Meng TAN (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Taking the Qingyangba marketplace as a case, this paper studies how “ganchang” （赶场， going to periodic markets）constructed the local folklore genealogy and the relationship between the edge and the center. It argues that numerous rural marketplaces on the Wuling Ethnic Corridor, serving as historical posts from central plains to southwest regions, have built an inter-embedded economic and cultural network to exchange and integrate multiple ethnic groups. Their folklore genealogy is not just the record of cultural inclusiveness, economic interdependence, and emotional closeness among various ethnic groups but also the carrier of community, ethnic, and national identity.
Part of 03-07 Minority Peoples, Expressive Culture, and Heritage in—and from—the Southeast Asian Massif, Part 3, Thursday, November 02, 2:30 pm–4:30 pm