Southwest View Of Ren Naiqiang

This paper was a study of History of Anthropology through Ren naiqiang. The aim of this study was to observe the changes of the preliminary ethnographical writings when facing the western social science, as well as the influences it brings to the development of anthropology in China. Compared with conventional study of academic history, the "study of one scholar" on one hand is possibly to avoid the rigidity of subject division, and on the other hand to minimize the tendency of explaining the previous thoughts dictatorially in virtue of contemporary concepts and ideas.During 1930s to 1940s, after focusing on the frontier issues, the study of ethnic culture in southwestern regions veered from anthropological research to frontier policy, and then subsided after the war. Ren Naiqiang was at his peak during this transition, producing most of his works. As a local scholar, he experienced and participated into the development of anthropology in China (particularly in southwestern area). Therefore it is worth further reflecting his field work and academic thoughts, as well as interpreting his life story in an anthropological perspective.Scholars as Ren Naiqiang grew up in New Culture Movement in the early 20th Century and the May 4th spirit brought about a profound effect on his entire life, which can be observed distinctly in two aspects:the idea of "science" becoming a "self-awareness" and the mentality of "concerning about the nation" being encouraged to embody, which is the manifestation of the inhertied "spirit of gentlemen" in Chinese tradition.After being cultivated by the May 4th spirit, the tension between bureaucrats and scholars in modern times caused not a bit of bepuzzlement for him. In the three decades of ethnic study prior to the founding of new China, he always held to that academic study should serve the politics, emphasizing the "salvation spirit" of the "gentlemen". Accordingly, "statecraft ideology" has become his lifelong academic pursuit. The former part of this ideology "state" involves the ideal of establishing a universal social order while the latter part "craft" rather focuses on solving social problems practically. As to Ren Naiqiang's study, he hopes to help the government with problem-solving and social development by using his "scientific" knowledge. However, any undertaking he has committed to such as saving the nation by engaging in agriculture, education or industry; his later efforts in local chronicles compilation, and history discussion activities, substantially targets on "state" instead of local society, where his complex of "state" becomes more than evident.This ideal based on the thought of "civilizing" is presented as a consciousness of "state", which becomes a rule to follow in the former half of Ren Naiqiang's academic life。After Qing dynasty, how the new political center of the State to maintain the continuity of the original culture, preventing separatist of mentality, or to say, how to deal with the relationship between Kang areas and the country, is a major problem to Ren Naiqiang.to Ren Naiqiang, there were Contradictions beteen the National political power and maintaining the continuity of local culture. in order to address this contradiction, civilization "enlightenment" was re-proposed to Emphasized the Active integration of culture.It is due to this concept of "Tianxia", Ren Naiqiang holds a more open point of view in understanding ethnic cultures. Essentially tending to "civilize" various ethnic cultures, the inter-influences are of great importance to him besides the "civilizing" process between these cultures. In his writing, culture is in a perpetual progress of complicated transition, the motivation of which derives from the interactions between different ethnic groups. He substitutes a multi-facet situation such as "Tibetization", "Fanization" and "Kangization" for a single "Hanization" after he gives up the hancentrism perspective when dealing with "assimilation", which represents rich interaction and profound fusion between different cultures. The fusion of cultures became the theoretical support for "the chinese people" which Forming a continuous with the "Pluralistic Integration of the Chinese nation" of Fei XiaotongRen Naiqiang is the first person Since modern China who re-written the regional ethnic history. By Rennai Jiang, Chinese anthropology inherited the basis of Local Chronicles and got the supplies from the history. It can be said, Ren Naiqiang is a positive aspect of part between the traditional history and social science as his practice is a real possibility of the integration of the two subjects. From him, social sciences and history was linked.The southwestern eyesight of him does not only stem from his unusual life but also from a deep-down "experience" and "mentality" which is described by Professor Wang Mingming as "a mindset with historical inheritance and present concern and a concept with subjective creativity and power limits set by history beyond any subjective control," and this mentality comes into being in the historical relation between subject and object, self and other. Thus, individual's thought and mentality, which indicates the historical situation, the connection between academic and social environment within it, and the intellects' "creativity" based upon their own life experiences, are not only subject to himself but also to society. The writing of Kangzang area by Ren Naiqiang as a region "between Hua and Yi" unfolds the changes and non-changes of the conventional Chinese ethnographical writings that are constructed upon the "Idea of Tianxia" or the "Idea of Hua-Yi" when facing western social science; it also reflects the world view of intellects whereon the transformation and perseverance of the mentality depend, which casts light upon intellect's mode of thinking and consequently produces an effect on the development of academics.His particular perspective may remind us of our own tradition embedded in ethnological study due to historical down-passing in addition to the influence from the modern western thoughts during the formation of this discipline. Although recordings of folk cultures in traditional geography records can not be named as anthropological thinking, the uniqueness of focusing on ethnic cultures partially displays the characteristics of ethnology. The social investigations of ethnic groups in border areas has been influenced by theories and methodologies in ethnology and anthropology introduced from the west since the 20th Century, and the objective perspective is amphsized in analyzing ethnic history and culture. With the governmental administration advancing onward and due to different influences, the study of ethnic culture in southwestern area has taken on the shape of a ethnic study with its own profound cultural heritages.