Intangible cultural heritage
is the core carrier of China’s outstanding traditional culture. Since the
implementation of the Law of the
People’s Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage,
research on intangible cultural heritage in China has shifted from the early
stage of “salvage recording” to a new stage emphasizing both “systematic
protection” and “living inheritance”, forming a diversified pattern led by the
government, supported by academia and participated by the whole society. Current
research hotspots focus on living inheritance, digital and intelligent
empowerment, integrated development of culture and tourism, and international
communication. However, the field still faces core challenges such as
insufficient research depth, theories lagging behind practice, backward
disciplinary construction, unbalanced research distribution and insufficient
inheritance vitality.
This
paper systematically sorts out the current situation of China’s intangible
cultural heritage research and its core progress in the past six years
(2020–2025), and deeply analyzes the current research hotspots and prominent
dilemmas. On this basis, combined with national strategies and contemporary
needs, this paper puts forward future development paths from the dimensions of
theoretical construction, technological application, disciplinary construction
and international communication, aiming to provide theoretical reference and
practical guidance for the systematic protection, living inheritance and the
construction of an independent knowledge system of China’s intangible cultural
heritage.
