The Silkworm Breeder Economic Life Of Anthropological Research

This present dissertation takes the silkgrowers'life in Rudong County, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province as an individual case to describe their occupation structures, life expenditure, marriage relationships and the folkways, especially the customs of the sericulture with an aim to prove whether there exists the involutional phenomen which is raised by Huang Zongzhi, and the village's way to modernization.Chapter1is an introduction of the research, including the significance of the research, relative theories and documents, and brief representation on the main research methods.Chapter2introduces the natural ecology and the social and economic development in Nantong City and Hekou Town, especially the introduction of the village's people, the village's appearance, the people's lifestyle and the subtle change of the relationship and so on.Chapter3classify the serigrowers'occupations and the difficulties the sericulture is faced with. It finds out that although the sericulture is one of the serigrowers'incomes, but it confronts with a lot of difficulties. Raising the chicken, working in the city and factories have become a new thriving method to survive.Chapter4describes the changes between structure of consumption and consumption idea. It finds out that the urbanization and the modernization have been playing an increasingly important role in the silkgrowers'opinions on clothing, housing, foods, education and ritual expenditures, although there takes on a new appearance, the traditional social networks are still working.Chapter5inspects how the modernization affects the serigrowers' daily life on marriage, family life, trousseauand betrothal gifts. It finds out that trousseauand betrothal gifts are indispensable parts in the marriage,but the serigrowers are holding a more and more sensible attitude towards them. The relationship between the young couples are decisive and intimate.Chapter6describes the present folkways of production and life especially strengthening the customes of sericulture. Although many rituals have been simplified, but some of them are still working.Chapter7concludes the modernizational and urbanizational features of the serigrowers in Longba Village, and the problems facing them. It finds out that it should place the changes of the villagers'behaviors and opinions in the global backgrounds. Moreover, although the sericulture is a traditional advantageous industury in this village, the villagers will still choose other ways to support themselves when the efficacy is in depression, and it doesn't appear the involutional phenomen which is raised by Huang Zongzhi.