New China's Ethnology: Research and Prospects

Abstract

The scope of ethnology, as a specialized field of study that takes as its object nationalities or human communities, is both broad and deep. The breadth lies in the fact that from ancient times and up to the present, as long as human groups or communities have existed, there has been something for ethnologists to study. Similarly, throughout the entire world, wherever there are peoples, there will be subject matter for ethnologists to study. The depth lies in the fact that with regard to every nationality, regardless of how powerful it may be, everything about it needs to be studied—its origins, developments, attributes and characteristics, language, economy, culture, and even the customs and habits of everyday life. In today's world there are more than two thousand nationalities, and in our country alone there are more than fifty. The origins of nationalities can be traced all the way back to the earliest times when the human race and human society first appeared. From this we can easily perceive that the task confronting our ethnologists is a heavy and difficult one. We must be able to acknowledge the achievements already attained, sum up the fruits of our research, plan new research, and nurture new talent in the field so as to continue to open up a broader avenue for study.