Institutional Condition,Subject Consciousness and Cultural Symbiosis:Qingshui River Basin Experience on Interactions and Exchanges among Different Ethnic Groups

Based on cases in specific regions,historical anthropology is one kind of vital academic orientation to explore interactions and exchanges among different ethnic groups of different historical periods,so as to gain new knowledge and understanding on the structure of Chinese history and culture as a whole.Focusing on Qingshui River Basin in southeast Guizhou Province,this paper:1)briefly summarizes the geospatial pattern and new social environment formed by institutional designs and governance practice since the beginning of Qing Dynasty,including the administrative design"prefecture,subprefecture,hall,and county"(fu,zhou,ting,and xian),the military institution tunwei",and the ethnic regional leader“tusi";2)depicts the common economic activity of Qingshui River Basin with the plantation,lumbering and transportation of China fir at its core,which takes shape alongside the development of this region,as well as the sharing of knowledge and interests,and the subject consciousness of that period;and 3)further discusses the identity expression with the nation of subjects from different ethnic groups,which is based on their identification with mainstream cultural value,alongside the creation of local culture,including regional tradition reform and the popularizing of common written language.The actual situation and occurrence mechanism of interactions and exchanges among different ethnic groups in Qingshui River Basin since Qing dynasty is the basic pathway to understand the formation process,ethnic integration,and cultural symbiosis of a regional society;and as a shared and common pattern of the harmonious development of economy and social culture in southwest China,it also provides valuable experience for exploring the forming of the"diversity in unity"feature of the Chinese nation as well as the fostering of a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.