Abstract
This chapter covers the relevant literature of ethnicity, and establishes a theoretical framework to understand local cadres’ ethnicity in everyday life. It first reviews the mainstream theoretical approaches in ethnicity, and turns to an everyday ethnicity agenda. Then it introduces the investigations of Chinese ethnicity and ethnic cadres. Highlighting the importance of politics in ethnicity, it shows how a study of ethnic cadres would contribute to the understanding of ethno-politics in China. Finally, it looks at the Yi in Liangshan—a populous but not very prominent and visible ethnic minority group comparing with the Tibetan, the Uyghurs and the Hui—and explains the concept of generation in relation to the local chronological framework which establishes the analytical framework for the following analyses.
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- 1.
The ‘Han’, as used here, refers to people of the Han dynasty; this is different from the ‘Han ethnic group’.
- 2.
The name ‘Yi’ was given to the Lolo people after the Ethnic Classification process. This point will be expanded in a later section.
- 3.
For example, Ling Guangdian and several other influential individuals from different ethnic groups handed in a petition to Jiang Jieshi in which they asked for representatives of ethnic minorities in the central government.
- 4.
For some of these news reports, see, for example, http://news.163.com/14/0508/15/9RNVGTCH0001124J.html and http://politics1.people.com.cn/n/2014/0508/c1001-24993941.html.
- 5.
‘Li’ is a Chinese unit of length. One li = 0.5 kilometres. ‘Eight-hundred-li Liangshan’ is also called ‘One-thousand-li Yishan’, and both names are a general designation of this specific area, including southwest Sichuan and some areas where Sichuan adjoins Yunan, where the majority of the Yi people live.
- 6.
These eight counties are Meigu (98.6%), Ganluo (73.1%), Yuexi (75.9%), Xide (90.1%), Zhaojue (97.8%), Jinyang (79.9%), Butuo (96.0%) and Puge (80.4%). The Yi in Leibo and Yanyuan also account for over 50% of their populations. Data are from Liangshan Year Book 2012.
- 7.
Liangshan’s data is from Liangshan Yearbook 2012, and the national data is from http://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=C01. Accessed on 20 September 2015.
- 8.
http://www.gov.cn/gzdt/2012-01/18/content_2047892.htm. Accessed on 20 September 2015.
- 9.
The description of traditional Yi society and the explanation of clan appear in my own work “When Politics Meet Marriage: Changes in Marriage Practices Among Migrated Yi Cadres in Liangshan, China” (2017), in F. Decimo and A. Gribaldo (Eds.), Boundaries Within: Nation, Kinship and Identity Among Migrants and Minorities (pp. 181–198). Cham: Springer.
- 10.
A more detailed description of the changes of this political alteration will be exemplified in Chapter 5.
- 11.
A more detailed introduction of this merger will be presented in the following section.
- 12.
Even though Mosuo people are not officially categorised as an ethnic group, in a county like Yanyuan where the majority of Mosuo people live, their particular identity must be taken into consideration.
- 13.
Ngapoi was the chairman of the People’s Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress from the 3rd National People’s Congress to the 7th, and the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Upon his death, Xinhua news agency called him “a great patriot, a famous social activist, an outstanding son of the Tibetan people, a wonderful leader in our ethnic affairs, and a close friend of Chinese Communist Party”. See: http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2002-01/24/content_252165.htm.
- 14.
Tömür Dawamet was the chairman of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from 1985 and 1993, and at approximately the same time, he was a member of the Central Committee between 1982 and 1992. Between 1993 and 2003, he was the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. See: http://www.xinjiang.gov.cn/10013/10031/10000/2005/20037.htm.
- 15.
Another example that describes the generation of cadres at the national level is that the netizens developed codes to replace the names of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zeming and Hu Jintao. They borrowed the names of computer CPUs in the 80s and 90s (286, 386, 486 and 586) to refer to different generations of the CPC’s leadership. It is said that because Mao Zedong was 1.86 m tall, the number 186 was chosen to represent him on occasions when his name was to be avoided. By mentioning 186, many people would instantly think of the first generation of CPUs, and in order to show the connections between different generations of leaders, other codes referring to CPU were given to Mao’s successors.
- 16.
LSSZB, abbreviation for Liangshan shizhi ban, translated as Office of Liangshan History Records.
- 17.
Xi stands for Xichang, and Liangshan stands for Liangshan. Hebing in Chinese means to combine or to merge.
- 18.
General office of Central Committee and General office of the State Council (2005), No. 18.
- 19.
http://www.scsgk.com/cg/3992.html and http://www.sdsgwy.com/article/html/24124_2.html. Retrieved on 30 January 2014.
- 20.
Announcement from 9th standing committee of People’s Congress of Liangshan Yi Prefecture (2009).
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Guo, Z. (2020). Changing Ethnicity: Ethnicity, Everyday Life and Social Change. In: Changing Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9491-1_2
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