RT Article
T1 Dai Identity in the Chinese Ecological Civilization: Negotiating Culture, Environment, and Development in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China
JF Religions
VO 10
IS 12
A1 Zeng, Lily
LA English
PB MDPI
YR 2019
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1688046666
AB The Ecological Civilization (Eco-Civilization) is a Chinese political framework to advance a renewed human-nature relationship that engenders a sustainable form of economic development, and its narratives provide political impetus to conserve ethnic minority cultures whose traditional practices are aligned with state-sanctioned efforts for environmental protection. This official rhetoric is important in Xishuangbanna, a prefecture in Yunnan province renowned for its lush tropical rainforests and Dai ethnic minority. This article explores the relationship between Dai cultural identity and the Chinese state in the context of environmental concerns and development goals. Historical analyses of ethnic policies and transformations of landscapes and livelihoods are presented alongside descriptions of contemporary efforts by Dai community members and the Chinese state to enact Eco-Civilization directives, and they illustrate paradoxical circumstances in which political rhetoric and practice are seemingly at odds with one another, yet often contradict in such ways so as to further the Chinese state agenda. Moreover, case studies demonstrate how new policies and sustainable development efforts have often perpetuated structures and ideologies of the Maoist era to reinforce inequalities between central state powers and already marginalized ethnic minorities. These dynamics warrant further consideration as the Chinese government continues to champion its leadership in environmental governance.
K1 China
K1 Ecological Civilization
K1 Xishuangbanna
K1 civilizing projects
K1 Ethnic minorities
K1 Indigenous
K1 political ecology
K1 spiritual ecology
K1 Sustainable Development
DO 10.3390/rel10120646