Portraits of 'Primitives': Ordering Human Kinds in the Chinese Nation

by Susan D. Blum

Overview

Ethnicity is a highly politicized issue in contemporary China. Twentieth-century nation-building has been intimately involved with classification of China's fifty-five ethnic minorities and with fostering harmony and unity among nationalities. Officially sanctioned social science classifies the majority group, the so-called Han, at the pinnacle of modernization and civilization and most other groups as Oprimitive.O In post-socialist China, popular conceptions of self, person, and nation intersect with political and scholarly concerns with identity, sometimes contradicting them and sometimes reinforcing them. In Portraits of 'Primitives,' Susan D. Blum explores how Han in the city of Kunming, in southwest China, regard ethnic minorities and, by extension, themselves. She sketches Oportraits,O or cognitive prototypes, of ethnic groups in a variety of contexts, explaining the perceived visibility of each group (which almost never correlates with size of population). Ideas of 'Hanness' can be understood in part through Han desire to identify unique characteristics in ethnic minorities and also through Han celebration of the differences that distance minorities. The book considers questions of identity, alterity, and self in the context of a complex nation-state, employing methods from linguistic anthropology and psychological anthropology, as well as other forms of cultural analysis. Providing nuanced views of relationships among political, scholarly, and popular models of identity, this book will be an invaluable guide for those working in China studies, anthropology, and ethnic studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742500921
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/13/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Susan D. Blum is associate professsor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Part I: Ethnicity in Context
Chapter 2 Introduction: Against Authenticity: Self, Identity, and Nation-Building
Chapter 3 Fieldwork in Kunming: Cognitive and Linguistic Anthropological Approaches
Chapter 4 Desire for Difference: Cognitive Prototypes of Ethnic Identity
Chapter 5 China’s Minorities Through Han Eyes: A Preliminary Sketch
Part 6 Part II: Prototypes of Otherness
Chapter 7 The Fetishized Ethnic Other: The Dai
Chapter 8 Resistant, Disliked Ethnic Others: Wa, Zang, and Hui
Chapter 9 Colorful, Harmless Ethnic Others: Naxi and Yi
Chapter 10 Almost Us: The Bai Next Door
Chapter 11 Conclusion: Typification and Identity in a Complex Nation-State

What People are Saying About This

Dru Gladney

This is the first thoroughgoing study of Han perspectives about minorities. A very important contribution to our understanding of Chinese society and ethnicity in general.
— Dru Gladney

Editorial Reviews

Portraits of 'Primitives' tells a story with which we are in various ways familiar, but which has never yet been told with such clarity and thoroughness.

China Quarterly

...frequently both charming and insightful.

Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute

Blum not only provides a unique study of majority Chinese attitudes towards minority groups, but also explains modern anthropological theories of ethnicity in a wonderfully readable way. This well-done and workmanlike study not only provides an excellent account of ethnic stereotyping in south China; it also would be an ideal case study to use in classes in ethnicity. Recommended for all levels, and for collections in contemporary China, ethnicity and identity, and stereotypes and the social construction of belief systems.

Choice

This is the first thoroughgoing study of Han perspectives about minorities. A very important contribution to our understanding of Chinese society and ethnicity in general.--Dru Gladney, University of Hawai'i

...frequently both charming and insightful.--Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute

The book's strength lies in its ethnographic material. Western scholars have often paid attention to how Han Chinese talk about ethnic minorities, but until Blum, no one bothered to systematically investigate Han views.--The China Journal

From the Publisher

This is the first thoroughgoing study of Han perspectives about minorities. A very important contribution to our understanding of Chinese society and ethnicity in general.

Dru Gladney

For examining issues of difference, identity, stereotypes, and cognition, the book will prove useful to scholars and students alike.

Journal of Asian Studies

Blum not only provides a unique study of majority Chinese attitudes towards minority groups, but also explains modern anthropological theories of ethnicity in a wonderfully readable way. This well-done and workmanlike study not only provides an excellent account of ethnic stereotyping in south China; it also would be an ideal case study to use in classes in ethnicity. Recommended for all levels, and for collections in contemporary China, ethnicity and identity, and stereotypes and the social construction of belief systems.

CHOICE

The book's strength lies in its ethnographic material. Western scholars have often paid attention to how Han Chinese talk about ethnic minorities, but until Blum, no one bothered to systematically investigate Han views.

The China Journal

Portraits of 'Primitives' tells a story with which we are in various ways familiar, but which has never yet been told with such clarity and thoroughness.

The China Quarterly

The book's strength lies in its ethnographic material. Western scholars have often paid attention to how Han Chinese talk about ethnic minorities, but until Blum, no one bothered to systematically investigate Han views.

China Journal

For examining issues of difference, identity, stereotypes, and cognition, the book will prove useful to scholars and students alike.

Journal Of Asian Studies

Ethnicity is a highly politicized issue among contemporary China's 55 ethnic minorities. The Han are officially sanctioned as the pinnacle of modernization and civilization, while most other groups are categorized as primitive. Blum (anthropology, University of Notre Dame) explores how Han in the city of Kunming, China, regard ethnic minorities and themselves. She describe cognitive prototypes of ethnic groups, explaining the perceived visibility of each group and considering questions of identity, alterity, and self in the context of a complex nation-state. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Blum not only provides a unique study of majority Chinese attitudes towards minority groups, but also explains modern anthropological theories of ethnicity in a wonderfully readable way. This well-done and workmanlike study not only provides an excellent account of ethnic stereotyping in south China; it also would be an ideal case study to use in classes in ethnicity. Recommended for all levels, and for collections in contemporary China, ethnicity and identity, and stereotypes and the social construction of belief systems.

Choice Reviews