Year of creation: 2003
Domain(s):

- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education

Main countries where active:

China, France, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa

Objectives:
The objectives of WFCMS are to promote the exchange and cooperation among the Chinese Medicine societies as well as the collaboration between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and other medicines worldwide, to strengthen international academic exchanges of TCM, to improve the professional level of TCM personnel, to inherit and develop TCM, to accelerate the process of its modernization and globalization, and to push it forward into the mainstream of medical and health care systems in various countries so as to make greater contribution to the health of mankind.
Activities:
1. WFCMS actively takes part in the research work for the protection of TCM culture. For instance, WFCMS has been participating in a project named Research on the Academic Thinking and Medical Experience of Eminent TCM Senior Doctors for inheritance, which documents and preserves clinical experience of more than 200 TCM doctors; a bunch of bilingual basic nomenclatures of TCM, including Chinese-English, Chinese-French, Chinese-Spanish and Chinese-Portuguese, have been published (or are to be published) containing more than 6000 terms. Part of them use Chinese pinyin as their terms, which better facilitates the preservation of TCM culture and further promotes its continuance and development. Since 2004, the annually held World Congress of Chinese Medicine is an influential event of WFCMS. TCM practitioners and experts who show great interests in TCM culture gather together to exchange ideas on inheriting and developing effective therapies, preserving tratidional medicine theories such as acupunture theory, and human-nature harmony theory etc, to name a few.

2. We have set up the specialty committees that are related to the preservation of TCM culture including the Specialty committee of Acupotomology, the Specialty Committee of TCM Pharmaceutics, the Specialty Committee of Chinese Characteristic Diagnosis and Treatment and Specialty Committee of Pulse Manifestation. The establishment of those specialty committees provides platforms for professionals in relevant fields to safeguard, and improve TCM culture. Members of the special committees are recruited with strict selection criteria covering their degree, professional title, and clinical experience etc. Therefore, WFCMS's capability to inherit and preserve TCM culture is enhanced.

3. Member societies of WFCMS are actively involved in preservation and transmission of TCM culture. Currently, there are 201 WFCMS member societies from 58 countries and regions. They are dedicated to providing TCM health services to the public and spreading TCM culture to people all around the world. For instance, the documentary named "Traditional Chinese Medecine across the World" sponsored by WFCMS and filmed by China Central Television International, gained great supports from the member societies of WFCMS all over the world, which made it a successful program.
Cooperation:
In the course of the study of the Bilingual (including Chinese-English, Chinese-French, Chinese-Spanish and chinese-Portugese) basic nomenclature of TCM, WFCMS collaborates with the experts from more than 100 NGOs in more than 90 countries to accomplish the study. Moreover, it annually collaborates with NGOs from different countries or regions to hold world conference of TCM in different part of the world. It also cooperates with NGOs to undertake international training workshops and examination in the field of TCM, and to publish multilingual journal of World Chinese Medicine.

Year of creation: 1983
Domain(s):

- oral traditions and expressions
- performing arts
- social practices, rituals and festive events
- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship
- other
- Cultural space

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

China, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Viet Nam

Objectives:
New accreditation request:
The general objectives of CFS (under the Article 3 of the Bylaws of CFS) aim at uniting with and organizing folklorists and folklore fellows throughout the country, to investigate, collect, collate, and study folklore and folk cultural phenomenon among the people of all ethnic groups of the country, to facilitate scholarly exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts both at home and abroad, to gather, disseminate, and share academic information and resources, and to further the discipline of folklore studies.

The professional objectives of CFS are (under the Article 6 of the Bylaws of CFS):

(1) to collect and collate folklore materials from multiform literatures and field investigations, and then gradually build up an information resource database for preserving China's folklore and cultural traditions;

(2) to stimulate studies on basic theories and conduct specific research projects in folkloristics with an emphasis on encouraging and organizing fieldwork in folklore in all its aspects;

(3) to compile and publish folkloristic books, field study reports and periodicals, and at the same time to enhance translations from and reviews of overseas works in folkloristics.

(4) to train talents and discover qualified personnel by all the means, such as holding workshops, launching online forums, and carrying out field study practices, as well as facilitating other appropriate channels;

(5) to organize and participate in domestic and international conferences in order to reinforce scholarly discourses and academic exchanges;

(6) to participate in the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage with professional spirit and initiative;

(7) to strengthen the website construction of the China Folklore Network, keep it up to date and well maintained, and make it become a home for all the folklore fellows and folk culture amateurs.

Over the past three decades, CFS has been fostering a comprehensive understanding of folklore and traditional culture that conceptualize the core notion of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH). With the implementation of the Convention, the society's professional practices and various activities provide a solid basis for further achieving the above integrated goals that are consistent with the spirit of the Convention.

Old accreditation request:
(A) to collect, sort out and study Chinese folklore; (B) to strengthen the studies on theoretical folklore and applied folklore in order to realize the social function of this discipline; (C) to edit and publish books, journals, picture collections and resources, to translate, introduce and comment the foreign folklore works; (D) to cultivate the folklore research fellows by holding training class and proceeding fieldwork; (E) to accumulate the folklore materials and hold folklore exhibitions; (F) to proceed the scholarly exchange with foreign scholars and attend folklore activities worldwide.


Activities:
New accreditation request:
Created in 1983, CFS has registered 1695 members thus far across the country; the vast majority of them have either folkloristic professional backgrounds, or come from other relevant disciplines, e.g. cultural anthropology, sociology, ethnology, history, literature and art, and the like.

CFS's governance is implemented by its Executive Board, Professional Committees and by its Secretariat, primarily through organizing conferences, publications, training, promoting folkloristics from theories to practices, enhancing multilateral cooperation, strengthening capacity-building, all of which ensure that CFS maintains a recognized competence in specialization,

CFS possesses a consultative status to both the public and governments at all levels, Since 2003, a number of CFS senior experts, as deputy directors or active members in the National Expert Committee for Safeguarding ICH, have been commissioned to provide consultation services, formulate safeguarding measures, instruct training workshops, develop projects, programmes and activities, as well as inspect the implantation of the Convention as requested; meanwhile, many CFS scholars have participated in a series of fundamental tasks in cooperation with other stakeholders. The CFS Secretariat, in conjunction with its 6 Professional Committees and 5 Field Study Bases, and with the active experts and members, has carried out a series of activities for safeguarding ICH in China and beyond. The main practices are summarized in the following aspects.

(1) Participation in developing ICH-related policy, regulations and legislation:

2003-04: the drafting and formulation of the Provisionary Measures on Nomination and Evaluation of National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including the Guidelines for Submitting Candidatures.

2004-08: two surveys on Chinese traditional festivals and national legal holidays, contributing to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulation on Public Holidays for National Annual Festivals and Memorial Days, which enabled Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon-boat Festival and Mid-autumn Festival to be added to the new scheme.

2004-11: the legislation on safeguarding China's ICH-Law of the People's Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage, which entered into force on June 1, 2011.

(2) Playing a visible role in key projects and programmes at national and local levels:

2003-13: participating in the National Project for Safeguarding Folk and Ethnic Cultures;

2005-09: instructing the First Nationwide General Investigation of ICH;

Since 2006: aiding the establishment of the Four-level Inventory System of China's ICH;

Since 2006: identifying the Representatives of Traditional Bearers and Practitioners of National ICH Elements;
2007-11: selecting and monitoring 11 Pilot Areas for National Eco-cultural Reserves;

Since 2008: making assessment for locating Pilot Bases for Safeguarding Traditional Handicrafts y Means of Continuity-in-Productivity;

Since 2009: advising the establishment of ICH theme museums, folklore museums and ICH raining and transmitting centers;

2008-11: assisting in preparing nomination files to the Lists and Register of the Convention.

(3) Carrying out theoretical study and developing methodologies for ICH research

CFS and its members have been active in related areas of safeguarding ICH, from perspectives in scientific research and cultural policy-making, primarily through providing expertise in folklore and specialized advices, establishing ethical codes, conducting field survey and case studies, undertaking key projects, training graduate students, mobilizing formal and non-formal educational programmes, publishing monographs, field reports, and paper collections, delivering keynote speeches, lectures and seminars, accepting media interviews, developing ICH columns on CFN and disseminating information through its influence worldwide. CFS's commitment to ICH research has been reflected in the thematic panels of its National Conferences in 2006 in Beijing and in 2010 in Taiyuan, Shanxi, as well as in every session of CFS Annual Meeting since 2008; not to mention, the society has organized or co-sponsored various symposia and multiform events regarding current ICH topics.

(4) Conducting professional practices at regional and international levels

CFS has extended its long-standing efforts for developing international cooperation and exchange. It has stable professional relationships with renowned folklorists, academics and institutions in Japan, South Korea, Viet Nam, India, USA, Germany, Finland, Russia, and Tunisia. In particular, the Society has been engaged in specific partnerships with Folklore Society of Japan (since 1989) and American Folklore Society (since 2007), with a intention to strengthen regional and international cooperation.

CFS also benefits effectively from the opportunities and mechanisms created by the Convention. As active members of the Expert Group for Chinese governmental delegation, CFS Board members deepened their understanding of the Convention via attending Sessions, Assemblies and working group meetings of the Committee since 2006; Dr. Gejin Chao participated in the examination of nomination files for inscription in 2009; our scholars as ad hoc observers were involved in the whole process of the first workshop devoted to 'training of trainers' in January 2011 in Beijing.

Old accreditation request:
Since CFS was set up, it has published 11 issues of The Newsletter of CFS, an periodic journal for exchanging information about folklore researches and activities of intangible cultural heritage safeguarding, and hosted 6 sessions of national folklore congress. From 1997, it began to publish the CFS Yearly Book, on which there are papers on folklore theories, methods and fieldwork. It organized cooperations with scholars from Japan, South Korea, United States, Finland and Vietnam.


Cooperation:
New accreditation request:

CFS has since its inception developed an ethical code of practice to adhere to the PRINCIPAL OF MUTUAL RESPECT in close collaboration with tradition-bearers, community members, native scholars and local organizations concerned, always practicing 'STANDING ON COMMON GROUND WITH FOLK,' which enables scholarship to be always community-based.

CFS has established 5 community-based field study bases. As a result, a series of fieldwork projects covering a wide range of ICH topics have been conducted, bringing forth a number of ethnographic writings, which in turn not only provides local communities with constructive consultations for safeguarding and transmitting their ICH, but deepens mutual understanding between CFS and its partners-in-knowledge.

CFS encourages and supports long-term targeting co-research with individuals, groups and communities concerned. Jiang Fan, an executive director, has been studying Tan Zhenshan, the late master storyteller in Liaoning Province, for more than 20 years; Director Yongchao Chen has the female master Guiying Lu's name as copyright-owner printed on their co-textualized book from her oral performance; some CFS scholars have their follow-up case studies located in villages or in ethnic tribes with the aid of communities. Such examples abound.

CFS functions as a bridge to link traditional practitioners with higher educational institutions and universities, introducing ICH-bearers into classrooms to share their knowledge, skills and Iifehistory with the faculties and the young; and in the meantime, taking teachers and students into the situated contexts, to experience, collect, record, and study ICH in its living life-world with a stress on 'PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST.'

CFS provides diversified intellectual support for the sustainable development of local communities. For instance, we implemented an ethnographical investigation of the life-style of Han immigrants and indigenous Mongolian herdsmen in Alshan, Inner Mongolia (supported by SEE in Alshan) in 2005. This study in general provides folkloristic solutions to handling grassland desertification in western China.

CFS also makes its own contribution to rural cultural life by developing ICH readings. For instance, the Series of Chinese Folkloric Cultures, 50 volumes in all, has entered into thousands of 'Farmers' Reading Rooms' in the countryside, and received an award from the government for its substantial efforts.

Old accreditation request:
CFS played a key role in the national survey of folklore and publication of its results as three series of books in the early 1980's, and its members took part in local programs of folklore collections. Since 2001, Professor Liu Kuili, the president of CFS has been leading the projects of ICH safeguarding organized by the Ministry of Culture of China, and its members have been very active in establishing national and provincial entries of ICH, working on a list of national representative ICH items.