Survey on the cultural resources of Tibetans, Qiang and Yi in Sichuan launched
Artists of Tibetan, Qiang and Yi performing in a cultural show
On March 7th, the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences convened the Survey on the Conservation and Utilization of Cultural Resources in the Garzê, Ngawa and Liangshan (Tibetan, Qiang and Yi) Corridor in Sichuan Province. Personnel from the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences working on the survey discussed survey goals, data acquisition, the routes the surveyors would take, survey methods, and sources of funding. Hou Shuiping, president of the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, elaborated that the survey is foundational, comprehensive, systematic and sustainable. It is beneficial for understanding the cultural resources of Tibetan, Qiang and Yi cultures, and will exert a significant influence on the protection, inheritance and development of minority culture in Sichuan Province.
Duan Yu, a researcher at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, suggested that the method for compiling survey results should be defined before the survey is officially launched. The survey should uncover important cultural resources which have vanished in history; in turn, it will help recover these resources in the future. Prompted by the local government, the survey will encourage social, economic and cultural development in the Garzê Tibetan, Ngawa Tibetan and Qian and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefectures.
The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 426, Mar. 13, 2013
Translated by Zhang Mengying