Keywords
Abstract
This article seeks to undertake what might be characterized as a multidimensional analysis of Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies, tracing what appears to be the evolution of theoretical frameworks, classification logics, protection systems, and transmission mechanisms in contemporary China. By examining both institutional arrangements and lived practices, this review appears to suggest what seems to be a subtle interplay between administrative order, local knowledge, and cultural vitality. What seems to emerge from this review is the apparent ambiguity inherent in translating lived experience into formal categories, the seemingly ongoing negotiation between state discourse and community agency, and the complex power dynamics embedded in processes of recognition, incentive, and cultural reproduction. Reflecting on the methodological and conceptual challenges that appear to be facing current scholarship, what this analysis tends to support is the call for more nuanced, critical, and participatory approaches. What also appears significant in this context is the need for new research agendas attentive to both the tensions and the possibilities that emerge at the intersection of tradition, policy, and social transformation.
References
[1] Lenzerini, F. (2011). Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Living Culture of Peoples. European Journal of International Law, 22(1), 101-120.
[2] Stefano, M. L. (2024). Threats and Approaches to the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Arts Education (pp. 153-166). Springer.
[3] Li, N., Li, X., & Xiao, W. (2025). Intangible cultural heritage threatened-level categories and criteria. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, Article 45.
[4] Eichler, J. (2021). Intangible cultural heritage, inequalities and participation. The International Journal of Human Rights, 25(1), 1-19.
[5] Fan, Q. (2024). Research on intangible cultural heritage resource description. The Electronic Library, 42(1), 23-40.
[6] Yuan, L., & Gu, J. (2009). Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies (in Chinese). Beijing: Higher Education Press.
[7] Su, X., Li, X., & Kang, Y. (2019). A bibliometric analysis of research on intangible cultural heritage using CiteSpace. Sage Open, 9(4), 1–13.
[8] Qiu, Q. (2022). Intangible cultural heritage in tourism: research review and investigation of future agenda. Land, 11(1), 139.
[9] Tang, Y., Liu, L., Pan, T., & Wu, Z. (2024). A bibliometric analysis of cultural heritage visualisation based on Web of Science from 1998 to 2023. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, Article 1081.
[10] Fan, Q. (2022). Research on intangible cultural heritage resource description based on linked data. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2022, Article 3384391. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/3384391
[11] Singh, A. K., & T K, G. (2022). Intangible cultural heritage: knowledge classification and management. Informatics Studies, 9(2), 45–58.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jingyi Song