A Review of the 1999 China Lijiang International Symposium on Dongba Culture
This article reviews the 1999 International Dongba Culture Academic Symposium held in Lijiang, China, as part of the International Dongba Culture Art Festival. Over 100 scholars from more than a dozen countries, along with Dongba practitioners from Sichuan and Yunnan, gathered to discuss Naxi Dongba culture from multiple perspectives. Key topics included the linguistic classification of Naxi within Tibeto-Burman languages (proposed as transitional between Yi and Qiang branches), the possible origin of Dongba script during ancestral Naxi settlement in the Gansu-Qinghai region, and the ecological, nature-respecting essence of Dongba religion. British scholar Jackson's controversial paper questioned Dongba religion's antiquity, while his proposal for international communication networks, an English-language journal, and rotating international conferences won wide praise. Swiss scholar Oppitz proposed a shared alliance for Naxi Dongba manuscripts, reflecting strong international collaborative interest in advancing Naxi studies.
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