Cultural Co-Inheritance and Value Isomorphism: Multi-Role Interaction in the Tunpu Xiufu Ritual and the Local Construction of the Shared Spiritual Home of the Chinese Nation
Haoyuan Zheng, Zi Yang
Critical humanistic social theory. September 29, 2026 DOI: 10.62177/chst.v3i3.1742 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography (fieldwork-based qualitative study) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Residents of Liuguan Township, Anshun, Guizhou, including female ritual leaders (Futou), Taoist priests, village elders' organizations, Dixi opera troupes, spirit mediums, and ordinary believers |
| Key findings | Argues that Xiufu, a women-centered merit-cultivation tradition in central Guizhou, is not an isolated local "little tradition" but a formation shaped by Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, and shamanic coexistence, interethnic exchange, and cross-regional religious networks. Its transmission depends on differentiated ritual labor, collaboration in village affairs, and collective cultural work, and the authors contend that its blessing songs and rituals connect local folk values with the common values of the Chinese nation. |
Abstract
Xiufu (merit cultivation) is a women-centered folk belief tradition within Tunpu culture in central Guizhou. Based on fieldwork in Liuguan Township, Anshun, this study examines how Futou (female ritual leaders), Taoist priests, village elders' organizations, Dixi (local opera) troupes, spirit mediums, and ordinary believers interact across ritual practice, village governance, and cultural transmission, and how these interactions support cultural co-inheritance and value isomorphism. The findings show that Xiufu is not an isolated local "little tradition." Its historical formation reflects the coexistence of Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, and shamanic elements, long-term interethnic exchange, and cross-regional religious networks. Its living transmission depends on differentiated ritual labor, dual-track collaboration in village affairs, and collective cultural work. The moral exhortation, sentiment of family and country, and collective affect conveyed through Fuge (blessing songs) and ritual practice connect local folk values with the common values of the Chinese nation, giving the shared spiritual home a concrete local form in central Guizhou. The case provides a micro-level perspective on how folk culture can contribute to forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation in multiethnic regions.