Conflicts over Local Beliefs : “Feudal Superstitions” as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Contemporary China

This article addresses conflicts over local beliefs in both discourse and practice in contemporary China, especially in the process of protecting local beliefs as China’s national intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the twenty-first century. These local beliefs were stigmatized as “feudal superstitions” in revolution- ary China and were revived in public since the reform era started in 1978. With influence from UNESCO, the project to protect ICH has spread all over China since 2004, and many local beliefs are promoted as China’s national ICH. Drawing on my ethnographic case study of “receiving aunties (Ehuang and Nüying)” in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province, I argue that the catego- ries of “superstition” and ICH are both disempowering and empowering, and the new naming should allow for more space for local communities to achieve social equity and justice

Chinese Folklore Studies Today Discourse and Practice

Chinese folklorists are well acquainted with the work of their English-language colleagues, but until recently the same could not be said about American scholars' knowledge of Chinese folkloristics. Chinese Folklore Studies Today aims to address this knowledge gap by illustrating the dynamics of contemporary folklore studies in China as seen through the eyes of the up-and-coming generation of scholars.Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Foreword / Chao Gejin -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: History and Trends of Chinese Folklore Studies / Lijun Zhang and Ziying You -- 1. Disciplinary Tradition, Everyday Life, and Childbirth Negotiation: The Past and Present of Chinese Urban Folklore Studies / Yongyi Yue, Translated by Wenyuan Shao and Yuanhao Zhao -- 2. From "Women" to "Female Folklore Practitioners": The History and Current Trend of Women's Folklore Studies in China / Junxia Wang -- 3. A Semiotics of Song: Fusing Lyrical and Social Narrativesin Contemporary China / Levi S. Gibbs -- 4. Contested Myth, History, and Beliefs: Remaking Yao and Shun's Stories in Hongtong, Shanxi / Ziying You -- 5. Institutional Practice of Heritage-Making: The Transformation of Tulou from Residencesto UNESCO World Heritage Site / Lijun Zhang -- IndexChinese folklorists are well acquainted with the work of their English-language colleagues, but until recently the same could not be said about American scholars' knowledge of Chinese folkloristics. Chinese Folklore Studies Today aims to address this knowledge gap by illustrating the dynamics of contemporary folklore studies in China as seen through the eyes of the up-and-coming generation of scholars.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries