A love token lost and found : transformation of Xiuqiu, an intangible cultural heritage of the Zhuang people in Jiuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

Abstract

There had been constant clashes between traditional ethnic culture and social, political changes in China in the twentieth century. Nowadays, more and more cultural traditions in rural areas across China are on the wane or undergoing irreversible deformation with rapid urbanization and industrialization in the irresistible trend of modernization and globalization. Current generation of village and town residents would rather go to cities as rural-urban migrant workers than continue their traditional life, resulting in impeded, disrupted inheritance of many cultural traditions. Instead, the government has called for safeguards to protect heritage resources as social capital and cultural assets, since the notion of Intangible Cultural Heritage(ICH) became known in China at the turn of the twenty-first century. Upsurges of applications for the honor of the world's ICH inscription in China have made the notion of ICH widespread. In 2012, the central government issued “Guidance and Opinions of the Ministry of Culture on Strengthening the Productive Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” 《关于加强非物质文化遗产生产性保护的指导意见》，where the context of heritage inheritance is placed into today’s social condition of market economy and the transformation of heritage resources into cultural products is promoted as a sustainable way to safeguard ICH. Many problems have emerged in the implementation of the ICH related plans, such as lack of care for local beliefs and daily practices in the top-down management approach, objectification and self-objectification of local communities due to deliberate display of traditional scenarios and performance of festive events, modification and commodification of cultural heritage to cater for the tastes of customers and tourists, prioritizing economic growth and infrastructure development over cultural authenticity and integrity, and so on. Xiuqiu, literally translated “embroidered balls”, the most commonly seen cultural symbol of Zhuang ethnic group, is selected as the research subject for this study, as its tradition and evolution truly reflect the social phenomena and respond to the realistic problems of cultural heritage transformation. Here the discussion of Xiuqiu culture returns to its native environment, Jiuzhou, an old historic town that has ensured the continuity of Xiuqiu craft and is marketed under the name “Home of the Xiuqiu” today. Before analyzing Xiuqiu as ICH specifically, this dissertation introduces the historical, cultural, and social background of Jiuzhou which is described as a cultural landscape, presenting the space and the community that retain Xiuqiu craft. With this foundation laid, this dissertation then traces the history and evolution of Xiuqiu culture, which are divided into four stages according to the research materials including information obtained from field investigation and interviews: the indigenous stage of traditional cultural ecosystem in the Zhuang community, the disrupted stage during the Cultural Revolution, the reviving stage after the Cultural Revolution, and the transforming stage after China’s Economic Reforms. Using the chronological development of Xiuqiu culture as a central axis, this study attempts to explain the mechanism for the continuity of Xiuqiu craft, and address the question of how a historic ICH that originated from the beliefs and practices of ordinary people of a particular ethnic group can stay alive, adapt itself to the changing social, political climate and finally gain its popularity as a significant cultural symbol. Although the problems caused by the transformation of cultural heritage as mentioned earlier are not resolved in this dissertation, it is hoped that similar studies of other cases of heritage transformation can be encouraged and thus constructive criticism and insightful recommendations can reach decision makers in China, turning challenges of heritage commodification and objectification into opportunities for returning the Xiuqiu culture as a culture.