The Story of Yushichang Village - Process and Choices of a Local State, 1949–2009

Located in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Yushichang is a typical village of the Pumi ethnic group. With a current population of more than 360, the village has been home to the Pumi people for more than 500 years. Over the first six decades of the People’s Republic of China, Yushichang village has managed to protect both its ecological environment and the Pumi culture. Drawing on a rich trove of oral history and ethnographic studies, this book tries to understand, at both the micro and macro levels, how this population has navigated the tension between tradition and modernity and what resources it might bring to bear to meet future challenges.