"As this materialistic civilization continues to develop, people
themselves are in need of spiritual support to fight against a
sense of emptiness. Where can they find this support? For the
people of China, that support can be found in our traditional
cultures of the various ethnic groups," said Wu Haiying in an
exclusive interview with China.org.cn.
Wu, president of the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences, and a
deputy to the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress
(NPC), shared her experiences in the protection and development of
ethnic culture on the sidelines of the ongoing annual NPC
session.
An ethnic Hui, Wu has devoted much of her time to the research
of ethnic history and culture. She has been instrumental in calling
for regions that are home to China's ethnic minorities to be more
involved in the research, preservation and protection of ethnic
culture in addition to focusing on economic development.
The autonomous region of Ningxia, a Hui stronghold in western
China, has played an important role in preserving Hui tradition and
culture including traditional dress, cuisine, architecture and
arts. The local government has also implemented special measures to
guard against the impact of development on historical sites.
"Ethnic culture makes the vast western parts of China more
colorful and attractive," Wu said, adding that the tourist industry
in this region could have benefited more from using its cultural
diversity as a draw.
There are currently four ongoing research programs on Hui
culture being conducted by the Ningxia Academy of Social
Sciences.
Wu herself is in charge of compiling the Hui section of the
Bibliography of Ancient Books by China's Ethnic
Minorities, which is being coordinated by the State Ethnic
Affairs Commission. Composed of 60 volumes, the tome contains more
than 300,000 entries covering the written and oral materials of 55
ethnic minorities and several ancient ethnic groups in China.
In addition, Wu also supervised the compilation of the
Encyclopedia of the Hui Ethnic Group in China, a mammoth
project which was started in 2005. Wu is hopeful that the
compilation will be completed by next year, in time for the 50th
anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region.
Other Hui-related publications in the pipeline include
Overall History of Hui Ethnic Group, to be chief-edited by
scholar Yang Huaizhong, and Catalogue of Ancient Hui Ethnic
Group, which will be a digital collection of Hui classics.
(China.org.cn by Staff Reporter Zhang Liping, translated by
Huang Shan, March 9, 2007)