The Location of Cultural Authenticity
Identifying the Real and the Fake in Urban Guizhou
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8097394 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Kendall (0009-0003-8393-7447, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Pages | 93-109 |
| Publication date | 2016-10-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The China Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1324-9347 • E-ISSN: 1835-8535 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/688851 |
| OpenAlex | W2535263033 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 11 |
This article examines notions of cultural identity and authenticity and how these notions are articulated in the small city of Kaili in Guizhou Province, an ethnically diverse region. Despite its urban status, Kaili has been branded by the local government as a yuanshengtai tourist destination. This Chinese term literally translates as “original ecology” but is used in ordinary conversation to denote a cultural authenticity in which people exist in quiet harmony with nature. Promotional literature uses the term to tout the ethnic cultural practices that mainly occur in the villages of Kaili’s municipal periphery. In contrast, many local urban inhabitants—although amenable to the promotion of Kaili as a tourist destination—have rejected the notion that the city itself could be considered culturally authentic, and proudly declare themselves “fake” ethnic minorities, as against the “genuine” ethnic people of surrounding villages. These small-city inhabitants have also defined themselves against big-city visitors by attributing to the visitors a naïve fascination with cultural authenticity, while themselves remaining aloof from such practices. The cultural authenticity discourse in Kaili has thus facilitated a reordering of social and spatial hierarchies, as blasé small-city residents define themselves against both culturally authentic rural people and authenticity-seeking big-city tourists. In analyzing this, the article draws out the broader implications regarding PRC notions of ethnicity, cultural practices, heritage, and identity
Aesthetics · Cultural identity · Ethnic group · Geography · Harmony (color · Harmony with nature · Media studies · Social harmony · Social science · Sociology · Tourism · Anthropology · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Philippine History and Culture · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
Yellow Music
Between big city and authentic village
Authenticity and commoditization in tourism
Authenticity Anxiety and Counterfeit Confidence
Authenticity as a concept in tourism research
Gender and Internal Orientalism in China
Representing Nationality in China
Environmental Crisis, Culture Loss, and a New Musical Aesthetic
Abraham Lincoln as Authentic Reproduction
Staged Authenticity
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,88 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2024 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |