THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF CULTURAL HERITAGE: INVESTIGATING THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE HERITAGE AND INNOVATION OF YI COSTUMES - A CASE STUDY OF THE LIPU YI PEOPLE

The folk costumes of Lipu Yi People, a branch of Yi ethnic minority in China, have not received much attention from China and the rest of the world. The reason could be that Lipu Yi People live in mountainous areas far away from cities and their incomes are low. This study explored the characteristics of the folk costumes a Lipu Yi People as well as the factors influencing their folk costumes over modern design, as reference for the folk costumes for other ethnic minorities. The research model in this research was based on a questionnaire survey of 442 participants, including intangible cultural heritage experts and scholars, governmental officials, local people, people in charge of creative handcrafts, intangible cultural heritage inheritors and tourists. Five hypotheses were made for the exploration and descriptive analysis; confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied. The results support all five hypotheses. In conclusion, inheriting cultural fractions, cultural changes, the regional environment, cultural connotations and artistic characteristics each have a significant and positive influence over the design and application of folk costumes Yi ethnic minority.