Dixi of Anshun City, Guizhou Province, China : Cultural Identity and Commoditization in the Context of Globalization

Abstract

The research topic of this paper is Dixi of Anshun City, Guizhou Province, China. This paper has three research objectives: 1. To study the identity of the Tunpu people as performers of Dixi from the dimension of history. 2. To analyze the meaning of Anshun Dixi as a cultural identity. 3. To study on the commoditization process of Anshun Dixi under the background of globalization. This study uses qualitative research methods, and the main information was collected from field investigation and literature research.

Globalization is the salient feature and overall trend of the development of human society today. In the context of globalization, commoditization and cultural identity are particularly important for the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. As with the first batch of China's intangible cultural heritage in 2006, the development process of Anshun Dixi is also deepening with the process of globalization.

Anshun Dixi arose from the unique history of Tunpu people struggling to survive in outlying areas. After a short period of ups and downs, the government, folk elites, actors, villagers, scholars, and other subjects have intervened and practiced inheritance, cultural heritage, paper media transmission, electronic media transmission, tourism transmission, and other forms of existence. Since the 1980s, with the continuous development of Chinese cultural tourism and the influence of the market economy, Anshun Dixi, as a typical representative of Tunpu culture, has appeared in tourism resources. As a spiritual product and a cultural symbol of the Tunpu people, Dixi is fundamentally different from material products. Material products meet people's physiological needs, while Dixi meets people's spiritual needs. From the perspective of economics, the performance art of Dixi has become a "commodity" today. From the perspective of the whole development process of Dixi culture, with the impact of globalization, Dixi has also experienced the turning point of "commoditization." Today is the era of the commodity economy. All material and spiritual products around us may become commodities. In the globalization of the market economy, tourism and the development of Dixi culture inevitably lead to the commoditization of Dixi. Of course, the commoditization of Dixi has both positive and negative effects on itself, but in general, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Commoditization provides positive support for the survival and development of Dixi, enriches the connotation of Dixi, promotes the development of Dixi culture, and develops great economic value.

At the same time, the impact of globalization on Tunpu culture is that the Dixi has begun the process of commoditization. We should also see that Anshun Dixi has unique cultural value, and cultural identity is the core mechanism when we talk about the protection and inheritance of Dixi. For a long time, the development of Dixi was dependent on Tunpu culture and Tunpu people. Prior to the 1980s, there was no cultural identity crisis.With the progress of globalization, when the Anshun region ushered in a "tourism craze," the Dixi also experienced a "going abroad craze," a "performing craze," a "research craze," and other situations. In traditional society, Anshun Dixi is not used as a commodity to participate in economic activities and is rarely used to directly create economic value. However, in the current era of unprecedented prosperity in the commodity economy, the development of the economic value of Dixi has become a problem that must be addressed directly. Whether it is the government, academia, business, or news media as the main body of protection, or the actors as the main body of performance and inheritance, the value realization of Dixi must not be ignored, including the realization of economic value. Therefore, the cultural identity of Dixi has a corresponding crisis. Especially in the field of Dixi masks, due to the lack of identification of some production and operation entities with Dixi culture, market identification dominated by demand squeezes cultural identification, and the lack of cultural identification occurs in the production protection of Dixi masks. At the subject level, some "cultural elites" regard themselves as businessmen and ignore the social responsibility of cultural inheritance; at the process level, the sales of Dixi masks are out of touch with cultural transmission; and at the object level, the core cultural symbols of the Dixi mask are weakened or even discarded.

In a word , in the context of globalization and in the face of the tide of tourism and economic development, the commoditization of Anshun's Dixi is inevitable. At the same time, with the expansion of the scope of Dixi commoditization, the cultural identity of Dixi has also changed to a certain extent. The research conclusion of this paper is that the commoditization and cultural identity of Dixi are interacting in the process of globalization. commoditization has expanded the popularity of Dixi, consolidated the identity of Tunpu people with Dixi, and strengthened the cultural identity of Dixi with the physical practice of Dixi performers. With the continuous improvement of Tunpu people's recognition of the Dixi culture, the commoditization of the Dixi has also deepened, adding more important chips for the external publicity and promotion of Tunpu culture and contributing to the establishment of a sense of Chinese national community.

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