Wang Haixia  (王海霞) (1963 - 2017) was the director and a research fellow at the Institute of Chinese Folk Art (民間美術研究中心) of the Chinese National Academy of Arts (中國藝術研究院) and the deputy secretary of the Chinese Folk Art Association (中國鄉土藝術協會). She graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of the Central University of Nationalities (中央民族學院) with a bachelor’s degree in Literature. In 1988, she graduated from the Graduate Division of the Chinese National Academy of Arts with a master’s degree in Art. Under the tutelage of Wang Shucun (王樹村), her postgraduate research was directed toward the study of Chinese art history and folk art. After graduation, she worked for the Research Institute of Art (美術研究所) of the Chinese National Academy of Arts. From 1987 onwards, she had published over 20 research papers and articles as well as two treatises, Zhongguo Min Jian Mei Shu She Hui Xue (The Sociology of Chinese Folk Art) (中國民間美術社會學) and Dong Xi Fang Min Jian Mei Shu Bi Jiao  (Comparing Eastern and Western Folk Art) (東西方民間美術比較); she also co-authored three books and directed numerous research projects of national significance.