![Tracing China: A Forty-Year Ethnographic Journey](https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/oup/backfile/content_public/books/30552/book/1/m_9789888083732.jpeg?Expires=1723507084&Signature=XhbTSH~5YnLFGCsUsyUqbylSFhIHciYEKkMtpQEBw4NaFfzKG09adXa9K9joFfFojbbjArpwer4LeM39yK~-9~GRl0d~xrFWOhPpRoiXw2Xlp04qFlfKufas2W1iypkkpHHJewvamGlNIT4v5NMdqUlocxWd-d8xeRSZsXtuubMpR2HAnKT5X0KbZywPPl1WUGylO6I4sh3WwOiCxKN4~zcHKPTwcMxjaa8jmFVXMYFDHtJ7vPvVDhd9UK8-t-2bGH2F8IktMPHOdHh32TwkvVYyyek16S5yZmUM~4AoXQjabv7wMbXNO2z04-rfGvJZ4DvUx1zVmM6H~XYTbfdlQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA)
Contents
Cite
Extract
In my study of local society in historical China, I have explored issues of place-based identities and the meaningful constructions of “place.” In Down to Earth: The Territorial Bond in South China (1995), David Faure and I deviate from Skinner’s economistic model by treating regional systems as conscious historical constructs with political and cultural contingencies. The South China region in the Ming and Qing was “made” when local populations used instrumental and symbolic means to attach themselves to a real and imaginary state formation that was expanding in their direction. When imperial power existed more as a cultural repertoire than as organized administrative machinery, localities came to assume their subject identities by engaging the empire on their own diverse terms.
If state and local society were mutually constitutive, what were the major means of engagement? They are historically specific. In Ming and Qing southern China, we see lineage in a cultural nexus of power linking local territorial control with the downward percolation of imperial authority. Zheng Zhenman and Kenneth Dean, on the other hand, highlight the use of religious rituals in Fujian to engage the Song state which had specific cultural orientations. The differing outcomes in local culture and society were shaped by particular moments of translocal involvement with an expansive imperial process. Such a historical perspective on place-making interrogates the economistic arguments of Skinner and the structural functionalist assumptions of Maurice Freedman and Arthur Wolf.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
April 2024 | 3 |
June 2024 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.