Du Jing is mainly engaged in the study of Han society and the history of anthropology in China. In fact, as early as 2002, Du Jing began a field survey of a village named Min Village in Linyi City, Shandong Province. Ten years later, he conducted a modern ethnographic experiment on the traditional nine-clan system, and wrote a 720,000-word academic monograph for the practice of the five-campaign nine-clan system in this village in East China. In recent years, more than 50 academic papers have been published at home and abroad.
The theoretical model of "Fountain Society" or "Nine Clans in a Chain" and the theoretical model of "Nine Clans-Clans" in China, which are refined through field investigation at the grass-roots level, have exerted extensive influence in anthropology, social history, overseas China experience research and other fields.
Ten-year field investigation promotes academic research
In the early 1990s, Du Jing was mainly engaged in the investigation and study of folk culture in southern Shandong, and accumulated rich knowledge of local folk customs and regional social history and culture. Later, Du Jing gradually shifted his research interests and fields to the Han society and the history of anthropology in China. From 2002 to 2003, Du Jing began to pay attention to Min Village, a small village in southern Shandong around his hometown, and began his ten-year investigation and research in this area.
During the Spring Festival in 2004, Du Jing began a rigorous anthropological investigation of Min Village, and made an in-depth investigation and detailed record of the geographical situation around Min Village, the population and economic structure of the village, the historical process of the village, the clan organization and function of Min Village, the funeral system of Min Village and the clothing system of relatives. In August, 2004, after the first investigation, Du Jing obtained a lot of field investigation data.
Malinowski, a British anthropologist and one of the founders of Functionalism School, believes that anthropologists should participate in the production and life of local people, understand local culture and collect local data by participating in observation. Du Jing told reporters that in order not to disturb the pace of life in the rural world, he adopted a flexible strategy: "No matter what happens, I will observe, interview and record." Observe and investigate during the day and arrange notes at night. It should be said that a large number of folk culture surveys were not obtained through inquiries, but the information I obtained during my participation. "
With the deepening of investigation and study, Du Jing's relationship with the local people gradually became familiar. Du Jing told reporters that after getting familiar with Min villagers, Min villagers often invited him to participate in their folk activities such as childbirth, weddings and funerals, sacrifices, celebrations and even daily banquets. "I am not a bystander. I participate in many things according to the folk custom system of the rural world, or I am one of the practitioners of the cultural activities of the Min people. "
In Du Jing's view, he is a standard "indigenous" journalist. Du Jing told reporters that Lin and Fei Xiaotong's early field locations were also selected in the rural society they were familiar with. Du Jing believes that such an investigation method can be regarded as an active and distinctive pursuit of the early Yanjing School.
In the following years, Du Jing revisited Min Village dozens of times. In order to find out the context of the Min nationality, Du Jing also went to Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces for investigation and research. Many Tanomura left Du Jing's footprints in the field investigation. During the ten years from 2002 to 20 12, Du Jing's 720,000-word monograph "Nine clans and villages-a fountain society in the Han world" was published. .
Field work should be "integrated" and "going out"
Du Jing summed up the field investigation experience of 10 years with the attitude of coexistence of bitterness and joy. "If you enter Mengshan, you will be in danger, and you will fall off a cliff and die; Involved in drowning, submerged by flash floods, and swallowed up by whirlpool. " Du Jing told reporters that during the investigation in Min Village, he was in danger several times, and his field trip was once limited by lack of funds, but he persisted. 10 years ago, when he first entered Min Village, he still had black hair, but now he is as cold as ice. Although the field investigation is very hard, Du Jing is still full of enthusiasm. "It is also a great pleasure to visit ancestral temples, read historical sites and talk with local people." Du Jing described his field work with a small poem: reading music, copying monuments, looking for ancient files, and talking in the streets and lanes. Where is the heart of this life? The stranger went up the river and crossed it on foot.
Field investigation is a kind of field investigation. In the actual investigation, we describe the local people's psychology and viewpoints through our own experiences, and observe and experience the local people's culture and psychology from a new angle. Anyone who has really worked in the field knows the importance of "consultant". Du Jing's fieldwork in Min village not only has a wealth of "consultants", but also has established deep feelings with local villagers, which has completely integrated into local life, thus ensuring the success of Du Jing's fieldwork.
"In most cases, I live in Min Qingxin's old man's house in Min Village, and sometimes I live in the home of Miss Ling and others. They warmly welcomed me to live and treated me as my family. Even the dogs in Min Qingxin's old man regard me as a member of that family. " After the wheat harvest on 20 10, Du Jing revisited Min Village, and after learning that Min Qingxin died, he went to the grave of Min Qingxin to offer sacrifices and kowtow.
In anthropological research, too many emotional entanglements with the respondents often affect the objectivity of ethnography writing. As a trained anthropologist, Du Jing has long been aware of this problem in field investigation, and "went out" from the local people's lives when writing ethnography, insisting on the academic position of experimental ethnography. Du Jing told reporters that in order to remain objective, he should always reflect. "When I questioned a certain theoretical concept based on the field survey data, I reminded myself: Did I cover up other arguments against me in order to refute it, thus taking myself to the other extreme? Does my audience represent the community? Do you listen to the voices of male respondents too much and ignore the feelings and understanding of women? Did the interviewee deliberately choose a statement for some purpose, thus not telling me the truth of history? "
In addition to discussing the contents of the field investigation with many scholars, Du Jing also discussed the contents of the manuscript with the local people in the village to keep the ethnography true and objective enough. "20 1 1 year 1 1.5 I discussed the contents of the manuscript with Min Qingling, Min Linfan and Min Linfan in Min Village until late at night. I either adjusted some places according to their opinions, or disagreed with their insiders' opinions and wrote Chen Qi's opinions in my notes. I did this consciously to reflect on the writing hegemony of ethnographers. " Du Jing believes that the results formed on the basis of field investigation should have some flavor of post-modern experimental ethnography.
Explain China society with China's anthropological theory.
The reporter learned that at present, China's anthropological research still relies on western anthropological theory to explain the ever-changing reality in China. Edmund Leach and Maurice Freedman, British anthropologists, once realized that if we want to know China, we must know enough about China, because we are facing a society with a long history and tradition and a highly complex civilization. Du Jing told reporters that only by taking root in China, collecting data through field investigation and refining China's anthropological theory can we better explain China society.
Based on the investigation and study of traditional villages in China, such as Min Village, Du Jing combined the writing of modern ethnography with the study of social history, not only systematically sorted out the traditional customs and theories of the nine-clan system, but also put the nine-clan kinship system into the regional society for investigation, and put forward the interpretation model of fountain society or nine-clan series society. Looking back on her field work, Du Jing said frankly that she changed from "international standardization" to "developing local wisdom based on local experience", and finally settled on the combination of Chinese and foreign communication theories, and finally found a local concept and theoretical framework-Jiuzu.
Anthropologists believe that, in the form of rural organization, this new interpretation mode of nine-clan serial society, together with a series of traditional theories such as market hierarchy theory, sacrificial circle theory, belief circle theory and water conservancy organization, will make us more clearly understand the daily life and internal cultural connotation and significance of a rural society. Zhuang Kongshao, a professor of anthropology at Renmin University of China, commented on the results of Du Jing's field investigation in this way: As a systematic study, it is obvious that Du Jing put the investigation of the category of "five services and one family" on the kinship system and social organization. No matter in the so-called clan society or in the non-clan society, the variability of the category of "Five Clothes" is thought-provoking, which may become a new theoretical observation point in all aspects of grassroots social organizations.
According to Yin Kai, a doctoral student at Minzu University of China, Du Jing's insistence on going deep into the countryside to engage in field investigation will inspire their young scholars to do practical investigations, abandon the "structuralist model" and dogmatism model in academic research, and start with actual field materials to challenge and innovate the original anthropological theory.