Last Long Family: Naxi Matriarchal Family and Cultural Change

Author: Zheng Xiaoyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This book is written using the methods of applied ethnic social history, focusing on demonstrating the changes in the Jino culture from the 1940s to the 1980s through the main line of the Jino eldest son family. The book specifically examines the special residential form of the Jino patrilineal extended family—the differentiation process of the eldest son family under this broader context. From the collection of materials to the completion of this book, it 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 has been meticulously recorded through the joint efforts of the Jino people in the Jino Mountains. It embodies the collective dedication of myself and the Jino local cadres and masses who assisted me in the fieldwork. What particularly moves the author is that many of the local elders who helped with the fieldwork in the 1980s have passed away, and with the changes in culture, many cultural phenomena are now difficult to replicate. Since every piece of material in the book comes from fieldwork, it holds significant value as a rich source of field data.