Singing on the river : Sichuan boatmen and their work songs, 1880s - 1930s / by Igor Iwo Chabrowski.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Chabrowski, Igor Iwo.

Series:

China Studies 32.

China studies ; v. 32

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Work songs--China--Sichuan Sheng--History and criticism.

Boaters (Persons)--China--Sichuan Sheng--Social conditions.

Sichuan Sheng (China)--Social life and customs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (331 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Singing on the River by Igor Chabrowski, based on Sichuan boatmen’s work songs ( haozi ), explores the little known world of mentality and self-representation of Chinese workers from the late 19th century until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937). Chabrowski demonstrates how river workers constructed and interpreted their world, work, and gender in context of the dissolving social, cultural, and political orders. Boatmen asserted their own values, bemoaned exploitation, and imagined their sexuality largely in order to cope with their low social status. Through studying the Sichuan boatmen we gain an insight into the ways in which twentieth-century nonindustrial Chinese workers imagined their place in the society and appropriated, without challenging them, the traditional values.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

1 The Social Origins of the Songs: The Eastern Sichuan Working Class, 1880s–1930s

2 The Sounds of the River

3 Mapping the River World

Illustrations

4 Where Do We Belong? Selfhood and Menial Work in Sichuan Society

5 On Women and Love

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

"Revised and enlarged version of an EUI Ph.D. thesis 'Tied to a boat by the sound of a gong' : world, work and society seen through the work songs of Sichuan Boatmen (1880s-1930s)" -- Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ph. D. European University Institute 2013.

ISBN:

9789004305649

9004305645

OCLC:

914296273

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004305649 DOI