[Zhang Qiaoyun] Rebirth from "Difficulties": A case study of disaster tourism and heritage tourism in a Qiang village
Abstract: The disaster tourism and heritage tourism that emerged in the Qiang area of Sichuan after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 has brought the Qiang people, an ancient but gradually "disappeared" ethnic group, to a rebirth and undergo tremendous changes.
After the reconstruction, not only did the living conditions of Qiang Village undergo tremendous changes, but the traditional folk customs of the Qiang people also bloomed with new vitality with the development of disaster tourism and heritage tourism.
Exploring the social changes and conflicts caused by the new combination of disaster tourism and heritage tourism in the extreme situation of disasters can provide a new case and idea for the research of heritage tourism in ethnic minority areas.
Keywords: disaster tourism; heritage tourism; Qiang; folk traditions; rituals; performance Author: Zhang Qiaoyun, doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Tulane University, USA
In recent years, the vigorous development of heritage tourism in ethnic minority areas has greatly changed the lifestyle and living standards of these areas, but the conflict between economic development and folk inheritance has become increasingly obvious [1].
Simply put, tourism that uses "cultural heritage" as consumer goods is heritage tourism.
According to the United Nations Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), cultural relics, buildings and sites that are of great historical, artistic and scientific value in recording, promoting and creating human social life are "cultural heritage".
In view of the fact that the above concepts mainly emphasize the materiality and substantiality of "cultural heritage", the Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted by the United Nations in 2003 also classified "various types of national traditions and folk knowledge, various languages, oral literature, customs and habits, ethnic and folk music, dance, etiquette, handicrafts, traditional medicine, architecture and other arts" as "intangible cultural heritage".
These seemingly clear interpretations of "cultural heritage" are thought-provoking when analyzed in detail.
Folklore and cultural anthropologists have pointed out, on the one hand, creativity that conflicts between "cultural heritage" and "authenticity"[2], situational contextualization that is disguised by different performances and relationships [3], and "political correctness" influenced by various power structures [4].
On the other hand, he has also keenly observed the positive role of the concept of "cultural heritage" in protecting the cultures of vulnerable ethnic groups and countering "modern disasters"[5], as well as its inspiration for the study of China folk festivals, traditional daily life and public culture [6].
Specifically, heritage tourism's selective display of local customs, political reconstruction, and transformation of traditional life and production methods have always been the focus of attention of folklore scientists from all over the world.
Through a field survey of the disaster tourism and heritage tourism situation of a Qiang village in the mountainous area of Sichuan after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, this paper discusses the tremendous changes of the Qiang people, an ancient but gradually "disappeared" ethnic minority, who have undergone national post-disaster reconstruction policies and Qiang cultural protection pilot area planning.
Disaster tourism, which aims to highlight the results of rapid post-disaster reconstruction, has brought this once-unknown Qiang village and Qiang culture into the eyes of tourists and other people across the country.
What is even more amazing is that through reconstruction, this once-poor Qiang village has not only been rapidly "modernized" in material life, but the Qiang folk traditions have also released new vitality with the development of Qiang cultural heritage tourism.
What is particularly noteworthy is that by "transplanting" the iconic elements of Qiang culture, the local language of the "Fake Qiang Village" located in the Heba area, where almost no one can speak Qiang, has been rebuilt and transformed into a demonstration and inheritance of the Qiang people's "authentic" folk customs.
A demonstration tourist attraction.
By presenting the interaction between reconstruction politics and heritage tourism in the extreme situation of disasters, this paper mainly explores a new combination of disaster tourism and heritage tourism under government-led reconstruction policies, providing a new basis for the research of heritage tourism in ethnic minority areas.
Cases and ideas.
1.
Abazhai before the earthquake [7]: Poor people and neglected culture
Abazhai is located in Lemuji Township, Wenchuan County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
It is located in the river dam area beside Zagunao River, a tributary of Minjiang River.
Lemuji Township, which is surrounded by mountains, is home to more than a dozen Qiang villages, large and small, extending from the Heba area to an altitude of more than 3000 meters.
The Qiang people are one of the 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities in China, but the population of 309,000 only accounts for 0.02% of the country's total population.
The Qiang people are often called "Erma" in Qiang language, meaning "local people" and are also recognized as one of the oldest ethnic groups in China.
Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province is the most important Qiang inhabited area in China, and Wenchuan County is one of the four major Qiang inhabited counties in the state.
Most of the Qiang villages are built in remote high mountains and canyons, and their economic development is very backward.
The "National Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction Master Plan" pointed out that most of the disaster-stricken areas in Wenchuan County have "weak economic foundations." The economy in alpine and plateau areas is small in scale, the industrial structure is single, and the poor population is concentrated "[8].
Taking Abazhai before the earthquake as an example, the main sources of villagers 'income were crop planting and small-scale breeding.
In 2007, the per capita cultivated land area was only over one acre, and the per capita annual income was less than 2000 yuan.
Most young villagers choose to go out to work to earn money.
The population is sparse and the economy is lagging behind, and the Qiang culture has been ignored and marginalized for a long time.
Heritage tourism in ethnic minority areas has always been regarded as a shortcut to promote the economic development of these poor and "backward" areas and a good recipe for "modernization"[9].
Due to the lack of political support and the development of tourism resources, there were few tourist attractions targeting the Qiang cultural heritage before the earthquake.
Compared with the tourism industry of the neighboring Tibetan area Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Scenic Area and the Yi area Liangshan Scenic Area, the tourism in the Qiang area is even dwarfed.
Because they are located in a low-altitude Heba area and close to the county seat of Wenchuan County, which is dominated by Han nationality, most of the Qiang people in Abazhai cannot "talk" and speak Qiang.) In the eyes of many Qiang people, Qiang villages that do not speak Qiang language are all "fake Qiang villages." A small number of middle-aged and elderly women in the village who understand Qiang language were married from Gaobanshan Qiang Village in Lemuji Township or Qiang villages in other places around the 1950s.
This form of marriage from high mountains to Heba areas also occurs from time to time in other ethnic minority areas [10].
The women told me that the main reason why I married to Heba Zhaizi was because the transportation was easier, the environment was cleaner, and the people were more civilized.
The words of the women also revealed the competitive and even confrontational relationship between the mountains and Heba Qiang Village [11].
98.5% of the villagers in Abazhai are registered as Qiang, but all young people receive education in Han schools.
Before the 2008 earthquake, it was difficult for people to see the imprint of Qiang culture in this stockade.
Those women also rarely use Qiang language that outsiders or even their families cannot understand.
The traditional customs and rituals of the Qiang people have been forgotten intentionally or unintentionally.
2.
Rapid modernization: the reconstruction of Abazhai
On May 12, 2008, a strong earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province.
The earthquake affected nearly 100 counties and cities in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces in southwest and northwest of China, causing more than 70,000 deaths and direct economic losses exceeding RMB 840 billion.
It was "the most destructive earthquake disaster since the founding of New China, the most widespread earthquake disaster, and the largest disaster loss"[12].
This disaster was particularly devastating to the Qiang people and Qiang culture.
Nearly 8% of the country's Qiang population, about 20,000 people, died in the earthquake.
Most of the Qiang villages in Wenchuan County were razed to the ground.
In Abazhai, only 70 kilometers away from Yingxiu County, the epicenter of the earthquake, several houses collapsed during the earthquake, all other buildings were turned into dangerous buildings, farmland was covered and destroyed by sand and gravel, and the only transportation to the county-317 National Highway almost completely disappeared.
Fortunately, on the day of the earthquake, a family held a full moon drink for newborns.) Most people in the village gathered on Pingba to prepare for lunch, and no one died.
Only two villagers working in other places were unfortunately killed by a large stone.
No lives were lost, but all villagers were homeless after the earthquake.
They built their own tents in the wild and spent the first days after the earthquake without water or electricity.
Several of the other Qiang villages in Lemuji Township were completely destroyed.
Fortunately, not only did Abazhai not collapse, but quickly recovered and rebuilt within a year after the earthquake.
Since 2009, it has been officially built into a window and demonstration scenic spot for Qiang heritage tourism in Wenchuan County.
After investigation, we chose to take the lead in building Abazhai in Wenchuan County for the following reasons.
First, in order to protect the devastated Qiang people and culture, the Qiang Cultural and Ecological Protection Experimental Zone was quickly established in 2008.
The restoration and reconstruction of Qiang villages has become the first step in protecting and excavating Qiang folk customs.
Secondly, a Qiang village in Gaoban Mountain in Lemuji Township was identified as the birthplace of Shibi, a Qiang shaman and wizard before the earthquake.
There are several hereditary Qiang Shibi and inheritors of the Qiang ritual dance-sheepskin encouragement-in that village.
In 2009, sheepskin drum was listed as a national intangible heritage, and two more national and provincial intangible cultural heritage inheritors were added to the village.
Relying on this village where Shibi culture originated, Lemuji Township is turning the Lemuji Valley where it is located into a "Qiang Valley" scenic spot, and Aba Village is located at the east gate and entrance of this scenic spot.
Third, the geographical location of Abazhai is very suitable for the development of Qiang heritage tourism.
This stockade is located at the bottom of a green and secluded alpine canyon and on the banks of the clear and fast-flowing Lemuji River has beautiful natural scenery.
Abazhai is also located on the edge of National Highway 317 from Chengdu-Wenchuan-Li County-Ganzi to Tibet.
It is the only way for tourists from Wenchuan County to the "Taoping Qiang Village" and "Ganbao Tibetan Village" in Li County to the low-altitude modern glacier Hailuogou in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
In the end, this Qiang Village with only more than 200 households and a population of more than 500 can be quickly rebuilt in a relatively short period of time.
According to the post-disaster reconstruction plan, Abazhai stood up again at the mouth of the Lemuji River, where generations of Qiang people have lived.
All the affected villagers moved into new homes.
As a result, Abazhai has become a typical example of the government's post-disaster reconstruction project, demonstrating how a poor and remote village can be restored and rebuilt quickly, safely and beautifully under the leadership of the government.
The new houses were all built in accordance with the standards of resisting an earthquake of magnitude eight.
In addition to the reconstruction fee of 16,000 - 22,000 yuan per household based on the size of the population, the Hong Kong Red Cross also provides an additional subsidy of 25,000 yuan per household for families using reinforced frame structures to build new houses.
The newly built Abazhai was also rapidly modernized.
Every household is equipped with wires, running water, natural gas, flush toilets, digital TV, Internet and solar water heaters.
Most of these families have toilets and water heaters for the first time.
Almost every villager has new sofas, large-screen TVs, DVD players, computers, refrigerators and microwaves in their homes.
Many villagers told me that post-disaster reconstruction has made their living standards rapidly improve for at least 20 years, and they have lived a life similar to that in the city that they had never imagined before.
3.
The rise of new disaster tourism
Abazhai not only transformed from a poor small mountain village into a modern new countryside in the one year after the earthquake, but also became a popular attraction for Qiang heritage tourism.
After the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, compatriots in Sichuan Province and even the country paid close attention to the disaster and recovery and reconstruction of Qiang Village.
Many tourists have also begun to turn their attention to Qiang villages and Qiang culture.
In late 2009, the visit of Hui Liangyu, then Vice Premier of the State Council, pushed the popularity of this stockade to a peak.
The farmhouse where the Prime Minister visited still hangs photos of the Prime Minister drinking tea and chatting at his house, titled "The Prime Minister Comes to My Home".
Leaders at all levels such as Liu Qibao, then Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Sichuan Province, Jiang Jufeng, Governor of Sichuan Province, and Shi Jun, Secretary of the Aba Prefecture Prefecture Party Committee, all visited Abazhai many times.
A person in charge of the local tourism development industry told me that the things he did most in Abazhai were "observing the strange mountains, blowing the wind, and basking in the sun" and "welcoming leaders, accompanying inspections, and broadening his horizons." The importance of Abazhai in Wenchuan County can be seen.
With the help of local media reports on the earthquake and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, Abazhai has become a star village for disaster tourism in Wenchuan County.
Disaster tourism or "black tourism" mainly refers to tourism activities targeting disasters and death sites [13].
Huang Wen pointed out in his article that black tourism is a "complete or partial, realistic or symbolic tourism phenomenon driven by motives such as death or disaster.
It is an activity to gain memories, memories, education, warnings, and gratitude experiences through on-site observation of ruins or simulation of scenes by technological means"[14].
In Abazhai, tourists can witness with their own eyes the houses and farmland ruins destroyed by the earthquake, experience the powerful destructive power of the disaster, and have deeper sympathy and concern for the affected villagers and areas.
The first thing tourists ask when traveling in Abazhai is the earthquake damage and reconstruction process here.
In the eyes of the villagers, their arrival is more concerned than curious pursuits, and more commemorations than sadness.
Obviously, the disaster tourism that has emerged in Abazhai and other Qiang villages is very different from the traditional "black tourism" that mainly focuses on exaggerating the lasting damage of disasters.
Take the Katrina Tour in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, where the author is located as an example [15].
Tourists usually take buses to the Lower Ninth Ward, a community that was completely flooded in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.
The Lower Ninth District is also one of the poorest communities in New Orleans with the highest crime rates.
What is even more shocking is the fact that the Lower Ninth District is still dilapidated and sparsely populated eight years after the hurricane hit.
A population return rate of less than 10% makes this community that has produced black musicians like Fats Domino look particularly dilapidated and sad.
In contrast, the reconstruction of Abazai proved to the world that a community destroyed by an earthquake can quickly stand up.
Disaster tourism often brings grief and helplessness to people, and a reborn Abbazhai brings more joy and hope to everyone.
When studying the rise of tourism in Sakaminato, the hometown of Japanese World War II hero Mizuki Shigeru, folklore scientist Michael Dylan Foster pointed out that the post-war emergence of this town is a moving story of test and rebirth, transcending the turmoil and trauma of war.
It is this inspiring spirit that attracts many tourists here [16].
Foster also wrote that the concept and sentiment of "returning to home and home" after disasters and wars is also a major selling point for the development of tourism in Sakaminato town.
Tourists can learn and taste similar stories and situations in Abazhai.
Turning a huge disaster into a development opportunity, Abazhai became a typical representative of the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction project of "transforming disaster areas into scenic spots and homes into gardens"[17].
As the UNESCO report said: "Tourism is not only an economic activity with social effects, but has evolved into a civilized phenomenon." [18]From an unknown poor village to an emerging Qiang heritage tourist destination, disaster tourism targeting the disaster-stricken Qiang villages, taking Aba Village as an example, has witnessed important and exciting changes in the Qiang villages and the lives of the Qiang people.
After the disaster, Qiang Village received a new development.
Without the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction, the Qiang people and Qiang culture would have been ignored by the public for a long time.
Abazhai's "bright" rather than "black" disaster tourism shows the new vitality and look of an ancient nation.
4.
Heritage tourism and the emergence of Qiang culture
The rise of Abazhai tourism is not only because it is a model for rapid reconstruction, but more importantly, the carefully created Qiang cultural atmosphere and characteristics in Zhaizi reflect the importance this reconstruction attaches to cultural heritage and Qiang folk customs.
If the restoration and reconstruction of Aba Village is an important incentive to attract tourists, the strong Qiang folk flavor in the village is the core that makes people linger.
This pre-earthquake stockade was built into an ancient Qiang stockade that concentrated on displaying Qiang folk customs.
Intended to recreate the appearance and customs of traditional Qiang villages, Aba village combines the essence of traditional Qiang architecture, skills, food and performing arts.
But from new rural areas to Qiang heritage tourist resorts, Abazhai has gone through a tortuous journey.
At the beginning of 2009, architects from a city in Guangdong Province who assisted in the construction of the newly built Abazhai into a small farmhouse village in western Sichuan made of reinforced cement yellow lacquer gray bricks.
This first "style transformation" completely ignored the Qiang tradition of Abazhai.
In mid-2009, with the active activities of the then village chief, the enthusiastic appeals of several Qiang experts and the strong support of the Wenchuan County County Party Committee, Abazhai won special government funds and investments from several tourism companies in Wenchuan County and Chengdu City to carry out the second "style transformation" of the village.
After the second "style transformation", as soon as tourists enter Aba Village, they will see two towering Qiang village landmark buildings-Qiang blockhouses.
One of them is 66.67 meters (20 feet) high.
It is the tallest of the Qiang blockhouses rebuilt in Qiang District so far.
The designer of the Qiang blockhouse told me that the choice of 66.67 meters instead of an integer was to cater to the Qiang people's expectation of leaving some room for trouble and having more than enough time every year.
Climbing along the stone ladder from the open Aba Square, visitors will see the Qiang residences with many festivals.
After the earthquake, most villagers designed and built traditional Qiang square flat-topped houses.
Traditional Qiang residences are generally three stories high.
The first floor is used to house livestock mainly pigs, sheep and chickens, the second floor houses people, and the platform on the top of the second floor is used to dry grain and place farm tools.
Half a floor is built on one side of the platform to worship the Baishi Bodhisattva, who represents the gods.
Qiang people will climb this floor when offering sacrifices to gods.
There are many myths and legends about the Qiang people's tradition of worshiping white stones.
What the villagers in this area told me the most was the story of the gods dropping white stones during the Qiangge War and blocking the attack of the Goki people [19], thus saving the Qiang people [20].
In order to express gratitude to the gods, the Qiang people of later generations worshipped white stones at the highest point of the house to show respect.
A century-old old house in Zhaizi that has not collapsed after several earthquakes was transformed by a tourism company in Chengdu into a Qiang restaurant that displays the internal structure of the Qiang residence.
Walking through the solid wooden door of the old house, what comes into view is the traditional Qiang "fire pond"-an area where the Qiang people cook, heat, socialize and worship the fire god.
Qiang people usually dig a small square hole in the right position of the living room, place stones around it, and put a round triangular iron frame inside, which is a "fire pond"[21].
Old bacon is also hung on the fire pond in this old house for tourists to visit.
Pork, wild vegetables, wild mushrooms) and stone ground bean curd are the signature delicacies of Qiang Village.
Tourists can taste them at Qiang Food Bar and farmhouses run by the villagers themselves.
A shrine dedicated to gods and ancestors is erected on the wall above the "fire pond".
Follow the wooden ladder to the second floor of the old house, step on the old wooden floor, and touch the thick and compact stone wall.
The simple charm of the Qiang family immediately comes to your face.
The company has added wooden tables, chairs and benches on the second floor for tourists to enjoy tea and relax in the old house.
The waterway running through the entire Qiang Village was sorted out, and the gurgling water reached every household in the village.
The villagers 'former private land was expropriated by the government to build tourist facilities such as water landscapes, wooden boardwalks and stone roads.
On the riverside path leading to the gate on the other side of the Aba Village, the designer ingeniously printed part of the Shibi Tujing, a treasure of Qiang culture, on the wall next to it.
Using simple and simple lines and colors, the Shibi Tujing vividly displays the myths and legends of the origin, development and diversion of the Qiang people, as well as the religious beliefs of the spiritual ancestors of all things.
The stone sacrifice and wooden sacrifice forest on the other side of the road record the history of the Qiang people living along the mountains and making a living as nomadic.
"Shuo Wen·Yangbu" talks about Qiang: "He is a shepherd in Xirong.
Follow people and sheep.
Sheep also sound." [23]In Abazhai, signs and symbols about sheep can also be seen everywhere.
Some families hang sheep's heads or cow's heads, while others paint sheep's patterns on the walls and sew them into embroidery.
Qiang heritage tourism in Abazhai has greatly helped the emergence of local Qiang culture.
According to the head of Lemuji Township, the original intention of building Aba Village is to allow tourists to experience the most "authentic" and "ancient" Qiang folk customs.
Here, tourists can live in traditional Qiang houses, taste Qiang dishes, and view Qiang village buildings.
Qiang embroidery works that convey the traditional aesthetic values of the Qiang people decorate every household and are also popular tourist souvenirs.
Qiang embroidery, famous for its unique embroidery method and colorful color matching, was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
Qiang women can be seen everywhere in the stockade embroidering shoe soles, belts or wall charts.
Before the earthquake, these embroideries were only for private use and gifts by women.
Now, selling Qiang embroidery works has become the main source of income for many Qiang women.
Other Qiang sheepskin inspirations listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list, Qiang multi-voice folk songs and Qiang flute performance and production techniques reflect the emerging folk life of Qiang nationality, which can sing and dance well.
During the author's investigation, the Wenchuan County government specially organized experts to train villagers in dance and Qiang embroidery skills.
Villagers who have participated in the training can earn remuneration by performing in performances organized by the government or tourism companies.
The development of heritage tourism has greatly changed the income and lifestyle of Abazhai villagers.
Some householders who run farmhouses told me that their monthly tourism income is even more than their total income in the year before the earthquake.
The chief of Abazhai also mentioned that the per capita net income in the village has increased from less than 2000 yuan a year before the earthquake to 6,000 - 7,000 yuan now.
Some villagers even gave up the opportunity to go out to work or farm, choosing to stay in the stockade to study, perform and manage Qiang folk customs and traditions.
5.
Rebuilding a "traditional" Qiang village?
It must be pointed out that while Qiang culture is emerging in Abazhai, it also presents many problems in cultural reconstruction projects led by the government and planned by tourism companies.
As Professor Comaroff and his wife in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago said in the book "Ethnicity, Inc", heritage tourism with the main purpose of economic development not only creates various "national goods" and "identity economy," but also highlights the contradictions and conflicts between the government, investors and local residents [24].
Political displays and the development of tourism are often divorced from the connotation and significance of folk customs themselves, and can even transform local folk customs in serious cases.
American scholar Kirshenblatt-Gimblet wrote an article as early as 1988 that the rise of tourism has made folklore scholars have to consider the two binary contradictions of "folk folk" and "fictional fake", as well as academia and practice.[25] Regina Bendix's research on the Swiss resort of Interlaken shows that tourism not only shapes an "authentic" folk custom that convinces tourists, but also gradually becomes an important way for local residents to create and establish their identity in front of tourists.[26] Li Jing's investigation of the large-scale national song and dance performance-Mengbalanaxi, created by Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, systematically and profoundly demonstrated that government-led, professional participation and the use of a large amount of light and shadow technology have transformed this national song and dance into an institutionalized, professional and politicized performance [27].
His research on the tourism of the Jinghong Dai Water-Splashing Festival further explores the relationship between heritage tourism and state power.
See this issue).
In Abazhai, what the author saw was a "political grafting" of Qiang culture.
This phenomenon was pointed out when studying the reconstruction of Jina Qiang Village in Beichuan County [28].
"Political transplantation" refers to the transplanting or new construction of landmark buildings of Qiang history and culture in a Qiang village, and uses this as a selling point for heritage tourism and return to tradition.
For example, the second "style transformation" pasted cement imitation stone slices shipped from Chengdu on the outer walls of all buildings in Zhaizi, and nailed wooden door frames and window frames, intended to restore the rubble and wooden structures of the Qiang residences in this area.
The characteristics of the combination.
Houses built by villagers with local stone, sand or bricks are considered "unsightly" and must be uniformly renovated.
After the completion of traditional Qiang residences, a special "soothing" ceremony was usually held.
A white stone was invited from the sacred mountain and placed on the roof through the practice of Shibi, a master who could access the gods in the Qiang belief.
In today's Abazhai, except for the white stone erected by the villagers themselves on the roof, every building is filled with white stones transported from other places by tourism companies.
The meaning of sanctity has disappeared.
If the exterior wall decoration only modifies some connotations of Qiang culture, the two newly built Qiang blockhouses in Abazhai are an overall transplant of Qiang cultural symbols.
There were no Qiang blockhouses in Aba Village before the earthquake.
After the second "style transformation", a 33.33-meter-high "Fengshui blockhouse" wishing the stockade smooth weather and rain stood at the entrance of the stockade, while a 66.67-meter-high "stockade blockhouse" ensuring the safety of the town house stood in the middle of the stockade.
In the past, the main purpose of the Qiang people building Qiang blockhouses was to defend against the enemy, leak information and store food.
This also reflected the fierce struggle between and within ethnic groups in Sichuan's mountainous areas in history.
An old man from Taoping Qiang Village, Li County, Sichuan Province, once told me that he was robbed by Tibetans and Han people around him when he was a child.
However, Abazhai, which has always been located in the Heba area, has rarely been invaded by external forces and there is little need to build a war fortress.
Traditional Qiang blockhouses are all built of large stones.
No drawings or hanging wires are needed when building.
It relies entirely on the eyesight and experience of the craftsmen, reflecting the superb skills of the Qiang craftsmen.
The construction of the Qiang blockhouses was very time-consuming and laborious.
In ancient times, in order to find stone and consolidate the foundation of the blockhouse, craftsmen usually only built one floor a year.
A Qiang blockhouse may contain the efforts of two generations of craftsmen.
The Qiang blockhouses in Abazhai were all built by foreign workers and made of reinforced concrete.
Only bluestone sheets were pasted on the outer walls, and the Qiang building skills were almost invisible.
No one uses these Qiang blockhouses now.
Brian Larkin, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colombia, pointed out that infrastructure is not just a building, but also reflects the relationship between things, knowledge and people.
Its symbolism and metaphor are often greater than its own functionality [29].
However, Abazhai's imitation and nostalgia of traditional folk customs, which "repair the old as old" or even "build the new as old" for tourism and sightseeing, compares the villagers 'own yearning and practice for modern life, reflects the transformation of modern power life and aesthetics by technologics and life politics.
The construction of these Qiang cultural landmarks vividly reflects how the folk rejuvenation project and the subsequent rise of heritage tourism have changed the elements of traditional folk customs.
Abazhai, which contains almost all the elements of an ancient Qiang village, has become an important attraction to systematically display Qiang culture.
For the first time, it also almost completely displays the rich cultural elements of the Qiang people.
What cannot be ignored is that this "transplantation" of Qiang cultural symbols is out of touch with the life of the local Qiang people, making this stockade largely an official display and a scenic spot for tourists to consume the "imaginary Qiang".
6.
Heritage tourism and folk traditions: a combination of development
At this point, readers may lament the sharp contradiction between heritage tourism and folk traditions.
Through the following example, the author here briefly discusses the characteristics and differences between folk activities and tourism activities, in order to seek a path that can not only protect the folk customs of Qiang Village, but also promote its tourism development.
During the author's investigation, a CCTV channel came to Zhaizili to film Qiang folk customs.
Appropriate content may be broadcast at the National Spring Festival Gala next year.
What makes the villagers particularly excited is that if the director likes it, Abazhai may also be selected as a branch venue of the Spring Festival Gala.
A nearly 80-year-old Shibi from Lemuji Township was invited down from the mountains with a sheepskin encouragement team composed of his brothers, sons and apprentices.
Lao Shibi's unique skills in this performance are the most amazing "beating the thousand","licking the head of the birch","stepping on the head of the birch","extracting from the frying pan" and "spitting fire to exorcise evil spirits" in the ritual of diagnosing and treating patients.
The women and inheritors of Qiang embroidery intangible cultural heritage from another Qiang village also set up tables, chairs and shelves early on the edge of the small square where the performance was performed to display their collection of Qiang embroidery works.
"Daqian" means that when the sheepskin encouragement team beat the drums and danced to a certain degree, Lao Shibi recited the scriptures of Shibi singing, while passing through the dancer's muscles near the mouth, clamped his mouth, and then let him continue dancing.
After about two or three laps, the iron was taken out, but the audience could not see any blood marks on the dancer's face, and the dancer did not feel pain.
"Licking the plow head" and "stepping on the plow head" were used most frequently in Shibi's healing and exorcism rituals.
More than half an hour before the performance started, Lao Shibi buried an old plow head covered with dust and rust spots into the firewood in a frying pan to heat it.
After the sheepskin was inspired, Old Shibi used iron tongs to take out the red-hot plow head from the fire, held it with both hands, and then licked it fiercely with his tongue, but his hands and tongue were safe and sound.
Then, Lao Shibi put the head of the plough on the ground and stepped on it hard with one of his bare feet.
The audience could hear the sound of "bang", but his feet were not burned at all.
Then, the "Oil Pot Picking Things" that even the villagers of Abazhai had not seen for a long time was also staged.
By the time of the performance, as many as 5 liters of cooking oil in the oil pan in the center of the small square had been burned for more than three hours.
The smoke was filled with smoke and the dazzling and choking nose made it difficult for people to get close.
Lao Shibi kneaded three to five paper balls and threw them into the pot.
They were instantly burned black.
Old Shibi washed his hands in a basin of tap water where he had read scriptures, stepped to the edge of the oil pan, lifted his sleeves, shouted twice, and fished one or two dark black paper balls out of the boiling oil pan with his bare hands.
Fished it out and throw it to the audience.
The audience, including the author, was shocked and hurriedly retreated.
An old man in the stockade who knew Shibi's culture took a step forward and allowed him to touch the oil in his hand on his face.
Neither of their hands or faces were burned.
In the end, Lao Shibi said in Chinese,"I wish Aba Village no disaster or disaster, and thousands of generations to rejuvenate." He took a large mouthful of water from which he had just washed his hands and sprayed it hard into the oil pan.
A fire broke out for a while, blown by the wind, and rushed towards the audience.
The author was immediately scared out of a cold sweat and quickly dodged.
This is repeated several times, coupled with splashing with your hands, the fire becomes stronger and the flame becomes higher each time.
It was not until the oil in the pot was almost cooked that Lao Shibi ended his entire performance.
After watching the entire performance, the old Abazhai man who had been telling the author about Qiang culture said excitedly: "Watch! What I told you is true! No cheating! There are no traps at all!"
It can be seen from this performance that many Qiang folk activities are highly performance-oriented and ornamental, while the sanctity and functionality of traditional rituals are often concealed by performances.
Give two examples.
Lao Shibi's strange behavior before the performance began attracted the author's attention.
I saw him secretly running to a blocked corner of the small square and lighting three sticks of incense and two candles and placing them in the mud.
While interposing, he silently recited scriptures in Qiang language.Because his voice is too low and the author is not familiar with Qiang, the content of the scripture is unknown.
Later, Lao Shibi took out a small stack of yellow paper that he had already prepared, knelt on the ground, and continued to recite scriptures in Qiang language while burning it.
It was not until Lao Shibi looked through it and confirmed that all the yellow paper had been burned to black ash that he stood up from the ground and returned to the crowd.
Later, the author learned that before every display of the French style, Shibi had to recite sutras to "channel" and "confess".
"Channeling" means that Shibi must inform his masters and ancestors before practicing the practice and invite them to come down to cheer for him.
"Confession" is to tell those around you who know the same magic where he learned from and why he practiced it here today.
The purpose is to appease other masters and seek support.
Another example occurred one month before Lao Shibi's performance.
Another Shibi from the mountain in Lemuji Township was invited to Aba Village to "approve" and treat an elderly man who was seriously ill.) "Approval" refers to identifying the cause of the disease through communication with gods.
At that time, he also performed the unique skills of "stepping on the head of a birch" and "licking the head of a plow".
What is even more shocking is that during the formal treatment of illness, Shibi asked the sick old man to "lick the birch head" himself, and would place the red-hot plow head on the old man's open chest and slide it back and forth.
A Qiang culture researcher told me that in the past, when roads were inconvenient and medicines were scarce, this method could cure some diseases and delay many diseases.
The principle is probably scare therapy.
In today's Abazhai, there are still many elderly people who rely on this kind of "small prescription" to treat diseases.
The tradition of asking Shibi to "treat" family members who are seriously ill and have not recovered for a long time has also continued.
Through this performance, you can see the characteristics and differences between folk activities and heritage tourism activities.
Folk activities, especially for the Qiang people, a nation that believes in the animism of all things, are mainly characterized by their sanctity, ritual and practicality.
It must go through interpretation, it must go through "confession", it must have a reason for things such as weddings and funerals and building a house due to illness), it must worship the gods, and it must be presented completely.
The "folk customs" consumed in heritage tourism mainly select the shocking or colorful and festive content of a nation to perform, artistic, fragmented, and even exaggerated performances to attract the audience.
As my mentor, American folklorist Professor Nick Spitzer, said when guiding my research, the physical danger is the most amazing.
The process of using folk customs as tourist consumer goods is also a process of "folklore", that is, the traditional folk performance culture is separated from original production and rituals and repositioned in a new scene for consumption [30].
Many scholars worry that "folklore" corrodes folklore and traditional performance culture.
For example, Professor David Guss said that "folklore" often becomes "de-folklore" and "folklorizing" as "de-folklorizing ")[31].
But American folklorist John H.
In his reflection on the process of folklore in Ecuador, McDowell pointed out that the tradition of folklore contains diverse voices.
A folk activity has both "polyphonic" and polysemy, and it presents different meanings and purposes for different audiences.
Therefore, in the eyes of local performing artists, whether they perform Quichua folk legends and beliefs in front of tourists, or make Runa traditional folk songs into CDs and sell them, not only do they not abandon the blueprint protocol of folk traditions, but they creatively embody the local people's nostalgia for the fading traditional life, the pursuit of the fading traditional folk customs, and the reflection on modern life and ethnic integration are expressed in an artistic and popular way.
Such art products have effectively bridged the seemingly distinct identity gap between locals and tourists, rural areas and cities, indigenous people and outsiders, etc.
The biggest characteristic of folk customs lies in their creativity and adaptability.
Many scholars have also written that scholars should believe that folk customs have sufficient resilience in fighting the development of tourism and modern life [32], and also have creative continuity [33].
What should be emphasized here is that when scholars consider "folklore" or "de-folklore","authenticity" or "fiction", they should first respect the choices and changes of local residents and inheritors themselves [34].
Therefore, if the difference between folk activities and tourism activities is grasped well, there will not be a conflict between developing heritage tourism and inheriting folk etiquette.
Moreover, it will play a very positive role in promoting others 'understanding of local folk customs and promoting cultural exchanges and integration.
effect.
Just as Professor Gao Bingzhong proposed that cultural traditions can have different names and different expressions in political expressions,"a close circle that prevails within, and a large society that faces outside"[35].
When balancing folk activities and heritage tourism, there can be different choices, different expression methods, and different meanings for the same folk tradition.
Similarly, one is for tourism and the other is for villagers.
Taking the sheepskin inspiration in the Qiang Shibi performance as an example, in the author's interview with the manager of the local tourism company, the chief of the Ababazhai village and a local Qiang researcher, the three of them unanimously mentioned that there are many performance elements in sheepskin inspiration that can be displayed.
The chief of Aba Village, who is very familiar with Qiang folk customs, has always wanted to train a sheepskin encouragement team himself to perform in the village.
Through the display of dances and costumes, tourists can experience the unique rituals of the Qiang people to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters.
Such a performance can be re-arranged according to the sheepskin inspiration in traditional rituals and distinguished from the divine dance.
As for the profound rituals in the Shibi French style, even the ceremonial steps of sending souls, praying and praying in sheepskin inspiration, several interviewees did not recommend them as performance items.
However, it is believed that tourists can visit and understand the most mysterious and sacred side of Qiang culture through photos, videos and interview documentaries.
It must be pointed out that the Qiang Shibi's functions are roughly divided into three types.
The Shibi described above is a mage who is good at exorcising evil spirits, sending ghosts and summoning souls, and presiding over "ghost affairs".
In addition, there are also the so-called "divine things" that preside over sacrifices, worship gods, and make vows) and the so-called "human affairs" that pray for the prosperity of people and livestock, a bumper harvest, and peace and good fortune.
They generally only practice it privately at specific festivals and specific locations and for specific groups of people.
These three methods of Shibi chanting the corresponding three parts of Shibi singing scripture respectively.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that the Qiang people did not have words to sing scriptures and relied on oral transmission, and the recent decline of the Qiang religion, there was almost no Shibi in the Qiang area who could recite all the Shibi singing scriptures and preside over these three rituals.
It can be seen that the "performance elements" and "sacred elements" in the Qiang Shibi culture are separately expressed and displayed separately.
On the one hand, they are differentiated from each other.
Tourism performances and sacred beliefs belong to each other and perform their duties; On the other hand, they complement each other.
The performance elements in the ceremony and the sacred principles they contain together constitute the overall picture of a national belief.
The practicality and necessity of folk customs are the foundation of its inheritance.
It is precisely by retaining the sanctity and effectiveness of belief rituals that performances and displays based on them become possible [36].
Through this arrangement of performing and hiding, and distinguishing one public and one private, tourists will more truly appreciate the mysterious world view and universe view of the Qiang people.
However, such an arrangement is not without problems.
Michael Dylan Foster went to the small island of Shimo-Koshikijima in Japan to inspect the impact of Toshidon, a local New Year custom specifically used to scare and teach children, on local life and customs after it was listed as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.[37] Foster keenly pointed out in his report that Toshidon, which is performed for educational or tourist purposes, could easily turn the annual long-awaited ceremony on a stage and become an object for outsiders to watch.
Although Toshidon and the sheepskin inspiration proposed above are not sacred, whether such a normalized performance will reduce the status and influence of this ritual in folk life is a very noteworthy and controversial issue.
Secondly, Foster proposed that, like many folk activities, Toshidon is an informal, personal, and flexible ritual.
UNESCO's nomination, scholars 'research, professionalization of performers and repeated reporting by reporters easily solidify and proceduralize this ritual, thus losing the privacy and interest of communication between elders and children, community participation and public entertainment.
Third, through interviews with sheepskin inspirational performers, the author found that when this previous divine dance performance gradually became a tourism performance, it would take a long time for the performers to understand and adapt to this change.
In the eyes of many performers, there is no obvious division between the divine and non-divine parts of sheepskin inspiration.
To separate the two in a performance is a great challenge to their spiritual beliefs and physical practice.
6.
Conclusion
Through a survey of a Qiang heritage tourist village that rose rapidly after being severely damaged by the Wenchuan earthquake, this article shows the unprecedented transformation that this previously unknown village has undergone.
Disaster tourism and heritage tourism not only aroused great enthusiasm and attention from the public to the Qiang people, a nation that was once marginalized economically, politically and culturally, but also more strongly helped the emergence of this nation and its folk customs.
However, the mechanized transplantation of national cultural symbols by tourism development reflects the conflict and disconnect between tourism planning and local folk traditions.
Therefore, only by correctly understanding the characteristics and differences between folk activities and heritage tourism activities, and making corresponding choices in using and expressing folk culture can we explore a path that can not only protect Qiang Village folk customs, but also promote its tourism development.
It is very worth pointing out that the post-disaster tourism development strategy led by the China government has provided a new idea for disaster tourism and heritage tourism, as well as overall post-disaster recovery and reconstruction around the world.
This strategy shows that disasters can lead to the rapid revitalization of a marginal culture, and crises can turn into opportunities.
The project also showcases a rare example of redefining, introducing and even transforming local culture through heritage tourism and government planning.
Therefore, research on post-disaster tourism planning, restoration and reconstruction of the Qiang people in Sichuan can greatly help and promote the research of disaster tourism and heritage tourism around the world in theory and practice.
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[2]Those who first discussed this issue see: Hobsbawm, Eric and Terence Ranger, editors.
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[3]When discussing the meaning of heritage, Kirshenblatt-Gimblett proposed that cultural heritage is a process of cultural reproduction.
See Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara.
1995.“Theorizing Heritage”.
Ethnomusicology, 39, 367-380.
[4]Written by Wolfgang Kaschuba, translated by Yang Lihui.
Cultural heritage in Europe: The myth of authenticity [J].
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2, 2008;"Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Formation of Academic Concepts as Integration","Henan Social Sciences", No.
15, 2007.
[7]At the request of local villagers, the township names, village names, river names, people's names and building names appearing in this article are all aliases.
[8]"National Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Reconstruction Master Plan", 2008, page 3.
[9]For the debate between "backwardness" and "modernization" between ethnic minority areas and Han areas, see Harrell, Stevan, editor.
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Ethnic minority tourism and economic development and changes in folk customs.
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[10] Du, Shanshan.
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32-51, In Shanshan Du and Ya-Chen Chen eds.), Gender in Contemporary Chinese Societies: Beyond Han Patriarchy.
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[11]Wang Mingke: "Qiang between Han and Tibet", Zhonghua Book Company, 2008.
[12]"National Master Plan for Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction", 2008, p.
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[14]Huang Wen: "Research on the Development of Black Tourism in Ethnic Areas-Taking the Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan as an Example", Journal of Sichuan University: Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition, No.
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[16] Foster, Michael Dylan.
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Mechademia 4): 164-181.
[17]"Disaster areas become scenic spots, homes become gardens, and farmers become residents" is an important slogan and concept put forward by the post-disaster reconstruction of Wenchuan County.
For detailed reports, please refer to Xinhua Daily Telegraph, May 12, 2013; Sichuan News, September 22, 2012; and China Net, May 22, 2013.
[18] UNESCO Report.
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The Effect of Tourism on Socio-Cultural Values.
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[19]Goki people: A legendary indigenous people living in the mountains of Sichuan.
[20]Ran Guangrong, Li Shaoming, Zhou Xiyin: History of the Qiang Nationality, Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House, 1984, pp.
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[21]Zhang Ben: "Cultural Connotation of Qiang Huo Tang Design","Research on Ethnic Art", No.
3, 2013.
[22]For the specific content of the Shibi Tujing, please see: Chen Xinglong: "Shibi Tujing of the Qiang Nationality", Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House, 2010.
[23]Ran Guangrong, Li Shaoming, Zhou Xiyin: History of the Qiang Nationality, Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House, 1984, p.
1.
[24] Comaroff, John L, and Jean Comaroff.
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[25] Kirshenblatt-Gimblet, Barbara.
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[26] Bendix, Regina.
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[27] Li, Jing.
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Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 10): 65-83.
[28] Zhang, Qiaoyun.
2012.
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Village, Sichuan Province, China.
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[29] Larkin, Brian.
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[30] McDowell, John H.
2010.
Rethinking Folklorization in Ecuador: Multivocality in the Expressive Contact Zone.
Western Folklore 69): 181-209.
[31] Guss, David.
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The Festival State: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism as Cultural Performance.
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114, quoted in McDowell, John H.
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Western Folk 69): 181-209, p.
183.
[32] Bendix, Regina.
1989.
Tourism and Cultural Displays: Inventing Traditions for Whom? Journal of American Folk 102): 131-146, p.
144.
[33] Foster, Michael Dylan.
2011.
The UNESCO Effect: Confidence, Defamiliarization, and a New Element in the Discourse on a Japanese Island.
Journal of Folklore Research 48):63-107, p.
92.
Similar insights can also be found in Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara.
1995.“Theorizing Heritage”.
Ethnomusicology, 39, 367-380; 1998.
Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage.
Berkley: University of California Press; Bruner, Edward M.
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Cultural Anthropology 9): 435–470.
[34]An Deming clearly pointed out in his article "Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Dilemma of Folklore" that the rise of the intangible cultural heritage protection movement has created a new bureaucratic system and discourse hegemony in the field of traditional culture, and these shortcomings are often not conducive to protecting culture.
Diversity also does not respect and protect the wishes and rights of cultural inheritors.
An Deming: "Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Dilemma for Folklore", Henan Social Sciences, No.
1, 2008.
[35]Gao Bingzhong: "A Museum-Ethnography of Temple Architecture-On Becoming a Double Naming System of Political Art", Sociological Research, No.
1, 2006.
[36]Similar views can be found in Foster, Michael Dylan.
2011.
The UNESCO Effect: Confidence, Defamiliarization, and a New Element in the Discourse on a Japanese Island.
Journal of Folklore Research 48):63-107, p.
86.
[37] Foster, Michael Dylan.
2011.
The UNESCO Effect: Confidence, Defamiliarization, and a New Element in the Discourse on a Japanese Island.
Journal of Folklore Research 48):63-107 (This article was published in Folklore Research, No.
1, 2014)