Donations fund this site and ongoing ethnographic research on folk martial arts and traditions in rural north China. This includes the purchase of hardware, equipment for data analysis and field expeditions.
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Note: This article was commissioned by the Goethe-Institut and first appeared on www.goethe.de/china in November 2013. It appeared on the Goethe-Institut website in German, Chinese and English and can be found at http://www.goethe.de/ins/cn/en/lp/kul/mag/vtr/swl/11980640.html. Chinese and German translations are also provided. I have republished it here in conformance with the copyright contract I signed with Goethe-Institut but have added several additional photos and captions.
Chinese version of the article follows the English version.
Old martial art brings new spirit to rural China
Note: The names of places and people have been changed to protect privacy.
Despite the prolific rural outmigration caused by China’s rapid urbanization, Minghe village in Heibei province is experiencing a renewal of community development and social cohesion that is attributable to the revival of a once-outlawed folk martial art and sectarian religious group, Meihuaquan (Plum Flower Boxing). The social function of meihuaquan activities– increased communal cooperation and an enhanced sense of social responsibility – is helping remedy the critical deficit in social trust and community cohesion that characterizes contemporary Chinese society.
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