Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
criteria from the Soviet Union's system, developed by Stalin, which included a common
territory, language, mode of subsistence, and, more obliquely, “psychological makeup.” In
practice, the process of affording recognized minority status to some groups while denying
it to others was highly politically charged because it was tied to the establishment of ethnic
regional autonomy for governance in minority areas (Wang and Young 2006).
Various places with high concentrations of ethnic minorities have received the des-
ignation of “autonomous region” ( zizhi qu ), “autonomous prefecture” ( zizhi zhou ), or
“autonomous county” ( zizhi xian ), but the ability of officials within these entities to prac-
tice self-governance or to influence central policy remains extremely limited (see Rossabi
2004). Tibet, for example, is recognized as a provincial-level autonomous region ( zizhi qu ),
but the potential for a secessionist movement causes the central government to keep a tight
rein on the region. Moreover, China has been reluctant to accord its minority nationalities
“indigenous” status under such frameworks as the UN Convention on Biodiversity or the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—both of which promote the rights of
indigenous people for autonomy and self-determination. 4
Fei Xiaotong conducted much of his pathbreaking research on rural Chinese society in
Yunnan. In a series of case studies published with his student Zhang Zhiyi, he commented
that Yunnan “is not very accessible from the central provinces; and, since distance breeds
suspicion, only yesterday the age-old belief was still current that Yunnan was a wild region
overrun with beastlike aborigines” (Fei and Zhang 1945:7). Indeed, contemporary public
discourse about minority people in China is still marked by a mixture of pride, condes-
cension, and humor. Most regions with large minority populations today feature minority
theme parks, usually called “ethnic villages” ( minzu cun ), where Han Chinese visitors can
stroll back in time to observe actors wearing minority costumes and posing in traditional
houses or making handicrafts or singing and dancing to ethnic tunes.
In Dali, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Nanzhao, which clashed with both Tibetan
forcesandTangDynastytroopsthroughouttheeighthandninthcenturies andwhichisnow
a prominent tourist destination, I recently saw a rhyming poem inscribed on the wall of
a restaurant just outside the old town. The poem, entitled “Eighteen Oddities of Yunnan”
(Yunnan shiba guai), resonates with many of the Han Chinese tourists who now flock to
this region in search of ecological and cultural treasures. It is not attributed to any particu-
lar author, and several slightly different versions now circulate on T-shirts and the Internet.
It reads:
YUNNAN SHIBA GUAI
___________________
Mazha dangzuo xia jiu cai
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