“I Am the Greatest Boxer”: Articulating Group Identity through Chinese Folk Drama

Zhang Guodong is Associate Professor in the Institute of Sport Science of the College of Physical Education at Southwest University of China. He has conducted research on vernacular martial arts, folk sport, and the folk culture of ethnic minorities of Southwest China. His publications include Taijiquan (2013; co-edited with Li Yun) and Modern Inheritance Dilemma of Chinese Martial Arts: Based on an Investigation of Plum Blossom Boxing (2013).

Thomas A. Green is Professor of Anthropology at Texas A&M University. He holds a PhD in Anthropology with a concentration in Folklore from the University of Texas at Austin. He has conducted research among groups ranging from urban gang members and Chinese martial artists to Native American political activists and African American cultural nationalists, with a focus on the ways that vernacular art forms (festival, narrative, martial arts) identify and manage cultural conflict. His publications include The Language of Riddles (1984; co-authored with W. J. Pepicello), Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music and Art (1997; editor), Martial Arts in the Modern World (2003; co-authored with Joseph R. Svinth), and Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation (2010; co-authored with Joseph R. Svinth).