Desiring To Earn Money And Pursuing Jollification:a Folklore Ethnography On The Action Logic Of Female Cotton Pickers In Y Village Of Eastern Henan

Since the 90s of the 20th century,the lives of married women in rural areas in eastern Henan have undergone tremendous changes.In the face of increasing economic pressure,they actively take advantage of the long tradition of mobility in their hometown,the established connection with Xinjiang,they travel seasonally to Xinjiang to pick cotton.While migration to developed areas such as the southeast coast is becoming more common and dominating farmers’ livelihoods,the seasonal migrant livelihood of rural married women still engaged in cotton picking is closely related to their left-behind living conditions.According to the traditional family labor division and gender norms,after married,women are more likely to take on family care responsibilities,especially in rural areas,where the social support network and socialization of housework is far less than urban areas.As a result,men are more likely to go out to work all year round,while their wives periodically stay at home to raise children,support the elderly,handle housework,and cultivate the land.Rural married women have attracted academic attention precisely because of their status as "left-behind women" or "left-behind wives",but instead of passively bearing the life of being left behind,they are constantly switching between mobility and left-behind in order to find a difficult balance between caring for family and supporting financially.At the same time,going to Xinjiang to pick cotton is not just a job or livelihood,we cannot understand it as an economic act alone.For married women in rural areas,cotton picking has more meaning,different individuals derive different meanings according to their own lives.The process of meaning-making,empowerment and reinforcement is precisely the process by which rural married women recognize cotton picking and their individual living situation.This paper is a folklore ethnography on the action logic of female cotton pickers in rural areas of eastern Henan,focusing on the logic of actions,work practices,physical experiences and embodied feelings of married women engaged in cotton picking in rural areas of eastern Henan represented by Y village.In the narratives of female cotton pickers,"the desire to earn money" and "pursuing jollification" appear frequently,which constitute the core action logic of they engaged in cotton picking.The gradual monetization of rural life and the increasingly cost of starting a family for men have put peasant families in eastern Henan under great economic pressure.Not only do men,who are the main breadwinners,cope with financial pressures by working for years to earn money,but women who are family caregivers also have to switch between staying behind and moving,using seasonal mobility to obtain earning opportunities.Cotton picking is an active option women choose facing financial pressures and family care responsibilities."Pursuing jollification" not only expresses the diverse psychological demands of rural married women as the main body of action,such as escaping from housework,going out to see the world,and breaking free from the traditional customs and norms of village,but also shows the life wisdom of female cotton picking workers.Under the restrictions of low level of education,insufficient experience in migrant work,less access to various resources and weak image of women,married women choose to act together with others and participate in collective migrant work such as cotton picking in the form of "pursuing jollification",which not only ensures successful travelling,but also reduces the risks in the process of work,and helps women to negotiate as a group and strive for maximum benefits.At the same time,the practice of women "making fun" in cotton picking also feeds back into their left-behind lives after returning to their hometowns.In addition,the organization and management of women cotton pickers,the formation of skills and women’s preferences,the formation and development of their sense of place in the flow are also important components of the practice of cotton picking by rural married women.The "natural" connection of women to gathering work and the lag in the non-agricultural transformation of women since 1990s together contribute to the creation and reinforcement of the discourse that "rural married women are the most suitable cotton pickers".Through introductions from relatives and friends,government organization,labor brokers’leading,and self-organization,rural married women go to Xinjiang to pick cotton in droves.Becoming a cotton picker does not happen naturally,but is a process in which different factors and mechanisms work together,such as the adaptation and skill acquisition,and the formation of emotional preferences for the job of cotton picking.Through observation,imitation,and repeated practice,women acquire the experience and skills required for cotton picking,they are like a brand engraved on the body,the process of engraving is the process of women becoming cotton pickers.In the years of mobility,the perceptions of women cotton pickers about Xinjiang and their hometowns have also changed invisibly,at the same time,they have changed their daily lives and self-positioning.Once formed,these subjective perceptions in turn influence women’s livelihood choices,work experiences and daily lives.Unlike traditional village folklore ethnography,this study does not focus on a particular folklore that occurs within one community,but rather a practice of rural married women.Flow is one of the distinguishing characteristics of cotton picking,which determines that my fieldwork cannot be fixed in the village,I should move with them.In the process of carrying out research,I followed rural married women to Zhejiang to pick tea-leaves,northern Xinjiang to do odd jobs,and southern Xinjiang to pick cotton.In the process of mobility,I have become more aware that since the traditional society,being attached to one’s native land and unwilling to leave it is not the only background of the rural society,in the ever-changing life,rural people had moved from time to time to maintain their life.In addition to locality,we also need to pay attention to the mobility of rural people.Mobility has long been an essential feature of people’s lives in modern society.In this social context,folkloristics should continuously improve the ability to respond to social reality and study social reality.Scholars should shift the horizon of research to include flow phenomena that have not been paid attention to or paid little attention to in the past.We also should take a holistic and comprehensive view of mobility,think about "how people live on the move".