The Association for Traditional Studies (ATS) grew out of a Beijing based company called Tan Fai Ltd., which was dedicated to sharing China's traditional arts and knowledge with the West.

Tan Fai Ltd.'s director, Andrew Nugent-Head, began establishing contacts with other people who were as dedicated to and as immersed in other cultures as he was in China, and out of these conversations a common thread was found: traditional arts everywhere have value to our lives today, but that they are fast disappearing in the face of western style modernization. Moving at such a rapid speed it modernizes first, and only in hindsight sees the consequences of its actions.

What became obvious was that the problems and potential solutions were the same, just the locations and cultures were different. This lead to the establishment of ATS and its beliefs, principles and mission.

Traditional Arts and Modernization

The Association for Traditional Studies believes that the answers to many of the problems facing society today lie in the arts and knowledge of traditional cultures. Whether it be on an individual scale, such as desiring better health, better quality of food, better living environment, and better "quality of life", or on a global scale, such as facing the problems of lack of food, environmental pollution, ecological destruction, and dwindling resources, the knowledge and ways that evolved among traditional cultures over thousands of years as they faced issues of survival and development have much to offer society today as it heads into the 21st century.

At the same time, these same cultures, and thus their arts and knowledge, are vanishing at an incredible rate, and most frightening is that much more has already been lost than is left. The impact that technology and modernization have had in less than a hundred years on our planet is astounding. Many of our grandmothers were born in a time without electricity, and many of our parents predate the proliferation of televisions and cars. The land and ecology has been completely altered to enable the modernization to move even faster- only nature in its greatest fury of natural disasters can come close to matching the speed of change to the earth that modernization has accomplished.

Evolution fears not change but the speed of change. In nature, the flora and fauna adapt to change, only fearing sudden extinction from floods, volcanoes, and other immediate influences, as these natural forces of change do not give time for adaptation. The speed of modernization has not given cultures time to adapt- instead they are replaced by "modern culture" as their lands and habits are swept away in a few years as roads, houses, stores, and large numbers of people change their landscape. It is not that these traditional cultures have little value and thus give way to a better way, it is that they cannot handle the speed of change. The tragedy is that like so many other traditional cultures which were hit by the wave of modernization first, when existing cultures recover from the tumultuous flood and begin to seek their roots again, the individuals with the traditional knowledge will be gone.

Today, there are organizations and foundations dedicated to helping these cultures. However, it is ATS's strong belief that for these arts and knowledge to survive, they cannot rely on the generosity of the philanthropic world alone, but must be able to prove that their continued existence is profitable to society at large. It is only when society at large recognizes the importance of these arts in their "modern" lives that the arts and knowledge can not only survive but flourish.

ATS' Mission

The Association for Traditional Studies is a 501c3 not for profit organization dedicated to the preservation, documentation, and dissemination of traditional arts and knowledge around the world. The Traditional Studies Press is the publishing arm of the Association, providing high quality translations and videos of these traditional arts to the public and allowing their practitioners a form of livelihood through their royalties. 

The Association believes that the survival of traditional arts is imperative as we face issues of sustainability and development in the 21st century. The Association further believes that for these arts to survive in today's world, they must be capable of becoming independent, not relying on the generosity of the philanthropic world alone for their documentation or survival. 

The Association for Traditional Studies strives to make such an environment possible by allowing traditional practitioners to reach out from their worlds through articles, books, videos, workshops and classes. The Association also strives to maintain the integrity of the documentation of their arts by working with bicultural individuals fluent in both traditional cultures and society today.

Before these practitioners, their arts and their environments are self sufficient, however, they need the hard work and help of organizations such as the Association, and individual people such as yourself. This transition into the modern world is a difficult path that needs careful guidance. If not carefully watched, the traditional arts either will not survive or will loose themselves in the process. By documenting them now, respecting the intellectual rights of traditional practitioners and working with them on the challenges they face, their cultural arts can cross the bridge into the modern world intact. 

The greatest race for the Association now is against time. Most of the traditional arts and knowledge the Association is involved with are disappearing fast, and most of the traditional practitioners are very old. Your help in insuring we can work fast enough to make a difference is very important and will play an important role in their survival.

Financial donations, as well as donations of services and equipment, are tax deductible. Please contact the Association for more information.