The “ethnic corridor”: Vicissitudes of a pivotal concept in Chinese anthropological linguistics

Abstract

The paper is the transcript of a conversation between the two authors on the rise and development of scientific debate on the “Ethnic Corridor” within the Chinese anthropological tradition. It is supplemented by several references to the personal and academic life of the famed ethnolinguist Hongkai Sun, professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and initiator of the studies on the “Qiangic” minority languages of the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. Recorded on 17h February 2015 at the professor’s apartment in Beijing, the interview was carried out entirely in Chinese. The text has been transcribed, translated and edited by Tommaso Previato based on the original statements. It illustrates the feasibility and difficulties pertaining to the state-led program of ethnic categorization during the decades that followed the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as the cultural pecularities of western China’s border societies. Particular attention is paid to the geographical distribution of the ethnic groups of the Tibetan-Burmese language family and their interactional patterns in various historical periods. The most recent development and practical applications of this emerging branch of studies are also briefly summarized before the closing statements.