29 Anthropological Classics | Understand people and cultures

Academics are not all about reasoning with a strained face, and research is not limited to going to the library.

There is such an academic research, the researcher is interested in a place or a group of people, runs to live there with a romantic imagination, obtains the stories of their lives in the process of intimate contact with people, and finally returns to his original daily life and begins to narrate what he has seen and heard there in an orderly manner - unfortunately, this kind of anthropological research path is still very cold in China.

The basic meaning of "ethnography" refers to the description of the social and cultural phenomena of foreign peoples, Herodotus's description of the family life of the Egyptians, the travelogues of travelers and explorers, the first merchants and missionaries who preached with the "natives", and the reports of the "imperial officials" of the colonial era on the indigenous peoples, all of which are grouped under the broad genre of "ethnography".

Ethnography is an academic tool sharpened by social and cultural anthropologists, and has been widely adopted by ethnology, sociology, and folklore, and has been combined with other social science disciplines with relatively large practice scales to develop religious anthropology, political anthropology, legal anthropology, economic anthropology, historical anthropology, and educational anthropology......

In the construction of modern Chinese scholarship, the lack of ethnography has caused many defects in the knowledge production of social sciences. If the academic community does not have a basic team to undertake the cause of ethnography and cannot provide the basic facts of the society it is concerned about, then it is not easy for the academic community to form a common topic, to form interrelated views that maintain differences and tensions, and to hone the overall ideological wisdom and analytical skills when the "social facts" in everyone's mind are too different and unknowable and incoherent.

Without ethnography and the diffusion of ethnography in the social sciences, it will be difficult for academics about society to "talk about things", to make "things" interesting, to link trivial phenomena into social images, and to understand people and culture in the social process.

In a nutshell, the selection of this "Anthropological Classics in Chinese Translation" is either an iconic text of ethnographic quality, or a representative anthropological work that reflects on ethnography and promotes the development of ethnography.

The ethnography that we recommend to the Chinese social science community today is certainly not limited to the islanders of the ocean, not to African tribes, nor to anthropology.

This series of translations focuses on selecting masterpieces that are conducive to sharpening our ability to find and say "things", because we believe that the lack of such skills is the weakness of the healthy development of social sciences in China. There are many books on ethnography and anthropology that can be translated and read; Fortunately, there are many Chinese publishing houses, and fortunately, there are many enthusiastic people among the peers. Organizing the translation of such books does not begin with us, nor does it end with our efforts. Let's pick up each other's shortcomings. Gao Bingzhong was born on February 4, 2006

1. Shamanism, Colonialism and Savages: A Study of Fear and Healing by Michael Tausig; Wang Haohuan and Zhao Yuyan translated the classics of anthropological ethnography in South America, and the research perspective and writing methods are of great reference significance

2. "Demons and Commodity Fetishism in South America" by Michael Tausig; Ma Chen's translation of the famous work of renowned Australian anthropologist Professor Michael Taussig explores the social significance of demons in the folk beliefs of contemporary South American plantation workers and tin miners

3. "The Poetics of Manhood: Competition and Identity in a Cretan Mountain Village" by Michael Herzfield; Zhao Deyi and Xu Luya are translating one of Hertzfeld's most important ethnographic works, a classic study of anthropology, which provides a detailed analysis of the divisive tendencies of marginal societies and the competitive nature of male social discourse and behavior

4. "The Irish Countryman: An Anthropological Study" [US] by M. Ahrensberg; Lemay's translation of a classic work describing Irish vernacular society in the early 20th century was one of the earliest anthropological studies of Western communities

5. "Sociology of the Sexes: A Comparison of Matrilineal and Patrilineal Societies" Malinowski, the "father of ethnography", on the sexuality of patriarchal and matriarchal societies

6. "The Forest of Symbols - Essays on the Ritual of the Endenbu People" The representative work of Victor Turner, a famous British anthropologist and representative of the Symbolic Ritual School, has been classified by the academic community as one of the classics of the pioneering and influential nation after World War II

7. "Witchcraft, Oracle and Magic of the Azande"

Since its publication in 1937, the Ethnographic Classic has been regarded by anthropologists as an exemplary ethnographic depiction of the belief system of the Azande, an indigenous tribe in Central Africa, about witchcraft, oracles, and magic, and in this description a society, a life

8. "The Coming of Age of Samoans" is popular in the United States, and the psychological study of primitive human youth has sparked controversy in anthropological circles.

9. "Transitional Etiquette" interprets the transition of life stages in a person's life from the perspective of ritual analysis, and is an important treatise on folklore and etiquette phenomenon analysis

10. "The Pig for the Ancestors", an early exemplar of cultural ecology, provides an in-depth analysis of the ecological rituals of New Guineans

11. "Gifts" Human society originally had no market, buying and selling, mutual giving, or bartering, so what is there? Some are gifts: the classic works of the father of French ethnology in the twentieth century, which vividly explore the historical origin and essence of economic concepts

12. Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography: A classic theoretical work of contemporary anthropological reflection is of landmark significance, and in the 30 years since its publication, it has become the most cited work in the international anthropological community

13. "Naveen –

Gregory Bateson, author of Ethnographic Experiments on a Ritual of a New Guinean Tribe, is regarded as one of the most important social scientists of the 20th century, with his elegant narrative style, refined thinking, and extensive knowledge, and one of the most fascinating works in the anthropological classics

14. "The Political Systems of the Highlands of Burma: A Study of the Kachin Social Structure" uses meticulous ethnographic data to show the changes in the political structure of the Kachin people (known as Jingpo in China) and their interaction with the surrounding populations, as well as the vividness of theoretical insights and experiences

15. "Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco" Paolo Rabinow's ethnographic studies of his own research, anthropology and even the social sciences in general have become objects of reflection

16. "Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Recent History" is an anthropological classic, in which Westminster tells the story of the wonderful, not extraordinary, history of sugar as an ordinary thing

17. "The Nuer People" is one of the most famous and representative exemplary works in the history of modern anthropology, and a benchmark work for anthropological field research

18. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: Social Organization under Cultural Differences

The light of theory that pierces the fog of the race

An exemplary work in ethnic studies marks a new era in ethnic studies

19. "Local Knowledge", a literary criticism-like anthropological work, fieldwork of the pioneer of "Interpretive Anthropology".

20. Voyagers in the Western Pacific is a landmark work in the field of anthropological research, profoundly reconstructing the social picture of indigenous tribes

21. The political systems of Africa, first published in English in 1940, marked the emergence of political anthropology as a branch of anthropology

Studying the political workings of traditional societies allows us to reflect on the political system of modern societies

22. "Cleanliness and Danger - An Analysis of Pollution and Taboo Ideas" What is cleanliness? What is Dirty? Those who cross the line are dirty, they are dangerous

23. "What kinship is and isn't it" A late masterpiece by Western anthropologist Sahlins mainly discusses the ideas in anthropological kinship studies

24. The model of anthropological fieldwork and ethnographic reflection in "Prayer Songgu" has pioneering significance in multiple dimensions such as ritual research, symbolic analysis, female anthropology, and reflective ethnography

25. Niagara: The Nineteenth-Century Balinese Theatre State is a case study that depicts a form of state that once existed in Southeast Asia's history, expanding our understanding of the modern state

26. "Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Dissolution of an Anthropological Myth" Questioning and refuting the conclusions of the famous American anthropologist Mead's famous work "The Coming of Age of Samoans" more than half a century ago, two anthropologists who investigated in the same place of investigation, but came to very different conclusions, which led to a famous debate in the anthropological community

27. "Making Consent: The Transformation of the Labor Process of Monopoly Capitalism" The important masterpiece of Marxist sociologist Michael Bullie is of breakthrough significance in the field of industrial sociology

28. Medicine, Witchcraft and Religion: Fitzpatrick Lectures, Royal College of Physicians, London, 1915 and 1916, a foundational work in medical anthropology, explains the way of thinking expressed in primitive medicine, and argues that the practice of medicine of indigenous people was based on their religious thinking

29. "Natural Symbols: An Exploration of Cosmology"

A fascinating and confusing book

It established the position of a representative of Douglas's anthropological symbolism

The human body is an expression of society

"Natural symbolism" refers to the use of the human body as a symbol

Cosmology that expresses the structure of society and people

1. Writing Culture: Poetics and Politics of Ethnography (125th Anniversary Edition)

James Clifford and George E. Marcus, eds

2. "The Forest of Symbols: Essays on the Rituals of the Ndenbu People"

Victor Turner

3. "Witchcraft, Oracle and Magic of the Azande"

[英]E. E. 埃文思-普里查德 著

4. "Naveen: An Ethnographic Experiment Surrounding a Ritual of a New Guinean Tribe"

By Gregory Bateson

5. "The Political Systems of the Highlands of Burma: A Study of the Social Structure of Kachin"

Edmund R. Leach

6. Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco

By Paul Rabino

7. "The Coming of Age in Samoa: A Study of the Youth Psychology of Primitive Humans for Western Civilization"

By Margaret Mead

8. "Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Dismantling of Anthropological Myths"

By Derek Freeman

9. "Manufacturing Consent: The Transformation of the Labor Process of Monopoly Capitalism"

By Michael Brownie

10. "Transitional Rites: A Systematic Study of the Rites of Door and Threshold, Hospitality, Adoption, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Birth, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Priesthood Appointment, Coronation, Betrothal, Marriage, Funeral, and Age"

By Arnold van Genep

11. "Sweetness and Power - The Place of Sugar in Modern History"

By Toshiji Nishi

12. "Pigs for Ancestors: Rituals in the Ecology of New Guineans (Second Edition)"

Roy S. by A. Rappaport

13. The Nuer: A Description of the Lifestyle and Political System of a Nilotic People (Revised Translation)

[英]E. E. 埃文思-普里查德 著

14. Ethnicity and Borders: Social Organization in the Context of Cultural Differences

[Norway] Frederick Barthe, editor-in-chief

15. "Local Knowledge: Essays on Interpretive Anthropology"

By Clifford Geertz

16. "Voyagers in the Western Pacific: Report on the Careers and Adventures of the Indigenous Peoples of the Melanesian Islands of New Guinea"

Malinowski

17. Political Systems in Africa

[英] M.福蒂斯、E. E. 埃文思-普里查德编

18. "Clean and Dangerous: An Analysis of Pollution and Taboo Ideas"

By Mary Douglas

19. "Nigara: The Nineteenth-Century Balinese Brush Country"

By Clifford Geertz

20. "What kinship is and what it is not"

By Marshall Sallins

21. "Gifts: Forms and Reasons for Exchange in Ancient Society"

By Marcel Mauss

22. "Prayer to the Aunt: A Rite of Passage for a Bemba Girl in Zambia"

By Audrey Richards

23. "The Irish Countryman"

Conrad M. Ahrensberg

24. Sociology of the Sexes: A Comparison of Matrilineal and Patrilineal Societies

Malinowski

25. "Shamanism, Colonialism, and Savages: A Study of Fear and Healing"

By Michael Tausig

26. "Demons and Commodity Fetishism in South America"

By Michael Tausig

27. "The Poetics of Manhood: A Cretan Mountain Village Regains Competition and Identity"

By Michael Herzfield

28. Medicine, Witchcraft and Religion: The Fitzpatrick Lectures at the Royal College of Physicians in London, 1915 and 1916, W.H.R. Rivers, 29. Symbols of Nature: An Exploration of Cosmology, by Mary Douglas