Chinese Economies in Ethnographic Perspective: Two case studies of intersecting socioeconomic diversity

This article presents economic interactions in two Chinese socioeconomic realms: urban funerals and village-level welfare funds. Ethnographically examining these realms reveals that each of them comprises a diversity of economic processes and moralities. Our first point is thus that ‘the economy’ is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Modern Asian studies 2020-11, Vol.54 (6), p.1987-2021
Main Authors: KIPNIS, ANDREW B., CLIFF, TOM
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Capitalism
Case studies
Economic activity
Economic growth
Ethnography
Funerals
Grey markets
Morality
Power
Social order
Socioeconomic factors
Taxation
Welfare
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Summary:This article presents economic interactions in two Chinese socioeconomic realms: urban funerals and village-level welfare funds. Ethnographically examining these realms reveals that each of them comprises a diversity of economic processes and moralities. Our first point is thus that ‘the economy’ is a multiple rather than a singular entity. But just as important are the means by which actors move from one form of economy to another, bridging different sets of moral rules. Diverse economic processes and the methods of moving among them exist everywhere, but in China they also reflect the legal ambiguity under which much economic activity takes place. In addition to detailing the differing forms of economy and the ways of moving among them, we show how the intersection between these processes helps to reproduce a certain social order, at least under the socioeconomic conditions at the time of our research.
ISSN:0026-749X
1469-8099
DOI:10.1017/S0026749X18000409