Communist Multiculturalism: Ethnic Revival in Southwest China

by Mccarthy, Susan K.

• ISBN13: 9780295989099
• ISBN10: 0295989092
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-15
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr

Summary

The communist Chinese state promotes the distinctiveness of the many minorities within its borders. At the same time, it is vigilant in suppressing groups that threaten the nation's unity or its modernizing goals. InCommunist Multiculturalism, Susan K. McCarthy examines three minority groups in the province of Yunnan, focusing on the ways in which they have adapted to the government's nation-building and minority nationalities policies since the 1980s. She reveals that Chinese government policy is shaped by perceptions of what constitutes an authentic cultural group and of the threat ethnic minorities may constitute to national interests. These minority groups fit no clear categories but rather are practicing both their Chinese citizenship and the revival of their distinct cultural identities. For these groups, being minority is, or can be, one way of being national. Minorities in the Chinese state face a paradox: modern, cosmopolitan, sophisticated people good Chinese citizens, in other words do not engage in un-modern behaviours. Minorities, however, are expected to engage in them. Susan K. McCarthy is assistant professor of political science, Providence College, Rhode Island.

Author Biography

Susan K. McCarthy is associate professor of political science, Providence College, Rhode Island.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. 3
Culture, The Nation, and Chinese Minority Identity	p. 20
The Dai, Bai, and Hui in Historical Perspective	p. 49
Dharma and Development Among the Xishuangbanna Dai	p. 70
The Bai and the Tradition of Modernity	p. 100
Authenticity, Identity, and Tradition Among the Hui	p. 130
Conclusion	p. 167
Chinese Glossary	p. 179
Notes	p. 181
Bibliography	p. 199
Index	p. 219
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