang in a thousand years"; "Pendant" and "trinkets" represent the superb manufacturing art of ancient China, which is "meticulously carved in the sky, and uncanny workmanship in the world"

The practice of the Palace Museum to build the Palace Museum IP through cultural innovation is worth learning, but if you want to explain the 600 year history and culture of the Palace Museum through cultural innovation products, there is still a long way to go.

□ Pan Helin (Postdoctoral candidate in applied economics)

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