The Sense of Chinese National Community Embodied in Daily Life Practices of Various Ethnic Groups

Xu Jun

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2023.3.002

Abstract：

Social interactions based on daily life practices have the role of shaping and creating social relationships， which enables human communities to move from disagreement to consensus. By exploring the daily life practice of individual social members of different ethnic groups in China—including how they participate at different levels of social groupings， such as families， partnerships， neighborhoods， villages， communities， ethnicities， religions， economics， cultures， politics， and other communities， and how they interact with each other through language use， exchange of gifts， festival participation， marriages， funerals， friendships in order to increase commonality and cognitive relevance， and establish inter-ethnic interdependence and emotional attachment—one can see a formation path of a sense of community for the Chinese nation.

Based on more than 20 years of research in the ethnic regions of southwest China and a recent in-depth study of Songpan County in Sichuan Province， this paper presents the formation of a multi-ethnic area characterized by cultural inclusion， economic interdependence， emotional closeness， and inter-embeddedness， as well as a more foundational existence of ethnic diversity， religious pluralism， and a harmonious coexistence. Songpan can be described as a multi-ethnic area with the Tibetan， Han， Hui， and Qiang as the dominant ethnic groups. The Tibetans in Songpan are mainly the descendants of the Tibetan soldiers from Ali of Tibet during the war between the Tang dynasty and the Tubo in the history， and currently they are mainly engaged in animal husbandry. The Han people migrated to Songpan after three major migrations in history， mainly engaging in farming， gold， silver， and ironware making， in addition to gold mining. The Hui entered this area from Gansu and Qinghai， located in northwestern China， mainly because they were engaged in trade and commerce， but also partly because they fled war and sectarian disputes. The Qiang， on the other hand， are indigenous to this area. What is more， there are more than 20 other ethnic groups with smaller populations in this region.

These different ethnic groups form spatially an inter-embedded residence pattern， meanwhile they also have a complementary symbiotic relationship due to their engagement in different livelihood activities. Due to different origins， each ethnic group will achieve unity within the same ethnic group through the construction of shared cultural beliefs and public space. For example， the Han people from different regions enter a local commonality in Songpan County with their beliefs of the Lord of Sichuan， Guanyin， and the local god of the land. At the same time， they establish a kin relationship with different ethnic groups by intermarrying with the Hui， Tibetans， Qiang， and other groups or by Da Laogeng （i.e. forming supportive relationships in the same age group）， and Ren Ganqin （i.e. constructing an adoptive relationship for their children）. Meanwhile， different ethnic groups have jointly constructed an image of Huanglong Zhenren， and the annual Huanglong Temple Fair brings together Tibetan， Han， Qiang， and other ethnic groups from near and far. Moreover， the highest level of etiquette is pursued by all ethnic groups through family traditions and rituals， with the Chinese Confucian culture of “filial piety， goodness， harmony， sincerity， frugality， and beauty” as a common pursuit. Through these social memories， cultural beliefs， emotional identities， and behavioral norms practiced in daily life， this paper aims to provide a better understanding of the sense of Chinese community and the way to build a firm sense of Chinese community.

Key Words：

ethnic groups; daily life practices; sense of community for the Chinese nation