日常之蔽:以三江源厕所变革为例透视田野细微经验

The Unnoticed in Daily Life: Grasping the Essence of Small Experiences in Fieldwork by Taking the Toilet Reform in the Three River Headwater Region as an Example

民族学/人类学是关于人们日常生活的研究,但是最为日常的排便或上厕所行为在民族学/人类学的研究中却是缺席的。尤其是人类学家自己如何在田野中解决这一问题,极少出现在他们公开出版的著作中。然而这一最为学者所忽略的现象,却与社会结构、宗教仪式、文化价值、意识形态、洁净观念等诸多人类学的研究主题密切相关。20世纪90年代以来,厕所问题逐渐受到国外人类学界关注。这有赖于斯加克·范德吉斯特的研究和"后现代研究"期刊的呼吁。厕所问题是三江源生态移民社区较为突出的问题之一,回顾在田野调查中的厕所体验,同时呈现了移民社区内的种种厕所问题,以期国内学界对这一问题有所关注,并从民族学/人类学的视角为"厕所革命"提供见解。

Ethnology / anthropology concernsthe study of peoples daily life,but the most common daily behavior,such as defecation or toiletuse,is usually absent in the ethnological and anthropological research. How anthropologists solvethis problem in the field is rarely found in theirpublished books. However,this phenomenon,which most scholars have neglected,is closely related to the research topics of anthropology,suchas social structure,religious ceremonies,culturalvalues,ideology and the concept of cleanliness.In The Sexual Life of Savages,Malinowskiwrote about the attitudes of the Trobriand islandersto feces. Of course,his research focused on thesocial and ritual relationships related to feces.Similarly,in The Nuer,Evans Pritchard alludedonly obliquely to the fact that he was not used topeoples most private activities lying under the gazeof so many aborigines. But he remained silent as towhat these most private activities meant. MonicaWilson discussed the relationship of the smell ofcorpses and feces with witchcraft in her study ofthe Nyakusa. Later,those anthropologists who have conducted an academic exploration of toiletsor defecation include J. B. Loudon,Sjaak Van DerGeest,and Rachel Lea etc. It is worth of mentionthat in 2002,the journal of PostColonial Studiescalled on scholars to study toilet and fecal problems. Thus,in this manner,a series of relatedstudies have appeared,including Allen Chuns discussions on the evolution of the Japanese toilet andits social cultural background,Margaret Morgansreflection on the toilet drain system from the perspective of toilet ceramics,cesspools,sewers,social progress,toilet training,and the social hierarchy associated with toilets,and Assa Doron and IraRajas discussions on hierarchy,gender and socialspace associated with toilets in India.In general,the discussions related to toiletsinvolve various aspects,such as social hierarchy,gender,concept of cleanliness,physical disciplineand social values. However,they are inseparablefrom several theoretical traditions,namely, 1）Sigmund Freuds research on excretion,sexuality anddreams;2）Norbert Eliass study of the progress ofcivilization and the transformation of everyday behavior;3 ）Michel Foucaults discussion aboutpower and physical discipline;and 4 ）MaryDouglass research on the concept of cleanlinessand pollution.In the process of doing fieldwork,scholars always have a variety of toilet experiences,see various styles of toilet and toilet environments,but thispart of their data rarely appear in their publishedacademic books. The experience,which is a curiosity to readers,but an embarrassment to the authors,seems to be a social taboo that might reducethe value of their work and undermine the subjectof their research. However,as a scholar engagedin ethnological and anthropological research,it isnecessary to do fieldwork. And some basic problems that need to be solved in the field will be evenmore at the forefront. One of them is the problemof “ going to the toilet” . It is relatively difficult foranthropologists,especially for female anthropologists. As a female anthropologist,the author of thisarticle describes her different toilet experienceswhile doing fieldwork in Xinjiang,Gansu and Qinghai.Through her toilet experiences and field investigation,this paper points out that the toilet problem is one of the most prominent problems in the ecological migrant communities in the Three RiverHeadwater region and it sums up the four main features of the toilets in the GansuQinghai migrantcommunities：1）The absence of toilets is a common phenomenon. While doing fieldwork in theGansuQinghai ecological migration sites,it isnoteworthy that many villagers have no toilets intheir yards. Some of them have public toilets,butthe sanitary conditions of public toilets are oftenpoor. Therefore,the toilet has become a problemthat the migrants have to face in their daily life. 2）Cleaning toilets is also a problem for the villagers.The reason for this problem is that the herders living on the grassland do not use the “ dry”toilet atall,which seems to be adapted to their productionmode. It is obvious that the production mode ofherders and the dry toilet are two completely different systems,but the local authorities do not teachthe migrants the skills or provide grounds for wastedisposal. 3） The local people think that the personwho can locate the toilet means a person who is cultured. When conducting interviews,we foundthat many migrants cannot speak Chinese,but theyhave the desire to learn Chinese. We found that“ Being able to recognize the sign for toilet and notmake a mistake”became the purpose for the villagers to learn Chinese. “ Not even finding a toilet ”became a selfdeprecating cultural expressions;4 ）Toilet space is a content for identity.The reasonable layout of the house and size of thetoilet space also become a marker of the construction of selfidentity of the villagers in the ecomigrant communities.Through what she saw in the field,the authorexperienced a deep feeling：whether a society iswelloff or not,can be seen from the toilet,in other words,“ small toilet,big livelihood” . The toiletproblem is not only related to peoples daily lives,but also is a mirror of Chinese social civilizationand progress. In December 2014,during his investigation in Zhenjiang,Jiangsu province,General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that toilet reform is an important work for improving ruralhealth conditions and improving peoples quality oflife. In 2015,Xi Jinping stressed that the “ toiletrevolution”should be carried out relentlessly tomake up for the shortcomings that affect the quality of peoples lives. At the National Conference onHealth and Hygiene in August 2016,General Secretary Xi Jinping fully affirmed the significance andachievements of the “ toilet revolution” ,promotedthe continuous campaign for urban and rural environmental hygiene and cleanliness,and once againstressed the need for a “ toilet revolution”in ruralareas. Peoples livelihoods exist in every trivialmatter,and the trivial matter of millions of peopleis a major event. In 2017,General Secretary Xionce again proposed to transform all public toiletsacross the country,especially those in rural areaswhich had poor environments. He believed thatsolving the problem of toilets is of iconic significance in the construction of new rural areas. Toilets are not only a necessary part of daily life,butalso a symbol of local civilization. Due to the impact of inadequate infrastructure and outdated concepts,rural soil toilets have not completely disappeared,something which is seriously affecting therural ecological environment and peoples＇ health.To change this situation,we must have a “ toiletrevolution”to solve the toilet problem,which is oficonic significance in the new rural construction.As for the environmental remediation of the ecological migration sites in GansuQinghai region,theproper placement and cleanliness of toilets are equally significant and farreaching.