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An Island of the Floating World: Kinship, Rituals, and Political-Economic Change in Post-Cold War Jinmen

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An Island of the Floating World: Kinship, Rituals, and Political-Economic Change in Post-Cold War Jinmen The London School of Economics and Political Science An Island of the Floating World: Kinship, Rituals, and Political-economic Change in Post-Cold War Jinmen Hsiao-Chiao Chiu A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, January 2017 1 of 276 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 96,178 words. I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Mr. James Johnston. 2 of 276 Abstract During the Cold War era, the island of Jinmen was the frontline of the Republic of China in its military standoff with the People’s Republic of China. From 1949 to 1992, the life of the islanders was profoundly disturbed and altered by wars and militarization generated by the bipolar politics. Despite this, the localized patrilineages dating from imperial times remain central to the organization of local social life. Grounded on fifteen months of fieldwork in a patrilineal community, this dissertation demonstrates the significant roles of kinship and kinship-related rituals in sustaining the local social fabric through turmoil and uncertainty during and after the Cold War. The first part of this thesis focuses on lineage ancestral sacrifices, domestic worship, and funerals. The continuation of rituals that sustain patterns of interpersonal relationships is argued to constitute a means of negating the destruction of social order experienced in the period of military control and conflict. Yet, against the background of these ritual continuities, the thesis also examines how they have been adapted to shifting circumstances, such as the involvement of military and political authorities in folk ritual practices as a means for securing their legitimacy, and the material changes in rituals that have accompanied rapid commercialization from the 1990s. The second part focuses on the impact of the Cold War on local political and economic life and state-society relations. Despite some salient changes, the ways that people define their social roles and relate to one another are shown to have remained largely framed by values and morals from the sphere of kinship. Kinship therefore actually continues to constitute a distinctive feature of the local political-economic structure, countering an often-seen formula assuming causal relations between the dramatic political-economic changes and the declining role of kinship or “traditional” values in orienting people’s life and action. 3 of 276 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 6 List of Figures 8 Note on Style 9 Chapter One Introduction 10 Jinmen in the context of Cold War 19 Literature review of Chinese kinship and the thesis’s 30 theoretical approaches Fieldwork experiences and research methods 47 Organization of the thesis 51 Chapter Two The Formation and Changes of the Cai Lineage 54 Corporate lineage as the product of human agency 56 The formation of the Cai lineage in late imperial times 60 The Cai lineage and its settlement in the republican era 67 The project of cultural heritage preservation in Qionglin 72 Conclusion 81 Chapter Three Ancestral Sacrifices and the Vitality of the Lineage 83 Organization Organizing and preparing the ancestral sacrifices 87 Performing the ancestral sacrifices and the post-ritual 94 commensality The transmission of ritual knowledge and practices 99 Ritual disjunctions: reunion in the ritual versus separation in 105 the reality Cross-border ritual collaboration 109 Conclusion 112 Chapter Four Domestic Worship and Women’s Multiple 116 Relationships Women’s everyday business of worship and the 120 transmission of ritual practices Ancestor worship from a female perspective: making and 126 marking multiple relationships through ritual performance The constraints on worship: women’s different attitudes on 135 pàipài responsibilities Conclusion 143 Chapter Five Funeral, Cooperation and Local Social Networks 146 The white happy events on Jinmen 150 Three cooperative relationships in the white happy events 159 Ethical reflections on the socially promoted form of funeral 167 Conclusion 171 4 of 276 Chapter Six Female Labour and Changes in Household 175 Economy during the Cold War Learning and economic agency 178 The economic trajectories of three women 181 Women’s labour and authority in the patriarchal settings 195 Conclusion 202 Chapter Seven Local Political-economic Structure after the Cold 205 War Sorghum liquor and the economic well-being of Jinmen 209 residents Sorghum distillery and the financial structure of the county 213 government Local political structure and the 2014 municipal-level 218 election State-society relations during and after the Cold War 228 Conclusion 233 Chapter Eight Conclusion 237 Appendix: Glossary of Chinese Characters 260 Bibliography 264 5 of 276 Acknowledgements There are many people who have made this thesis possible, only some of whom have been named here. First and foremost my immerse gratitude goes to my interlocutors in Jinmen, especially the villagers of Qionglin where I stayed throughout my fieldwork. I would like to thank A-Lang whose hospitality and unwavering support endorsed my entry into the village and satisfactory completion of research. I am indebted to the warmth, friendship, and countless help I received from A-Lang’s family, my closest neighbour Madam Yang and her family, all of whom made my time in Jinmen both more pleasant and manageable that it would have been otherwise. My thanks also go to the village head, several elderly men with whom I had long talks, and my admirable female compatriots in the village voluntary group. I myself and my research both benefited greatly from their generous sharing of their wisdom of their customs and local history, and their family life and personal stories. I will be forever indebted to Professor Chen Chinan, an important mentor both in my life and my academic pursuit. It was my great fortune to be his postgraduate student in the field of cultural studies in the Taipei National University of the Arts. I remembered the days in the classes and our meetings he led me through the thoughts of great social scientists and philosophers and, more importantly, he opened the window of the world of anthropology to me. It was his thought-provoking guidance and encouragement that turned me to be an anthropologist. The Anthropology Department at the LSE provided a vibrant environment for this project to come to life. Special thanks go to Michael Scott, my fantastic tutor during my study in the Master programme in 2011/12. Michael’s inspiring tutoring deepened my enthusiasm in the anthropological knowledge, and was important to the initial shaping of this project. I feel tremendous gratitude to my supervisors, Charles Stafford and Hans Steinmüller, who have supported me at every stage of my doctoral studies. Charles is always the source of warming encouragement and thoughtful suggestion. My thesis writing benefited enormously from his ethnographic insights on Taiwan and China as 6 of 276 well as his perceptive advice on the connection of my study to the broader anthropological theories. Hans has been a fabulous, stimulating discussant since our first meeting five years ago. I always left our meetings filled with new ideas and novel perspectives on my own research and beyond. My gratitude to all the members of the pre-fieldwork seminars and post-fieldwork thesis-writing seminars that I attended, who provided thoughtful engagement with this work in progress. Thanks to my PhD cohort: Chiara Arnavas, Ivan Deschenaux, Anna- Riikka Kauppinen, Megan Laws, Jonah Lipton, Fuad Musallam and Liat Tuv for stimulating exchange of ideas and experiences. I would especially like to thank Magdalena Wong and Di Wu, who have been close friends throughout the PhD, sharing with me every moment of joyfulness, frustration, and accomplishment. This thesis is dedicated to my family who are always on my side for my every decision and adventure. I could never have gotten here without their unconditional love and faith in me. This PhD project was generously supported by a Studying Abroad Scholarship from the Taiwanese Government, the Alfred Gell Research Proposal Prize, the Newby Trust Award, and a Dissertation Fellowship from the Chiang Chingkuo Foundation. I am honoured and thankful for the expression of confidence in my work. 7 of 276 List of Figures Figure 1: The geographic location of Jinmen 12 Figure 2: The islands of Jinmen 12 Figure 3: fang and jiazu 35 Figure 4: The layout of the Qionglin settlement and the location of the 65 seven ancestral buildings Figure 5: The spatial arrangement of the ancestral tablets, sacrificial 95 items and food for ‘touting’ Figure 6: The layout of the author’s rented house 116 8 of 276 Note on Style All translations from languages other than English are mine, unless otherwise indicated. Vocabularies that are commonly used by the people of Jinmen in the Minnan dialect are written italicized in the form of romanization designed by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan (on-line: http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/index.html). All other Chinese words in italics in the standard pinyin form are part of the vocabulary of standard Mandarin (guoyu in Taiwan, the official dialect used in government and education).
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