An Ethnography Interpretation Of Yugur's Cultural Tansition In The Past 30 Years

With the globalization, the rapid economic development and the unparalleled cultural exchange between minority groups, the culture transition among minority nationalities has been wide and deep-going since 1980s. This paper takes Yugur ethnical group in Gansu Province as the unique sample to study the content and trend of culture transition and to interpret its characteristic, significance and problem from the perspective of cultural communication. Under the general circumstance of promoting minority economic development, of protecting minority traditional culture and building harmonious society, this research carries great theoretical and practical significance.Over the years, much has been written on the history and culture of Yugur in and outside China, some on its culture transition, but little research on the role of cultural communication. On the basis of the previous research, this research starts off from the perspective of cultural communication on culture transition, carries out several long-term field work, and combines ethnology, sociology, ethnography of communication and other branches together. Filming anthropology is used to record the considerable social and cultural video material of Yugur. The subsequent comparative research between this and the filming materials of 80s constitute the structure of this academic paper.The paper consists of 3 parts:Partâ… , Chapter 1 and 2, presents the background of this research and includes the following: the history and cultural background of Yugur; the related research overview; the overall research of the culture transition of Yugur; the related theoretical preparation; and the research thoughts, methodology and innovative features.Partâ…¡, Chapter 3, 4, and 5, makes up the core of the paper and studies the communication channel of foreign culture into Yugur area; the content of its culture transition; and its reactions to culture communication and transition. The paper investigates and interprets the considerable amount of field work and video-filming materials and categorizes the communication channels of foreign culture into 3 patterns: media communication, education communication and social-cultural communication. From the perspective of cultural communication, there a range of culture transition patterns from living transition pattern to national material culture to national language culture, national religion culture to modern matrimony culture. The paper intends to argue that cultural communication is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the one-way cultural communication of foreign culture affects the construction of the traditional cultural of Yugur, on the other hand, such cultural communication promotes its social economic development, the positive culture transition and the building of harmonious society. As the culture communication is irreversible and directive, it is suggested that various kinds of cultural communication should be guided in a positive way to serve its social function. After 1980s, there have been general and drastic changes in the social economic and cultural aspect throughout Yugur area, especially the immigrant project and settlement project of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County at the turn of this century. This paper records the impact and function of cultural communication during this dramatic change with words as well as video-filming. It is proved that such impact and function has not caused "culture conflicts", however, the Yugur people welcome the mainstream culture with an open-minded attitude, actively absorb in the foreign cultures and gradually attach great importance to the exploitation, preservation and inheritance of its own traditional culture. For various reasons, their culture reactions seem to be weak and problematic, but still obvious.Partâ…¢, Chapter 6 and 7, is the rational thinking and recommendations. It studies the implied meaning of the cultural communication manifestations on Yugur and points out that the culture psyche develops from margin to center and from following to preserving. It also looks into the interrelationships between culture transition and the social economic development and suggests the possibility and meanings of the construction and reconstruction of cultural communication among minority groups. This paper takes the investigations into Yugur as the research basis and analyses the current situation, features, communication, transition, integration and development of the history and culture of minority groups, and then suggests that the internal and external positive cultural communication channel should be built to enhance its accelerating role and to promote the economic and culture development of minority groups and the harmonious society.The last part is the television documentary which uses the research method of filming anthropology to record, display and compare the social cultural life of Yugur. It is aimed to make the process, purpose and conclusion of this research more directviewing, scientific and reliable.