Anthropology in China

Searching for the Future from the Past
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-981-9232-77-2
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 488 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 724 g

This open access book provides a distinctive and vivid survey of anthropology in contemporary China. Comprising approximately 20 essays organized into three parts, it examines leading scholars and their anthropological thought, key geographical themes in Chinese anthropology, and multi-perspectival reflections on the development of anthropology in China. By analyzing the complex fabric of Chinese society, the book advances a nuanced framework for understanding China’s cultural, social, and political transformations.

Characterized by rich empirical content, multi-dimensional analysis, and accessible prose, the volume covers a broad range of topics and offers holistic insights into Chinese anthropology while integrating diverse scholarly voices and interdisciplinary methods. Moving beyond conventional anthropological approaches, it incorporates perspectives from sociology, history, and cultural studies to deepen interpretations of Chinese culture and society. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, theoretical inquiry, and firsthand narratives, the book elucidates the diverse traditions, beliefs, and customs that have shaped the evolution of anthropology and ethnography in China. It also strengthens comparative research between China and other regions, enriching global anthropological scholarship with distinctive empirical and theoretical contributions.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mingming, Wang

Weitere Mitwirkende

Lei, Shen

Shiyang, Ran

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Kultur- und Sozialethnologie: Allgemeines
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I: Silhouettes of the Past Sages.- 1: Cai Yuanpei, a Distant Monument of Ethnology.- 2: Wu Wenzao and ‘Sinicisation’.- 3: From Jiangcun Village to Lucun Village: Young Fei Xiaotong’s ‘Journey of the Heart’.- 4: Passers-by at Kuige.- 5: Jizu Mountain and Liang Mountain.- 6: ‘Lin’s Proposals’ for Anthropology in New China.- 7: Disciplines from Pan Guangdan’s Tujia Studies 1950s.- Part II: Knowledge Geography.- 8: ‘Three Circles’: The Scholarly Legacy of Han Chinese, Minority and Overseas Studies in Chinese Anthropology (Lecture notes).- 9: Villages: From Anthropological Surveys to the Exploration of the History of Civilisation.- 10: The ‘Middle Circle’: An Anthropological Study of People and the History of Civilisation 11: So-called ‘Overseas Ethnography’.- Part III: Reflection and Succession.- 12: Reflections on Chinese Anthropology over the Past 25 years (1980–2005).- 13: The Inherent Dilemma of Cultural Studies in the 1990s.- 14: From a Relationalist Perspective: Afterwords to the New Anthropology of China.- 15: Academic System Building in terms of Geo-cosmic Patterns, Historical Temporality.- 16: What Makes a ‘Home’ a Method?.- 17: Being a Place in the World (Lecture Notes).- 18: Anthropology and Area Studies (Lecture Notes).- 19: The Status of the ‘Mother Tongue’ in the Context of Cultural Translation.

Über Autor(innen)

Wang Mingming is a leading Chinese anthropologist, Professor of anthropology at Peking University, and Distinguished Professor at Huaqiao University. His research covers the space-times of ritual, urban and rural ethnography, historical anthropology,  Chinese perspectives of the West, ethnicity, and comparative civilizations.

He has authored many books, including