Bilingual signage in Lijiang: Dongba pictograms are in the blue banners (Source: Wikipedia)

The next seminar of the 2012 series of Applied Linguistics seminars at Macquarie University will be held on Tuesday, September 18:

Naxi, Chinese and English: Multilingualism in Lijiang

When: Tue 18/09, 1:00-2:00pm; Where: W5C 221

Presenter: Hongyan Yang, Macquarie University and Yunnan University of Nationalities

Abstract: This study examines language learning and language use among the Naxi, one of the 55 officially-recognized ethnic minorities in China. The majority of Naxi reside in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, Southwest China, a city which is attracting considerable domestic and international interest due to its UNESCO World Heritage status. This thesis attempts to situate multilingual language learning and use among the Naxi within the broader socio-political and economic contexts of Lijiang, contemporary China and global tourism.

This study employs a qualitative methodology to examine the relationship between the learning and use of the Naxi, Chinese and English languages as they are mediated by local beliefs and practices, state language policies and a rapidly globalizing economy. Specifically, the study draws on three sets of data to present a holistic picture of multilingual language learning and use: (1) language policy documents and government reports related to the learning and promotion of the Naxi, Chinese and English languages; (2) individual and group interviews conducted with 46 individuals in Lijiang and two other cities in Yunnan province between 2009 and 2010; (3) the interviews were complemented by participant observation in language classes at different levels of education from primary to tertiary.

The findings reveal that learning and use of Naxi, Chinese and English in Lijiang is embedded in a range of complex local, national and global factors. Although the statuses of all three languages have been legislated, the actual use of Naxi, Chinese and English in Lijiang, as well as the beliefs about these languages, is embedded in the ways in which they are used in schools and in the burgeoning tourism industry. The prevalent belief in Lijiang is that Chinese and English constitute a form of linguistic capital which enables individual, socio-economic mobility whereas Naxi is mostly seen as of symbolic value, tied to Naxi ethnic heritage and identity, and thus of limited socio-economic value.

However, these beliefs do not translate into straightforward language use practices. For most of the ethnic Naxi interviewed, Naxi is still the main language of the home and community and a marker of their ethnic identity. The relatively higher status of Chinese and English, by contrast, does not always translate into high levels of language use. These two languages are in the main restricted to the educational domain and to interaction with non-Naxi, particularly in the tourism industry.

东方主义，这种西方文化中对东方文化及人文的旧式及带有偏见的理解，可谓是由来已久、根深蒂固。一日偶读澳大利亚旅游杂志《出发和到达》中一篇题为“爱情游戏，中国风”的文章，我对东方主义在当今世界的影响力，尤其是在旅游文本中的呈现，感触尤为深刻。

乍看标题“爱情游戏，中国风”，觉得有趣而有些费解：什么样的“爱情游戏”可以称为“中国风”呢？接下来的副标题解释道：“远离现代社会的纷扰，中国纳西族在罕见的母系社会中独享亘古不变的清静”。文中描绘的中国西南边陲的云南白沙古镇是纳西族的故乡之一。而作者描绘的方式却使得白沙镇成为代表整个中国的一个影像：亘古不变，陷入一个远离现代文明的永恒世界。

文章主要介绍“走婚”习俗，援引作者的话，即为“男人永不结婚，女人当家作主”。实际上，“走婚”是摩挲族的风俗，摩梭族乃纳西族的一支，通常被称为世界上仅存的母系社会。沿袭“走婚”传统的男人和女人都不离开自己的母家，男方仅在夜间的时候在女方家居住。由此所生下的孩子归母家抚养。“走婚”是区别纳西族和摩挲族的主要标志。然而，作者显然对此一无所知，因为他在文中写道“纳西和摩挲妇女在爱情游戏中理所当然占主动地位”。

据文中介绍，在纳西社会里，女人承担主要家务，而男人却“游手好闲”。这种鉴定性的描述源自一位曾经是学校教师的非纳西族人，他来自云南首都昆明。想来作者没有做过任何调研，否则他为何还要援引来自一位局外人和城市教师的话呢？下面这句话更是彰显说话者对纳西男人那不屑一顾、鄙视的态度：同样是这位学校教师断言有一半的纳西男人慵懒无为，与猪无异。

直到文章接近尾声的时候，作者才认可“纳西族年长的男人颇有书法造诣、深谙园艺设计、且音乐才能非凡”。但他们的乐队据说是“以‘三老’为名：人老（大多年逾八旬）、乐器老、歌老。”

由此可见，古老和亘古不变是贯穿全文和图片的主题。例如，文章开端给读者展现的是一位自称“又老又丑”的长者。在作者眼中，这位“八旬老人相貌不俗”，“在许多方面都代表了中国的谦逊之美”。文中描绘的影像与图片中老人的形象相互映衬：“宽松的棉裤”，“五十年代的夹克”，“神秘如天使头发的烟袋”，“银色的稀疏胡须”。不仅仅是文中描写的人物是古老的，白沙镇也是古老的：“自十一世纪以来就几乎没有变化的小镇”；这个地方“老就是好的、美的、值得珍惜的东西”；这是“古老文化的家园”，“不受时光变迁”的影响。

尽管文章的核心是纳西母系社会，纳西女性的形象在文字和图片中都被隐化。虽然文中提到纳西女人“在爱情游戏中主动出击”，这句听起来很诱人的话语在文字和图片中都没有得到回应。

简言之，文中描述的白沙镇就是一个人和事都亘古不变的陈列橱。这个白沙镇脱离了飞速现代化的中国这个大环境，实际上只是作者的一种幻像，而非今日白沙的现实。众所周知，白沙镇的母系社会早已不可避免地遭遇现代文明的冲击，而当地旅游业的发展就是改变这一古老社会形态的因素之一。比如，“走婚”习俗竟然成为迎合游客的红灯区的借口。奇怪的是，种种由旅游业给纳西摩挲人带来的变化，文中只字未提。现代文明没有在白沙镇留下任何痕迹，这符合西方旅者对中国及整个东方的期待和幻想。这种西方对东方的形象建构在萨伊德的东方主义中得到最佳阐释。它源于西方世界对东方人的控制和权威，而由此产生的西方对东方形象的偏见很难颠覆。所以，今日中国尽管现代化建设日新月异，在这种旅游文本中仍旧是一个“古老而永恒的国度”。

I know the area and the people well and, as a matter of fact, only a few months ago I spent time in Lijiang collecting data for my PhD research (which deals with practices and ideologies of multilingualism and language learning among the Naxi). The Naxi people I know bear little resemblance to the caricature presented in “Game of Love, Chinese Style.”

Let me introduce you to Jinfang HE and Xinwan HE (both are pseudonyms). Jinfang and Xinwan are friends of mine from Baisha. They are a typical Naxi peasant couple and their ancestors have lived in Baisha for generations on their self-sufficient farm. Both are extremely hardworking, as subsistence farmers have to be. Jinfang usually does most of the farm work in the field and all household work. Xinwan, her husband, drives a mini-bus operating between Baisha’s ancient town and Lijiang city (18 minutes one-way) during the tourism season (usually from April to November). During the off-peak season, he sometimes offers private car charter services to business men from Baisha who need to make a deal in Lijiang city. Jinfang and Xinwan live in a typical Naxi-style house and from the outside it may look “timeless.” However, look closer and you will see that except for the wooden doors and windows carved with traditional Naxi patterns, the interior of the home is very modern and they have the same electric appliances and furniture we usually find in the houses of the Han or westerners. There isn’t much difference there.

However, the local economy does depend on the image of authentic timelessness that the tourists come to see. In 1997, Lijiang’s old town was declared a UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage site. This site includes three ancient towns, Dayan (大研古镇), Baisha (白沙古镇) and Suhe (束河古镇). A lot of effort goes into keeping their ancient looks and old beauty! The historic stone pavements, wooden houses and small bridges, and the streams flowing through the streets and lanes do indeed form a very beautiful landscape.

In Dayan, Baisha or Suhe, the locals, particularly older people, are used to being a tourist picture motif. If you ask permission to take a photo of them, they will unanimously say: “I/We am/are old and ugly, why do you want to take photos for me?” with their friendly smiling faces – it’s part of the spiel and comes with being a living tourist attraction. The ladies in this photo with their healthy smiles all said to me they were old and ugly before posing for the photo …

I imagine that being asked to pose for a photo also happened to Dr. HE and that he graciously obliged. Although it really is a shame that the author of “Game of Love, Chinese Style” apparently has no idea who the old man in the white coat in his picture is. Dr. HE is 86 years old and that’s presumably why he gets featured in the picture but what is really important – and not mentioned at all – is that he is a famous Chinese herbal doctor. Dr. HE has cured many people with cancer from home and abroad. As a matter of fact, he also speaks very fluent English!

Now let me get to the heart of the article, the Mosuo custom of the walking marriage. To begin with, the occupations of my Mosuo friends vary a lot and I know a Mosuo doctor, a university teacher, a tourist guide and more than one researcher. Walking marriage (走婚), also called A Zhu Hun (阿注婚) or A Xia Hun (阿夏婚), is the marriage practice among Mosuo people ONLY (Mosuo  are considered a branch of the Naxi ethnic minority but have been campaigning for independent status for a long time), not for all Naxi. When Mosuo girls/A Xia (阿夏) or boys/A Zhu (阿注) reach puberty, they will get an adult ceremony and girls will from then on be called A Xia and have their own A Xia Fang (bedroom). When A Xia loves A Zhu, A Zhu will ask a witness to ceremoniously go to A Xia’s home with gifts for everyone in the family to ask for A Xia’s mum’s and uncles’ permission to be A Zhu. There are three forms of walking marriage, the most popular one is that A Zhu visits his A Xia at night only and goes back to his home at dawn, the other two forms include that A Zhu will stay in A Xia’s home (阿注定居婚) or A Xia will go to stay in A Zhu’s home (阿夏异居婚). But the latter two are not popular in the local area. Mosuo people have their own values and standards in sex and morality. A Xia and A Zhu respect each other and bear responsibility for each other. The walking marriage is not an arranged marriage and so love plays a very important role in continuing the A Xia-A Zhu relationship. Until they have children, there is some freedom to change to a new A Xia or A Zhu if they find they no longer love each other. However, after they have children, they generally can’t change to a new A Xia or A Zhu.

The way it used to be was that when a child was born, the child would live in the mother’s home and the uncles would take on the responsibility of educating the child. However, the paternal grandmother would come and visit the new baby with gifts for everyone in A Xia’s big family. A Zhu was not allowed to bring the baby back to his home but he would hold a dinner party and invite the seniors in the family and neighbors to show he is the father of the baby and he shoulders his part of the responsibility to raise the child even though mother and father don’t live together in the same household. However, nowadays more and more Mosuo people melt into the mainstream society and give up the walking marriage in favour of the official marriage system.

If anyone needs further evidence that the ethnic minorities of Yunnan are not stuck in a time-warp, look it up on a map. Yunnan is in Southwest China and constitutes the most convenient international passageway to access southeast and south Asia by land. The area is developing rapidly as a centre in the Greater Mekong sub-regional economic zone. It’s hard not to see traces of modernization there. The only ones who are stuck in a time-warp are those travel writers who fail to see how rapidly the lives of the ethnic minorities of Yunnan are modernizing!

Game of love, Chinese style.

Nowhere is the persistence of Orientalist ways of viewing the non-Western Other so obvious than in tourism brochures, as I was reminded when reading an article titled “Game of Love, Chinese Style” in the most recent issue of the Australian travel magazine Arrivals and Departures.

When I saw the title “Game of Love, Chinese Style” on the front page, I was intrigued. What sort of “game of love” could be labeled as “Chinese style”? The subheading provides more detail: “Undisturbed by modernity, China’s matriarchal Naxi minority exist in a rare time-warped world.” The destination featured in the article, Baisha, is a small town in China’s southwest province Yunnan and home of the Naxi ethnic minority. The way it is presented, however, makes Baisha an icon of China as a whole: forever old and trapped in a timeless world cut off from modernity.

The article centers on the custom of the “walking marriage,” which supposedly means that “men never marry and women wear the pants.” “Walking marriage” is actually a custom of the Mosuo, an ethnic group related to the Naxi and often presented as the only matriarchal society in the world. In this tradition men and women never leave the maternal household and men visit their female partners only at night. Children born of such relationships stay with the mother’s extended family. The practice of the “walking marriage” is a major difference between the Mosuo and the Naxi. However, the author is apparently unaware of this when he says “Naxi and Mosuo women are expected to take the lead in the game of love.”

According to the article, in Naxi society, women do most of the work while men are regarded as “slovenly.” The source for this characterization turns out to be a non-Naxi and a former school teacher from Yunnan’s capital Kunming. If the author had done any research, why did he need to source this comment from an outsider and an urban intellectual? More condescending and contemptuous quotes follow: 50% of Naxi men are judged to be lazy “like a pig” by the same school-teacher.

Only towards the end of the article does the author acknowledge that “male Naxi elders are renowned calligraphers, gardeners and skilled musicians.” Their musical collectives are said to be “famous for the “three olds”: old men (few players are under 80 years of age), old instruments and old songs.”

Oldness and timelessness thus are the overarching themes running through the text and the photos. For instance, the reader is also introduced to an old man who claims himself to be “old and ugly” but whom the author considers a “handsome octogenarian” who “in many ways typifies China’s humble beauty.” All the images of “loose cotton pants,” “1950s Mao jacket,” “an angel-hair tobacco pipe” and “his wispy silver beard” are echoed in the photos. It is not only the people featured in the article who are old, the city of Baisha is old, too: “a town virtually unchanged since the 11^th century;” a place where “old is good, old is beautiful, and old is something to be treasured;” and the home of a “time-locked culture.”

Although the article is about the matriarchal Naxi group, women are back-grounded in the text and pictures. Although there is the titillating piece of information that Naxi women “take the lead in the game of love,” they certainly don’t have a prominent position anywhere in the text or the pictures.

The image of Baisha as a whole is represented as a showcase of people and things that exist unchanged forever. Being taken out of the context of “rapidly modernizing China,” the timeless image of Baisha is thus more about the author’s fantasies than Baisha’s realities, one of which is that its matriarchal customs are unavoidably being challenged by modernization – including tourism. For instance, the custom of the “walking marriage” has actually become an excuse for the emergence of a red light district catering to tourists. Strangely enough, this sort of change, among other changes that are brought about by tourism to Mosuo Naxi, is absent from this article. The absence of all traces of modernization in Baisha matches the Western tourism imagery of China and the East at large. This Occidental construction of the Orient is best understood with reference to Said’s concept of Orientalism. It is grounded in Western dominance and authority over the East which has in turn produced a stereotypical Oriental image that can hardly be subverted. It is no wonder that China, despite its accelerating pace of modernization, remains “the ageless reign” in travel writing.