Being Local Outsiders: a Study of Chinese Ethos in East Siberia

• Published in: Inner Asia
• Main Authors: Sántha, István, Safonova, Tatiana
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill 2010
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Anthropology; Development; Geography, Planning and Development; Evenki; Siberia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/000000010794983513; https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/12/2/article-p347_8.xml; https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/inas/12/2/article-p347_8.xml

Abstract This article is based on anthropological fieldwork conducted in East Siberia among local Chinese and Evenki people. Local Chinese people have a double perspective (that of locals, but at the same time that of foreigners), which helps them to establish both business and friendship relationships with Evenki, switching between flexible and long-term frames. a cybernetic approach derived from the work of Bateson enables us to analyse these relationships as manifestations of a self-regulating system of communication, and also allows us to re-examine Marshall Sahlins' concept of reciprocity.