| The Xibe belongs to the Altaic language family in particular the Manchu-Tungusic group. Early on they lived with the Manchu in the northeast heartland. During the Qing dynasty, they joined the Eight Banners organization, and became known as the "Banner men". After entering the Central Plains with the purpose to maintain order, the Qing rulers sent the Eight Banners anny throughout the country. Historically it became known as the Eight Banners Garrison. In the 29th year of Qianlong (1764), more than four thousands Xibe soldiers and their family were dispatched by the Qing government to the Western border-Yili. Since then, the Xibe in both the Northeast and in Xinjiang developed under different historical and geographical context. They formed the Xinjiang Xibe and the Northeast Xibe ethnic group. This so-called the "Xinjiang Xibe" refers not only to the group with similar cultural characteristics of Xinjiang as the geographical unit, but also included the soldiers, their household and their descendants in Xibe camp as part of the Eight Banners Garrison in Yili.At the present, Xibe is one of 13 original ethnic groups and has a population of nearly 40,000 in Xinjiang, They are famously known as "the first generation soldiers" and the "translating cradle". Also, they possess the highest education level of all the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.How did they survived in Xinjiang as a minority with a scant population, and further were able to develop and keep as a unit in a complex and multi-ethnic society?The Eight Banners Garrison being neither Manchu nor Han was the latest border unit to disappear. How have they kept their identity in post-Eight Banners’period?The dissertation describes the story about the "Company", through observing the traditional rural community as the basis of our research methodology. The selected rural community is Aixinsheli town in the country’s only Xibe Autonomous County -ChaBuZhaEr Xibe Autonomous County. The locals generally call it "Jinquan town". The town is where the Xibe population has settled and thus also where the Xibe culture has been preserved the best. Two hundred years ago, the Xibe soldiers and their household were divided into the eight Companies and founded the Xibe camp. Jinquan town was the location for the First and the Third Company. Until the present, from the Xibe point of view, Jinquan is still the imaginary place for "Company One and Three". The story will start from here.At the beginning of the dissertation, from my perspective as a Han from the inner province, I use the clue from the experiences in Jinquan to describe the history and reality in multiple administrative spaces where the Xinjiang Xibe people live.Thereafter, I discuss the Xibe family culture in Xinjiang, through my experience as participants in the rites of the Spring Festival and funeral ceremonies. And also study the preservation of the "Company" concept from observing the "village politics" between the local Xibe township and the Han.Furthermore, through community development process, I describe the history of Han immigrations in the Jinquan town. The massive Han immigration caused a tension for the competition of resources between the Han and the Xibe. This can be observed through the changes in the traditional Xibe "Wengbaxi" system. On this basis, I discussed discrimination and prejudice between the local Xibe and the Han, showing the evidence of the local Xibe’s effort in trying to maintain their ethnic sovereignty through the "Company"I describe the competitions associated with the Eighth Company, this include not only the competitions with both the First Company and Third Company made evident through "village politics" and daily practices, but also inter-Company fight for the "reputation of their Company names".Finally, I return from social reality to history and "poetic" imagination. Historically, the Xibe Company served as a military and production unit. From analyzing local worship, we may find that the traditional belief structure and the Eight Company’s social structure are similarly constructed. The conclusion points to the Xinjiang Xibe society as an extremely stable society. In "poetic" imagination, the Company is the homeland.in conclusion, I attributed the above mentioned problems to the following proposition about the Xinjiang Xibe’collective identity From historical research through resources about the Xibe ethnic origin, we see the connection with the Manchu ethnicity. From cultural studies, I found the dual identity of the contemporary Xinjiang Xibe between the "Company" concept and identity with the family. They maintain clear boundaries between the "public" and the "private" sphere. Thus, the Xinjiang Xibe society may be looked upon as "an imaginary community’ constructed by the historical eight Companies. I also briefly analyzed multiple factors that contributed to the preservation and the survival of the historical concept of the Company as an "informal organization". |
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