UNESCO inscribed China’s Spring Festival on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024. Photo: IC PHOTO

Since the National People’s Congress approved China’s accession to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2004, the country has made remarkable progress in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) preservation. However, the development of ICH-related academic disciplines, talent cultivation, and theoretical research has lagged behind safeguarding efforts, making the establishment of a more structured disciplinary framework an urgent priority. 

Definition, characteristics 

Intangible cultural heritage is both an international and a Chinese concept. China’s ICH safeguarding efforts adhere to the principles of international conventions, reflecting global cultural diversity and community cultural autonomy, while also being guided and regulated by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People’s Republic of China and relevant government policies. 

The UNESCO ICH Convention defines intangible cultural heritage as “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.” China’s ICH Law defines it as “various traditional cultural manifestations which have been passed down from generation to generation by people of all ethnic groups and are regarded as constituent parts of their cultural heritage, as well as physical objects and sites associated with these traditional cultural manifestations.” 

These definitions highlight the key characteristics of ICH: historical continuity and living nature; ecological adaptability and creativity (ICH interacts with its surrounding environment, nature, and history); and diversity and sharing. 

Disciplinary development 

Whether intangible cultural heritage constitutes an independent discipline centered on a distinct body of knowledge remains a subject of debate. The author proposes defining ICH studies as a field that investigates the theories and practices of ICH preservation and transmission. It comprehensively explores the principles, characteristics, and significance of ICH protection, as well as the methods, structures, and transmission mechanisms involved. 

Why should China develop ICH as an academic discipline? First, the preservation and safeguarding of ICH is an academic imperative. Second, both the comprehensive development of an ICH knowledge system and the cultivation of ICH professionals need to be improved. Third, as ICH is a nascent field, academic organizations should be established to unite researchers, practitioners, administrators, and promoters, thereby building a strong academic community. 

The formal recognition of ICH as an independent discipline depends on multiple factors, and current conditions are not yet fully mature. However, given the urgency and complexity of ICH safeguarding efforts, the absence of a disciplinary support poses significant challenges. Therefore, advancing the establishment of ICH studies as a discipline must go hand in hand with ongoing conservation practices. 

Framework, methodology 

As an emerging interdisciplinary field within the humanities and social sciences, the ICH disciplinary system could encompass various research areas such as ICH theory (focusing on attributes, value, and history), safeguarding practices (including classification, heritage lists, selection mechanisms of cultural custodians, and policies and regulations), the cultivation of cultural custodians, public education, intercultural communication, academic evaluation, and more. 

While research on ICH theory is at the core of the ICH disciplinary system, research on ICH safeguarding practices serves as the mission and purpose of developing an ICH discipline. The discipline’s academic evaluation system focuses on assessing the role of the discipline in promoting ICH theoretical research and safeguarding practices, as well as whether it has achieved the expected goals of disciplinary development. ICH studies is inherently interdisciplinary, combining academic inquiry with practical application. The richness and complexity of its subject matter necessitate a diverse range of research methodologies, which are determined by the specific tasks and focus areas of ICH studies. 

Attribute-based method: Analyzing the attributes of different categories of ICH helps understand their characteristics and, accordingly, select appropriate preservation and transmission approaches. 

Process-based method: ICH not only embodies tradition but also dynamically adapts to natural and historical changes. To thoroughly understand the creation and transmission of ICH, it is necessary to explore its development process holistically. 

Community-based method: Centered around the internal and external environments of the community as well as their overall coordination, this method examines community ethics, community identity, and community-wide ICH circulation to grasp the community ecology and organizational dynamics of ICH preservation and transmission, as well as the potential for cross-community collaboration. 

Environmental-policy analysis: This auxiliary method for ICH research integrates historical and social contexts (“environment”) with laws and regulations (“policy”) regarding ICH. 

Evidence-based method: This method is typically applied to analyze ICH policies and their effects. 

Xiao Fang is a professor from the School of Sociology at Beijing Normal University. 

Edited by WANG YOURAN