ABSTRACT
Territorial boundaries are one of the keys to the identification of a nation-state. Yet people within territorial borders do not necessarily consider themselves as belonging to one nation. Nation-building requires all citizens to develop a common national identity, and therefore to be emancipated from parochial concerns. For minority citizens, this means turning their loyalty from their ethnic group to the Chinese state. 1 Nation-building thus involves two types of discursive construction: that of a “supreme” nation that commands loyalty from all groups, and that of group boundaries, such as women, peasants, or minorities, which are to be transcended. 2 Ironically, ethnic identities, which used to be considered an obstacle to developing an overall national identity, are now seen as essential to nation-building. The existence of subnational group membership ostensibly allows the process of nation-building to continue with visible targets, thereby maintaining the sense of progress as more people from ethnic groups declare their loyalty to the state. Even though, in truth, many among these ethnic identities had been extant before the state came into being, the drawing of boundaries has nonetheless been done arbitrarily for the sake of cognitive convenience. 3 The establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 witnessed such a process.
