The article "Opinions of General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China" points out: Give full play to the role of public cultural institutions such as libraries, cultural centers, museums and science and technology museums at all levels, and set up special museums or exhibition centers where conditions permit; Protect intangible cultural heritage. From this point of view, it seems that the archives have not been included in the key units for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, and there is no possibility to carry out their work; Museums and libraries are the main force of conservation work.

However, the Opinions also pointed out that it is necessary to attract relevant academic research institutions, universities, enterprises and institutions, social organizations and other forces to jointly carry out the protection of intangible cultural heritage. Archives are an important part of national cultural institutions and have the responsibility and ability to participate in the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

(2) Practical basis

Intangible cultural heritage is a precious cultural information resource and a true witness of history.

On the one hand, there are precious historical archives in local archives, including many local intangible cultural heritages, such as the archives of Shanghai Kunqu Opera, Shanghai Opera, Beijing Opera and Yue Opera collected and preserved by Shanghai Art Archives. Historical archives of ethnic minorities and archives with local characteristics in Yunnan and Guichuan. Many local archives are preparing to establish a database of intangible cultural heritage resources based on the collected files and materials.

On the other hand, the confirmation of intangible cultural heritage must be supported by relevant materials, including the information, cultural space, skills or festivals and ceremonies of the inheritors. Based on this, relevant local departments are carrying out the investigation, registration, video recording and filing of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, and registering and filing at different levels according to the national unified code;

Among them, the archiving of intangible cultural heritage is a process of establishing a complete set of files of various materials related to the intangible cultural heritage by means of collection, registration, analysis, sorting and cataloging on the basis of confirmation, and then selecting relevant institutions for proper preservation and rational utilization.

In this process, it is not difficult to see that there are many overlaps between the protection of intangible cultural heritage and archival work. In years of practice, the archives gradually formed a set of systematic and scientific archiving methods and standards, and trained a large number of staff with proficient professional knowledge and excellent professional level. Archives have a great space in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, which needs the support of archives. Archives should also be able to participate in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, give full play to their professional advantages and technical expertise, and make contributions to the protection of intangible cultural heritage.