Last Room: Naxi Matrilineal Family and Cultural Change

Author: Zheng Xiaoyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This book is written using the methods of applied ethnic and social history, focusing on demonstrating the transformation of the Jino ethnic group's culture from the 1940s to the 1980s through the main line of the Jino senior lineage. The book specifically examines the unique residential form of the Jino patrilineal extended family—the senior lineage—under this broader historical context. From the collection of materials to its completion today, this book has taken over twenty years, making it one of the most labor-intensive and time-consuming books I have written in my research career. Every piece of information and factual detail presented to the readers in this book was meticulously recorded through the joint efforts of myself and the local people in the Jino Mountains. It embodies the collective dedication of myself and the Jino local cadres and masses who assisted my work. What particularly moves the author is that many of the local elders who helped with fieldwork in the 1980s have passed away, and with the changes in culture, many cultural phenomena are now difficult to recreate. Since every piece of material in the book originates from fieldwork, it holds significant value as a rare fieldwork resource.