BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE (BRI) AND THE STUDY OF ‘FIELD CHINOLOGY’

Abstract

Belt and Road (B&R) is the firsts Initiative for the world from China which has brought about economic and social changes in the global culture and society. It is an opportunity to strengthen the ties between China and other countries and enhance cooperation and mutual trust. It needs a professional cultural guide to the implementation of many engineering projects in the BRI. Field Chinology is a discipline concept. It is “a summative improvement on the research results of Chinese folk culture, minority culture and local culture in the past decades of Chinese Ethnology, Anthropology, Folklore, Local History, Archaeology and other disciplines”. Its essence is “to study the culture and its traditions existing in the real life of Chinese people”, and to develop from this special perspective and characteristic method of research. In a word, the study of peoples, societies, cultures and histories around the world with the method and perspective of Field Chinology can also be brought into this field and form the study of world peoples and their social cultures from this perspective and method. Its “down-to-earth” approach to cultural study and fieldwork can feedback the details and patterns of local culture into cooperation and mutual trust among different culture and nationalities/ethnic groups. Only cooperation based on mutual trust in cultures of countries & nationalities can be lasting. This paper argues that with the material realization of the BRI, Field Chinology will provide the World with such wisdom as cultural thinking and methods, cultural details and models, cultural education and cooperation, and cultural knowledge and basis.