Wuhualou: A Study on the Folk Homes of Dali, Yunnan

Author: C.P. Fitzgerald (Australia)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: If one judges the book solely by its title, "Five Flowers Building," it might easily be mistaken for a work about famous scenic spots and historical sites. However, upon closer reading, this book, written by a Western scholar and published over half a century ago, offers a completely fresh perspective. It is as if one were looking down through clouds from an altitude of over 10,000 meters, revealing the landscape in the southern extension of the Tibetan Plateau along the Himalayas. At the intersection of the ancient Silk Road and the Tea Horse Road connecting China with Myanmar and India, amidst the towering mountains and river valleys of western Yunnan, "there lies a narrow, fertile rice-growing region nestled between the, this is the homeland of the Dali Bai people." Thus, the author guides us through time and space, taking us back to the Dali of six or seven decades ago, allowing us to relive the life of our ancestors. The entire book, written in eleven chapters, vividly describes and provides insightful analysis of the natural geography, historical origins, social structure, productive resources, production and living customs, economic conditions, religious beliefs, foreign relations, and ethnic relations of the Bai region. Coupled with hundreds of photographs, it comprehensively recreates the survival and development of the Bai people in China during the 1930s. From the perspective of an anthropologist, it thoroughly dissects the various characteristics of the Bai people as a nation, clarifying some ambiguous views in Bai ethnic studies throughout history, making it an outstanding academic monograph on the human geography of Dali Bai people.