Nation-Building in Contemporary China : An Academic Research on the Ethnic Groups in the Chinese Periphery

1. 90年代的中国，在其周边地区拥有55个少数民族，并试图整合台湾和香港等异质政治社区的情况下，离心力显著增加。从民族整体性的角度来看，可以说她正面临着一种认同危机。我们的学术研究的目的是考察周边地区的少数民族，特别是新疆和云南的少数民族，考察他们与蒙古和哈萨克斯坦的兄弟民族的相互关系和相互关系。这项研究由三个小组进行。第一组由五名成员组成，进行实地调查（语言教育、宗教活动、家庭预算、市场调查等）。第二组赴哈萨克斯坦阿拉木图和乌兰巴托与学者和政府官员座谈;第二组赴乌兰巴托考察中蒙文化经济交流情况，收集图书资料;第三组实地考察中国西南部白族的生活、宗教、经济和旅游业的实际情况.在这些地区，我们可以观察到“三种民族主义”，这是非常有意义的。新生蒙古的民族问题是民主化、蒙古国的寻根和寻找“第三邻国”。在哈萨克斯坦，由于经济停滞、技术官僚缺乏以及专制政权的影响，民族主义相对于刚刚独立的哈萨克斯坦来说，表现出了较为冷静的民族主义情绪和民族自信心;在新疆喀什地区，由于社会的剧烈变革，维吾尔族的民族主义情绪低落，民族意识和民族文化难以确立。市场化和中央政府对民族地区的强力控制。

1. There is a remarkable increase of centrifugal forces in 1990's China that holds 55 national-minorities in her peripheral regions and tries to integrate the heterogeneous political communities --Taiwan and Hong kong. From the view point of the national integrity, we may say she is now facing an identity crisis.The purpose of our academic research was to investigate the ethnic minorities in the peripheral regions, especially in Xinjiang and Yunnan, and to survey their reciprocal relation and inter-relation with their brothers in Mongolia and Kazakhstan.2. The research was carried out by three groups. The first group, five members, made an on the spot investigation (language-education, religious activities, family budget, market research, etc.) and had talks with scholars and government officials in Almatui in Kazakhstan and Ulaanbaatar.The second group made an investigation into Sino-Mongolian cultural and economic exchanges and collected books and materials in Ulaanbaatar.The third group made on the spot investigation into the actual condition of life, religion, economy and the tourist industry of Bai Nationality in the south-western part of China.3. It is very significant that we could observe "three types of nationalism" in these areas. The national problem of the new born Mongolia is the democratization, roots-searching of Mongolian-State and finding "the third neighbor". We can see the composed nationalism and national confidence.Because of the economic stagnation, the lack of technocrats and the authoritarian regime, nationalism in Kazakhstan is inactive contrary to her recent independence.On the other hand, we observed the depressed nationalism in Uigur ares ---Kashgar in Xinjiang where they can't assert their national ideintity and their own national culture, because of the drastic social change, marketization and the strong control over the ethnic regions from the central government.