Linjie Wang

As an ethnic minority group ‘directly-entering-socialism’ and still maintaining its rich traditional way of life, Baiku Yao (BKY) is described as a ‘Living Fossil’ by Chinese mainstream media and local governments. Following the Intangible Cultural Heritage boom and the ‘Carnival’ of comprehensive ‘Heritagization’ of traditional culture in China in the past twenty years, BKY, as one of the sub-tribes of the Yao, has also been experiencing the ‘heritagization turn’ of ‘modernity.’

My project, taking BKY culture as an ethnographic case study, explores how traditional culture has been heritagized by state actors as intangible cultural heritage, and in turn, how and to what ends BKY people have strategically engaged with state-led heritagization processes as part of their own efforts to conserve and continue making their culture.

This doctoral fieldwork was conducted over 24 months and applied anthropological participant observation research methods in Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan, China. The thesis will discuss the ICH-making process of the BKY through studying China’s ICH policymaking and implementation, the practices of the BKY ethnic eco-museum and its Cultural Memory Project, and the village ethnographic documentary making and social media (Kuaishou 快手) posting.

Funding 

• Sandander Mobility Awards
• The Elisabeth Croll Scholarship for fieldwork in China

Education

• BA, Journalism Studies, Communication University of China, 2008
• MA, Anthropology of media, SOAS London of University, 2017

• MRes, Social Anthropology , SOAS London of University, 2018

Wang, Linjie (2012) the Social Responsibility of the Modern Journalist in China, in the special collection of the Marxist Concept of News and Professional Ethics, China.