Chinese folklore since the late 1970s: Achievements, difficulties, and challenges

The past thirty-five years have been the most exciting time for Chinese folklore studies since the inception of the discipline a century ago. Chinese folklore studies has gradually broken away from the grip of the extreme leftist political ideology of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and recovered disciplinary traditions established before the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China. The field of Chinese folklore studies has theoretically and methodologically enriched not only itself but also other disciplines in humanities and social sciences, as well as arenas of public life. It has participated in and promoted the nationwide project titled “Three Collections of Chinese Folk Literature” and the movement to protect intangible cultural heritage. However, many questions have also surfaced in terms of its theoretical discussions, disciplinary practices, and disciplinary orientation.