Alternative Indigeneity in China? The Paradox of the Buyi in the Age of Ethnic Branding

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13100375
AutoresYu Luo (0000-0001-6450-9410, autor correspondente), Yu Luo Yu Luo
Ano2018
Volume4
Fascículo2
Páginas107-107
Data de publicação2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoVerge Studies in Global Asias (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2373-5058 • E-ISSN: 2373-5066
EditoraProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5749/vergstudglobasia.4.2.0107
OpenAlexW2901521581
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas12

This article considers the future of “indigeneity” in China through examining the case of the Buyi (Bouyei), an ethnic group that has historically been closely aligned with state-building processes. I first introduce a Chinese concept—yuanshengtai—which refers to a perfect combination of pristine nature and culture. By parsing how this notion glosses the historical continuity, cultural distinctiveness, and environmental sensibility of local peoples, I contextualize its potential as an alternative to highlight indigenous identity through ethnic branding and cultural promotion in a country without official endorsement of “indigenous peoples.” The article proceeds to delineate the paradox of the Buyi, who seem to lack enough cultural difference in branding yuanshengtai, and in turn traces the trajectories and constraints of cultural production in late socialist China

Aesthetics · China · Cultural identity · Ethnic group · Identity (music · Indigenous · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Political economy · Political science · Sensibility · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropology · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Chinese history and philosophy · Ecology · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies