从'他称'到'自称'：大理白族认同的建构

　　The Bai is one of the 55 ethnic minority groups （shaoshu minzu） officially demarcated in China between the 1950s and 1979. This study analyses the growth of Bai identity since the 1950s and the constructed or imagined difference with other peoples， and how the Bai have embraced the state-granted label， acted on it and experienced it emotionally， practically and politically. This book explores how Bai identities are produced and reproduced in-between the social-historical layerings of Bai/state， Bai/Han and Bai/Yi relationships.Many writers have examined the relationship between the state and ethnic minorities in southwest China. They argued convincingly against the portrayal of ethnic minorities as passive victims in the state enterprise of representation （Tapp 1986， 1995， 2002; Schein 1989， 2000; Harrell 1990， 1995， 1996， 2001; Litzinger 1995; Cheung Siu-woo 1996; Oaks 1998; Jonsson 2000; Bradley 2001 and Mueggler 2002）. Others warn that emphasising resistance may fall prey to false dichotomising the state and the society （e.g. Sara Davis 1999， Mackerras 2004）. My work extends such literature in the ethnography of self-representation and self-definition of Bai Identity. In line with these writers， I shall illustrate how the making of Bai ethnicity expresses the Bai identities， manipulates and reifies the Bai ethnic label designated by the NECP in daily life.Regarding representations of the Bai in Dali， Beth Nortar's （1999） dissertation provides an excellent starting point， yet her focus on historical Chinese representations undermines the subjectivity of the people under study. Nortar's later articles （2000， 2008） convincingly teased out the constructive nature of Bai identity by various parties （see also Mackerras 1988 and D. Wu 1989， 199411991]）. My study builds on their studies through bringing together a broader range of subject matters where identity and ethnic labels interact by drawing on my extensive fieldwork in Dali between 1999 and 2005. I have \maintained a balanced yet critical attitude\ （Examiner's comments） towards sources. I have also shown \sensitivity towards the actions and views of the various relevant parties，and abstaining from extremist dichotomies one finds in some of the literature about China， especially in that about its ethnic minorities.\ （Examiner's comments）. This book challenges a hegemonic and unilateral view of Chinese minzu by contextualising how the Bai people use the state-granted label to conceptualise Bai identities through historical studies， recent memories，religious practices and an annual social event. Most significant among my findings is the role of the legitimate name Baizu， which fits well into a China context by being politically correct， economically valuable， and historically embedded in local social life. The label Baizu has become a symbolic diacritic， which sets the basis for the sustainable reproduction of Bai identities based on features which are not necessarily ethnically distinctive but become so due to the legitimate label. And the Bai have utilised it as a manageable social and political entity for the expression of personal or collective identities under a projected monolithic and homogenous Bai Identity. This book concludes that Bai identity is a new form of group affiliation，new in the sense that the Bai have entered the new world of a clear-cut Baizu category， but it is not completely unfamiliar to them.

　　BAI Zhihong， PhD （ANU）， associate professor in the Research School of Ethnic Minority Studies and Centre for Southwest Borderland Ethnic Minority Studies at Yunnan University. Since 1996， she has conducted extensive fieldwork among the Yi， Bai， Zang （Tibetan） and Wa communities in Yunnan. She has published in prestigious journals both in Chinese and English.Her research interests include ethnicity and ethnic identity， economic development among indigenous peoples， gender， and social policy.