Cultural Encounters on China’s Ethnic Frontiers

This collection examines the interaction between the ethnic minorities in China and the Han Chinese majority and other groups. The topics discussed include historical changes in the status and definition of peripheral peoples in relation to the Chinese state, the criteria by which people determine their own ethnic identity and the evolution of that identity through history, and the construction by the Han and by Westerners of histories that often contradict a people’s own perception of identity and the past. The impact of urban education and of Western capitalist and missionary activity on ethnic identity is also considered. Many ethnic groups are discussed, but the focus is primarily on the Yi, Mongols, Mosuo, Miao, Yao, Dai, and Manchus.