The Revitalization of Folk Culture in the Coastal Area of East Asia : An Anthropological View

本研究的对象是生活在中国周边的某些民族的社会，如韩国和中国的朝鲜族、越南的越南人、越南的高棉人（柬埔寨人）、越南的华人、中国的畲族和台湾原住民。我们的项目基于人类学的实地研究，有助于我们理解伴随现代化而来的文化复兴和文化变革的过程，特别是自上世纪80年代这些地区开始快速经济增长以来。我们的研究得出了以下两个重要结论：在东亚的大部分地区，历史上各民族曾共存、混居。因此，在发生这种情况的地区，在一个群体中，一些习俗和观念可能起源于一个民族的传统，而另一些习俗和观念可能起源于另一个民族的传统。换句话说，假设一群人凭借特定的文化习俗或制度，如亲属制度，构成一个独特的民族群体是不恰当的。在越南和中国等经济改革政策进展迅速的地区，民族国家的中心和边缘之间的关系正在发生巨大变化。在一些社会中，处于国家边缘的人不再渴望模仿或采用处于国家中心的人的文化，而是倾向于捍卫自己文化的个性。我们可以找到这样的例子，这些人与那些拥有共同文化但生活在邻近国家边缘的人建立了密切的关系。

The object of this study is the societies of certain ethnic groups living at the periphery of China, such as the Koreans in both Korea autd China, the Vietnamse, the Khmer (Cambodian) in Vietnam, ethnic Chinese in Vietnam, the She in China, and Taiwanese aboriginals. Our project, which is based on anthropological field research, contributes to our understanding of the processes of cultural revival and cultural change that have accompanied modernization, especially since the eighties when rapid economic growth began in these areas. Two important conclusions from our research are presented below :1. In most areas of East Asia, various ethnic groups have historically c o-existed and intermingled. Therefore, in areas where this has occurred, in one group, some customs and ideas may have originated in the tradition of one ethnic group while other customs and ideas may have originated from the tradition of another ethnic group. In other words, it is not appropriate to assume that a group of people constitutes a distinct ethnic group by virtue of particular cultural customs or institutions, such as the kinship system.2. In areas such as Vietnam and China, where economic reform policies have progressed rapidly, the relationship between the center and the periphery of the nation state is changing dramatically. In some societies, those at the periphery of a nation no longer aspire to imitate or adopt the culture of those at the center of the nation, but rather tend to defend the individuality of their own culture. We can find cases where these people are establishing close relationships with those who share a common culture but who live at the periphery of adjacent nations.