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

Bibliographic Data

ID13100375
AuthorsYu Luo (0000-0001-6450-9410, corresponding author), Yu Luo Yu Luo
Year2018
Volume4
Issue2
Pages107-107
Publication date2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueVerge Studies in Global Asias (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2373-5058 • E-ISSN: 2373-5066
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5749/vergstudglobasia.4.2.0107
OpenAlexW2901521581
LanguageEN
Citations received12

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