Transmission of Local Knowledge - Webinar by Yang Fuquan
Thursday, January 16, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Zoom Webinar
Numbering under 340,000, the Tibeto-Burman Naxi live primarily in northwest Yunnan. As in the rest of China since the 1980s, urban migration and modern communications have caused attenuation of unique traditions. As a native Naxi scholar, I have worked extensively to preserve and transmit local knowledge and skills and ensure their value to the community. In this presentation, I discuss the success of four pilot projects my colleagues and I have undertaken since the 1990s: to promote the revival of the dongba priests, the local folk music Baisha xiyue, and women’s handicraft skills; and to establish indigenous knowledge education at a village school.
Professor Yang Fuquan is a researcher emeritus and former deputy director of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences. Born in Lijiang, Yunnan province, he is bilingual in Naxi and Chinese and has dedicated his life to documenting the lives, history, and culture of the Naxi ethnic group, and to supporting the preservation, transmission, and appreciation of Naxi traditional knowledge, arts, and skills. He is the author of many books, most recently 思考丽江 (2022), and has held visiting appointments in Germany and the US.
Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies