| All people and all groups are situated in multiple borders.From natural borders,ethnic borders,administrative borders,cultural borders including religion,to national borders,they are known and practiced by the majority of border people,and at the same time,they are common concerns in academic and political circles.Among them,national borders,which originated more mainly after the construction of the modern nation-state,have been the focus of modern state governance and thus have been rich in research results.However,there is still much room for expanding the study of the multidimensional borders of each border people and cross-border ethnic groups,which are inter-layered and complemented by common time,especially the dynamic and scenario-based study of the construction and continuation of the process of village construction and ethnic,blood,geographical,marriage and religious origin of crossborder ethnic groups,which has important academic value and practical significance.This study focuses on the multiple border perceptions and practices of the Dai border people located in the Sino-Lao border area,and finally focuses on how the border people constantly adapt their national border perceptions and practices in the process of national identity construction,so as to regulate their identity image as national citizens and strengthen their national identity.As villagers of Mengban administrative and natural villages,they have their dual perceptions and practices of natural and administrative village boundaries;as Dai and Southern Buddhist believers,they have their dual perceptions and practices of ethnic and religious boundaries based on their ethnic origin,language,and customs;as Chinese citizens,they have their perceptions and practices of national boundaries.Because these multidimensional borders are both tangible and intangible,it is particularly important for ethnic minority border people to balance their perceptions and practices among the multiple borders,especially the national identity based on their perceptions and practices of the national borders to unify the other identities.The history of the construction of Mengfan villages and the history of their villagers becoming national citizens since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China,especially since the reform and opening up,is a dynamic process of top-down border governance at the national level and bottom-up active adaptation and integration of the border people.This study focuses on the natural borders of villages,religious and cultural borders,and national borders,each with its own focus and interrelated perspectives and approaches,and analyzes the temporal and situational changes in the perceptions and practices of multiple borders from natural village villagers,Buddhist believers,border people to national citizens and their survival wisdom,and explores the motivations,trends,manifestations,and impacts of the interaction between the state and border people along with the nationalization process that led to the unprecedented strengthening of border people’s national citizenship and national identity. |
