On the afternoon of September 30th, the press conference of the second "Most Outstanding Social Scientist Scholar" award in Hubei Province was held in Hubei Radio and Television Station. Professor Bo Guixi, director of the Research Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Southern Minorities of SCMU and professor of School of Ethnology and Sociology, received the award. Duan Chao, vice president of SCMU and vice chairman of Hubei Social Science Association, attended the press conference as the award guest.

Group photo of Professor Bo Guixi (first from right), Vice President Duan Chao (first from left) and intangible cultural heritage inheritors at the press conference. Photo by Geng Xin

"From bustling cities to nameless villages; From daily necessities to weaving and dyeing; You collect the splendor of the world to demonstrate that there has been great beauty in the world." This is the award speech made by the organizing committee for Professor Bo Guixi at the press conference, and also a true portrayal of his 30 years of fieldwork, his focus on major national strategies and major practical problems in ethnic areas, and his devotion to the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

For more than 30 years, Professor Bo Guixi has stayed true to his original aspirations and devoted himself to carrying out research in the countryside. Every year, he spends nearly one-third of his time doing field research in Wulingshan Mountain, Shiwandashan Mountain, Wuzhishan Mountain, Daliangshan Mountain, Xiaoliangshan Mountain, and ethnic areas of Tujia, Miao, Yao, Zhuang, Li and Yi. He also devoted himself to serving the society and boosting the development of intangible cultural heritage. He took the lead in sorting out more than 10,000 precious cultural relics in the ethnology museum of SCMU, and established the "Southern Minority Intangible Cultural Heritage Database". He took charge of the establishment of the digital platform of "Southern Minority Handicraft Resource System and Gene Map", which is a major national social science foundation project. He undertook the compilation of the plans and standards for the protection of intangible cultural heritage. The Report on the Protection and Development of Traditional Ethnic Crafts he wrote was approved by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Yunnan Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission. The Dragon Boat Festival Protection Assessment Report and the Pre-assessment Report on the Construction of Tujia and Miao Cultural and Ecological Protection (Experimental) Area in Wuling Mountain Area (southwest Hubei) he wrote were affirmed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of People’s Republic of China and the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. He carried out the task of cultivating talents by virtue and devoted himself to talent training. He insisted on offering undergraduate courses such as Introduction to Ethnology and Western Sociology Theory. He has supervised more than 70 doctoral and master's students majoring in cultural heritage protection, and 10 of them have been supported by the National Social Science Foundation. In recent years, together with the School of Continuing Education and other relevant departments of SCMU, he has undertaken the work of "Study and Training for Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritors", and more than 300 inheritors of various intangible heritages have received training in 8 training sessions.

The activity of "The Most Outstanding Social Science Scholar" is jointly organized by the Publicity Department of Hubei Provincial Party Committee and the Federation of Social Science Societies of Hubei Province to publicize outstanding figures in social science circles, promote the development of philosophy and social sciences in Hubei Province and serve the overall situation of economic and social construction in Hubei Province.

(Editor: Liu Hong   Source: Institute of Scientific Research and Development of School of Ethnology and Sociology)