Research on the Archiving Protection Model for TraditionalVillage Culture in Southwest Ethnic Minority Areas

Wang Ping　Chen Chuhan

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2020.04.012Abstract：Southwest China is the region with the largest and the most concentrated distribution of ethnic minorities. As a result， a large number of traditional ethnic minority villages are found there. Its cultural resources are abundant and outstanding in value， but due to the fact that the southwestern region is a remote and isolated inland area， and its level of economic development is low， local investment in cultural protection is relatively weak. In addition， with the accelerated development of urbanization in China， many ethnic minority villages have gradually transformed， decayed or even died out. Facing the abovementioned difficulties， rescue and protection activities of traditional village culture have been carried out from the national down to the local level， from government departments to academic groups， institutions， commercial organizations， civil volunteers， and villagers. In the course of these activities， various unique protection models have been explored.

Based on a review of the literature，we find that the results of the current research on various models for the cultural protection models of traditional ethnic minority villages are few. They can be mainly divided into two categories. One category is a general overview of the models， and the other focuses on the applied study of specific models or methods. First， there is lack of comparative studies on the universality and particularity， the active protection and growth， and the advantages and disadvantages of existing models， so it is difficult to assess the essential elements of the best cultural protection methods. Second， the studies pay insufficient attention to unique cultural temperament， cultural styles and the current cultural preservation status of a traditional ethnic minority villages. When exploring the cultural protection models using a scientific approach and suitability， the studies failed to fully demonstrate the cultures of the traditional ethnic minority villages. Therefore， this article uses a comparative research methodology based on the investigation of traditional villages of ethnic minorities in areas such as Guizhou， Yunnan， and Sichuan in order to analyze the effectiveness and shortcomings of several main protection models. It will do so from six aspects： subject， object， method， scope， advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore， this article demonstrates the scientific reasons， rationality and practical significance for using the archiving protection model for traditional ethnic minority village culture in southwest China. By doing so， it aims to provide a reference for optimizing the cultural protection methods of the traditional villages of the southwest ethnic minorities.

The article is divided into three parts.First， it sorts out the different cultural protection models used for protecting the traditional villages of the southwestern ethnic minorities that have been put into practice， such as the intangible cultural heritage protection model， the “traditional village directory” protection model， the classification protection model，  the cultural ecological protection zone model， ecological museum model， living protection model， cultural tourism protection model， diversified protection model， and villagers   autonomy protection model. The article will then analyze the commonality， characteristics， and universality of each model; four major models are selected for comparison.

Then， based on summing up the shortcomings and problems of the various models mentioned above， the article leads us to the “archiving model” that has become increasingly popular in traditional village cultural protection practices， but has received little attention in academic research. This model has comparative advantages， is especially suitable for the cultural preservation of the traditional villages of the southwestern ethnic minorities， and should be fully promoted in practice. Firstly， the archiving protection model has local adaptability and certain comparative advantages. For example， it requires relatively less manpower and material resources; the scope of cultural objects to be protected is wider; multiple subjects are formed; the method is more flexible， and the ability to record and disseminate the cultural heritage of the village is stronger. Secondly， the endangered cultural heritage of the ethnic minority traditional villages needs to be consolidated through archival records. For example， the article takes the Kutiyattam Sanskrit drama form from India and the “Teng Cao Drum”， which is popular in the Tujia ethnic minority areas， as case studies， and points out that for those ethnic minorities without writing systems， it is urgent to consolidate some of their oral traditional stories， crafts of intangible cultural heritage， and religious rituals through archiving. Thirdly， through the work of carrying out the preliminary surveys needed for the archiving protection model， the foundations of the cultural heritage of traditional villages can be clarified. This is conducive to scientific work later on， so that the results of archiving will be available to the public， information can be shared， and benefits are maximized. Fourthly， the multifunctional role of the archiving protection model results should be brought into play， so that the quality of the protection of traditional ethnic minority villages will be effectively improved， the economic and culture revitalization of the rural minorities will be improved， the collective memory of ethnic groups will be preserved， and cultural diversity will be protected.

Finally， for the cultural protection of traditional ethnic minority villages， it is necessary not only to save their cultural content but also to revitalize their living culture.  Based on such social demands and practicality， the archiving protection model has become the first choice for rescue and protection and for protection of the living culture. Through the act of consolidating the archives to record and properly preserve the original appearance of the culture; based on the memory properties of the archives to store and trigger the collective memory of the village; this model uses digital acquisition and development technology to reproduce the original appearance of the living culture of the traditional village.  The article points out some issues that still need to be researched and explored， such as the fact that traditional ethnic minority villages have a large amount of culture resources which are difficult to collect; the archiving protection model has a large number of participants but it lacks mechanism for diverse  cooperation;  the source of traditional village culture data is complex and lacks unified standards and norms; and the status of villagers   as cultural subjects in archiving protection has not yet been sufficiently reflected upon.

Key Words：traditional village culture; cultural protection models; archiving protection model; southwest ethnic minorities