YU Suisheng

The documents of Dongba scripts of the Nahsi nationality have great quantity, various forms, rich contents and long research history, but the research on them is rather weak, although the science about the Nahsi nationality which is based on the core of the culture of the Dongba scripts is becoming the hottest discipline on the world.

It’s necessary to establish the new special philology of studying the documents of the Dongba scripts to make clear their conditions, disclosing the law of their emerging and developing, summing up the predecessors’ experiences and achievements, and benefiting the researchers who are studying the science of the Nahsi nationality.

This paper issued the tentative ideas for this new special discipline, and it ould be constituted of the following essentials: the research scope of the  Dongba scripts, their categories, handwriting carriers, formats, characters, contents and length; their emerging, transcribing, handing down and spreading; the creation of the Dongba scripts and Dongba who have handed down the documents; the research on the documents’ versions, timing, region, store, compilation, catalogue and issuance; the evaluation and introduction of the works on the Dongba scripts; the research methods and prospects of this new discipline of studying the documents of the Dongba scripts.

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Dongba Culture Research Institute： The Inheritance and Protetion of Dongba Culture and Young Dongba Education Done by An Academic Institution

Dongbas (Dongba priests) are living carriers of Naxi traditional Dongba Culture. The efficiency of new Dongbas training decides the fate of Dongba Culture protection. Since its establishment in 1981, Lijiang Dongba Culture Research Institute has begun to systematically translate, sort out the ancient Dongba scripts and impart Dongba Culture and train young Dongbas. This culture inheritance project has been done with the direction of experts, teaching of erudite Dongbas, support of the local government, but being isolated with the original places. In the era of modern civilization and economy expanding, the state, changes, results, experiences of the Dongba Culture inheritance and young Dongbas training in the institute, which can be references for other non-material cultural heritage protections, will be narrated and analyzed. Finally, some suggestions of the author will be given in this paper.

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