Shenekhen Buryats in the Era of "Socialist Modernisation" in China

This article explores the transition of the Shenekhen Buryat group from communal isolation and subsistence economy to participation in the dynamic modernisation processes in China. This ethnic group is presented as economically self-sufficient, culturally detached from the host society by a system of ancestral ties, language, traditions, customs, and capable of maintaining structures of sociality. The authors raise questions about how the transition to market relations affects the character and way of the group life, what are the shifts in culture, social structure, lifestyle, and what are the prospects for the very existence of this relatively small group under conditions of openness and market economy. The article shows how communalism is gradually eroding, a qualitatively different level of integration into Chinese society is emerging, and the Shenekhen Buryats are entering a period of fierce competition for education, jobs and resources. New technologies of power and control, along with traditional ones, cannot but undermine the former communal isolation. It is concluded that the group that has survived and strengthened community solidarity in an era of severe cataclysms has the prospect of undergoing social and cultural erosion in a period of growing material prosperity and the emergence of new professional, social and cultural lifts. The article is based on the materials of field researches of one of the authors during her trips to the IMAR PRC, informal interviews with Shenekhen Buryats, memoirs of the community representatives, published research papers, and mass media materials

China · Modernization theory · Political science · Chinese history and philosophy · Law