A Survey of Contemporary Bai Craft Practices in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China

Abstract

In this paper, the authors report on a survey of present-day craft practices found among Bai people in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in China’s Yunnan province. This collaborative work was undertaken by a binational team drawn from five different Chinese and American research institutions. While brief and provisional in scope, this ethnographic survey revealed the richness of contemporary craft practice in the region and suggested some broader patterns relevant to the intersection of culturally significant crafts and the workings of formal intangible cultural heritage policies in the area. As a survey, the research was intended to prompt further—more refined and in-depth—studies. Suggestions for such further inquiries are offered in this report.