Abstract
Practitioners of the variant of Plum Blossom Boxing preserved in Zhuzhai village, Henan province, China, include in their repertoires, along with choreographed sequences designed to enhance martial prowess, a comic routine that parodies genuine fighting techniques while “combatants” exchange taunts and boasts. The article argues that this performance is a folk drama that symbolically recounts folk history, focuses group identity, and establishes prestige within the regional martial arts hierarchy.
AFS ETHNOGRAPHIC THESAURUS:, Folk drama, martial arts, group identity, folk history, social conflict
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Copyright 2018 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
2018
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