Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province
Abstract This article is a research report involving three anthropological studies conducted during the period of “Kuige” and their “re-studies.” By narrating the project, I set forth my views on the connections and differences between Chinese anthropological explorations from two historical periods...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2021-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-021-00050-9 |
| _version_ | 1818607227515174912 |
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| author | Mingming Wang |
| author_facet | Mingming Wang |
| author_sort | Mingming Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This article is a research report involving three anthropological studies conducted during the period of “Kuige” and their “re-studies.” By narrating the project, I set forth my views on the connections and differences between Chinese anthropological explorations from two historical periods. These anthropological explorations refer to the study of Lu Village conducted by Fei Xiaotong, that of “West Town” (Xizhou) by Francis L. K. Hsu, and that of “Pai-IPai” (Dai) villages by Tien Ju-Kang. They were all completed in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Each writer extracted a framework to analyze the land system, ancestor worship, and the relationship between humans and gods from the writer’s own field experience. Despite the difference in research methods, all three studies noticed the cultural differences between rural society and modernity. Since 2000, Peking University and Yunnan Minzu University have launched a “Province-university Cooperation Project.” During the project, a research team formed of several young scholars revisited Lu Village, “West Town” (Xizhou), and Namu Village. These writers’ works were based on the data acquired in their fieldwork and drew upon the opinions raised by global anthropologists on “re-study” in recent decades. Considering the dual effects of social change and shifts in academic concepts around “follow-up research,” the scholars put forward several points of view with their ethnographies, which all featured the characteristics of inheritance and reflection. Based on the results of the three “re-studies,” this article emphasizes the importance of the study of public rituals for the research of rural society. This article also attempts to re-examine the methodology of “human ecology,” which profoundly impacts Chinese anthropology and sociology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T14:23:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e4f3dd5913240808a88f85682d2cafe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2366-1003 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T14:23:24Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e4f3dd5913240808a88f85682d2cafe2022-12-21T22:28:26ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology2366-10032021-08-015112410.1186/s41257-021-00050-9Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan ProvinceMingming Wang0Department of Sociology/Institute of Sociology and Anthropology, Peking UniversityAbstract This article is a research report involving three anthropological studies conducted during the period of “Kuige” and their “re-studies.” By narrating the project, I set forth my views on the connections and differences between Chinese anthropological explorations from two historical periods. These anthropological explorations refer to the study of Lu Village conducted by Fei Xiaotong, that of “West Town” (Xizhou) by Francis L. K. Hsu, and that of “Pai-IPai” (Dai) villages by Tien Ju-Kang. They were all completed in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Each writer extracted a framework to analyze the land system, ancestor worship, and the relationship between humans and gods from the writer’s own field experience. Despite the difference in research methods, all three studies noticed the cultural differences between rural society and modernity. Since 2000, Peking University and Yunnan Minzu University have launched a “Province-university Cooperation Project.” During the project, a research team formed of several young scholars revisited Lu Village, “West Town” (Xizhou), and Namu Village. These writers’ works were based on the data acquired in their fieldwork and drew upon the opinions raised by global anthropologists on “re-study” in recent decades. Considering the dual effects of social change and shifts in academic concepts around “follow-up research,” the scholars put forward several points of view with their ethnographies, which all featured the characteristics of inheritance and reflection. Based on the results of the three “re-studies,” this article emphasizes the importance of the study of public rituals for the research of rural society. This article also attempts to re-examine the methodology of “human ecology,” which profoundly impacts Chinese anthropology and sociology.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-021-00050-9KuigeRe-studyExchangePublic ritualsHuman ecologyAnthropology |
| spellingShingle | Mingming Wang Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology Kuige Re-study Exchange Public rituals Human ecology Anthropology |
| title | Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province |
| title_full | Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province |
| title_fullStr | Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province |
| title_short | Inheritance and reflection: “re-study” of three anthropology fieldwork sites in China’s Yunnan Province |
| title_sort | inheritance and reflection re study of three anthropology fieldwork sites in china s yunnan province |
| topic | Kuige Re-study Exchange Public rituals Human ecology Anthropology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-021-00050-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mingmingwang inheritanceandreflectionrestudyofthreeanthropologyfieldworksitesinchinasyunnanprovince |