Research On The Exchange Of Traditional Cultural Festivals Of The Jing Nationality Between China And Vietnam

The Kinh people,also known as the Viet people,reside on both sides of the SinoVietnamese border.As a minority ethnic group in China,the Kinh numbers 25,000 in Dongxing,Guangxi,according to a 2000 census.The Kinh of Dongxing have a distinct cultural background.Historically speaking they are consanguineous with Vietnam's coastal communities,in particular those of Tra Co,Mong Cai,and Quang Ninh,with whom they maintained extensive networks.Following the conclusion of the SinoFrench treaty of 1887,the Kinh residing in Vietnam and China were required to settle within their respective borders,although they continued to maintain close ties with each other until the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979.During China's Cultural Revolution(1966-1976)and Sino-Vietnamese border clashes(1979-1991),the Kinh of Dongxing almost made a break with their traditional culture.The situation only changed when,in the context of the normalization of Sino-Vietnamese relations in 1991 and Beijing's policy of ‘revive the frontier,enrich the people',the Kinh of Dongxing felt the need to restore their ethno-cultural traditions.For them,the best way to re-discover their traditions and customs was through sustained interactions with the Vietnamese Kinh.From them they can reconstruct traditions and customs for their local communities in China,and therefore establish their distinctiveness among the 55 ethnic minorities of China.The main research focus of this essay is Festival Dinh of the Chinese Kinh,specifically the Kinh of Dongxing.The most important folk occasion for both Vietnamese and Chinese Kinh,Festival Dinh has become a representative marker of Kinh communities.As Chinese and Vietnamese Kinh believe that they share the same ethnic origin and worship the same gods(i.e.the Dinh),they were notably keen to exchange with each other,and learn about and reconstruct Festival Dinh as a way to trace back their roots.With four chapters in this essay,I will describe the entire process of how Chinese Kinh intellectuals acquired knowledge of Festival Dinh celebration in Vietnam and how they in turn applied that in their own communities in China.Here,we can identify the phenomenon of cultural refraction,meaning what many Chinese Kinh take to be ‘traditional culture' is in fact a product of cultural restoration works in the past few decades.I conclude by arguing that we should not view traditions in a mechanical way.Rather,traditions are contingent on constant creation and recreation.From the perspective of cultural anthropological theories(e.g.structuralism,acculturation,invention of tradition,ethno-symbolism),I would like to provide insights into what it takes to(re)construct culture.In this way,I hope my research findings will help policymakers with their efforts to develop Kinh culture.