China Folklore Society (CFS)

Created on May 21, 1983, the China Folklore Society (CFS)  is a professional and non-profit organization of the folklorists and folklore fellows all over the China. CFS has so far registered 1695 members; the current President is Chao Gejin; Vice Presidents are Bamo Qubumo,  Chen Qinjian, Dong Xiaoping, Gao Bingzhong, He Xuejun, Huang Yonglin, Liu Delong, Liu Tieliang, Ye Tao, Zhao Shiyu, Zhao Zongfu, and the Secretary-General is Ye Tao.

In the summer of 1978, Professor Zhong Jingwen drafted out a cosignatory letter, signed jointly by  Gu Jiegang, Bai Shouyi, Rong Zhaozu, Yang Kun, Yang Chengzhi, Luo Zhiping, and then submitted to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, advocating for setting up national institutions regarding folklore studies, which attracted much attention from related leaders and got active responses from folklorists and scholars concerned.  In June 1982, the Preparatory Committee for CFS was established in Beijing.  Professor Zhong Jingwen was elected as the head.  In May 1983, the founding ceremony was grandly held in Beijing;  Zhou Yang was elected as the Honorable President, Zhong Jingwen as the President, Liu Kuili as Secretary-general.

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 (CFN), keep it up to date and well maintained, and make it become a home for all the folklore fellows and folk culture amateurs. 

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.