The Borderlands of China

A key text for interpreting ethnic phenomena from the periphery-an essential reading for understanding Chinese history and nationhood. ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ The Chinese Periphery: Historical Memory and Ethnic Identity is a seminal work by renowned scholar Wang Ming-ke, exploring the formation of ethnic identity and historical development of the Chinese nation, offering a groundbreaking approach to the question, "What does it mean to be Chinese?" Wang proposes a powerful analogy: "When we draw a circle on a piece of paper, it is its 'edges' that make it appear circular." He conceptualizes "Chineseness" (Huaxia) as a human ecosystem within the long arc of history, and its "periphery" exists not only in temporal and geographical dimensions but also in terms of identity. The formation, transformation, and maintenance of this periphery-shaped by specific resource competition, environmental allocation, and the selective construction and erasure of collective memory-illuminate the very processes through which the Chinese ethnic identity itself took shape and evolved. A paradigm-shifting classic, The Chinese Periphery has remained a vital and widely read text for years. The book is structured in four parts: The first outlines the theoretical framework and methodology. The second utilizes archaeological evidence to explain the human-ecological context in which the boundaries of the Chinese ethnicity formed. The third examines the crucial foundations of this identity, focusing on the origin myths and historical records of the Zhou people, and uses cases like the Chu, Yue, and Wu peoples to demonstrate the fluid movements of peripheral groups between assimilation into and rejection of "Chineseness." The final part addresses the modern reconfiguration of this periphery, analyzing the tensions among individuals, ethnic groups, and society during the process of identity formation through micro-level case studies from 1940s ethnographic surveys. Synthesizing social anthropology theory, archaeological reports, and historical documents with his own fieldwork among the Qiang people, Wang Ming-ke delves into the relationship between resource environments and ethnic boundaries, the symbiotic growth of historical memory and ethnic identity, and the dissonances between individual and collective memory. Through this interdisciplinary lens, the work aims to provide fresh reflections and new insights into contemporary issues of ethnicity and identity. ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿'¿¿'¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿"¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿40¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿