State and ethnicity in China's Southwest / by Xiaolin Guo.

• Superior document: China studies, v. 15
• Author: Guo, Xiaolin.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: China studies (Leiden, Netherlands) ; v. 15.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (357 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Materials /; Introduction /; Chapter One. The Southwestern Frontier /; Chapter Two. Of Difference And Change /; Chapter Three. The Land Of Women /; Chapter Four. The Three-River Basin /; Chapter Five. Ethnicity And Government /; Chapter Six. Between The Interior And Frontier /; Conclusion /; Bibliography /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-334) and index.
• ISBN: 1283061015; 9786613061010; 9047433629
• ISSN: 1570-1344
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Xiaolin Guo.

Twentieth century China has seen local societies undergo unprecedented transformations accompanied by a remarkable continuity in state practice. In this path-breaking study of two ethnically different communities, the matrilineal Mosuo and the patrilineal Han, in northwest Yunnan province, the author traces cultural change from a historical perspective in relation to the ecological environment and political systems. The treatment of state penetration into local society challenges the conventional binary narratives of state-society and Han/non-Han relations. With its interdisciplinary approach, the book enriches the anthropology of China by framing ethnicity issues in terms of local politics and inter-relationships between levels of government, and at the same time extends the analytical perimeter of the study of the Chinese state to the national periphery.