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The cultural politics of ethnic identity in Xishuangbanna, China: tea and rubber as "cash crops" and "commodities"
Die Kulturpolitik der ethnischen Identität in Xishuangbanna, China: Tee und Kautschuk als "Feldfrüchte für den Export" und "Handelsgüter"
[journal article]
Abstract In 2003, the poverty alleviation bureau in Xishuangbanna, China, introduced tea and
rubber as cash crops to raise the incomes of ethnic-minority farmers who were thought
to be backward and unfamiliar with markets. Using Marx’s commodity fetish and Polly
Hill’s critique of “cash ... view more
In 2003, the poverty alleviation bureau in Xishuangbanna, China, introduced tea and
rubber as cash crops to raise the incomes of ethnic-minority farmers who were thought
to be backward and unfamiliar with markets. Using Marx’s commodity fetish and Polly
Hill’s critique of “cash crops”, this paper analyses the cultural politics of ethnicity
for Akha and Dai farmers in relation to tea and rubber. When the prefecture government
introduces “cash crops”, the state retains its authority as the dispenser of knowledge,
crops and modernity. When tea and rubber become commodities, however, some of the
symbolic value of the commodity seems to stick to farmers, making rubber farmers “modern”
and tea farmers “ethnic” in new ways. Through rising incomes and enhanced identities,
Akha and Dai farmers unsettle stereotypes of themselves as “backward”. As a result
of income levels matching those of urban middle-class residents, rubber farmers even
challenge the prevalent social hierarchy.... view less
Keywords
China; development policy; agriculture; combating poverty; production; commerce; export; income; farmer; social status; modernization; ethnic group; minority; cultural policy; Far East
Classification
Special areas of Departmental Policy
Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, Ethnosociology
Free Keywords
rubber; tea; Xishuangbanna; cultural politics
Document language
English
Publication Year
2012
Page/Pages
p. 109-131
Journal
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 41 (2012) 4
Issue topic
The politics of ethnicity in China
ISSN
1868-4874
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works