Description
Over the past few decades, China's ethnic policies have become flashpoints of discussion in Western media and international scholarship. In response to the complexities of ethnic relations, Chinese authorities have increasingly adopted a culturally oriented approach to shaping minority identities, aligning them with the state-promulgated framework of "unity in diversity" (Duoyuan Yiti)—a national identity of the Chinese nation comprising 56 officially recognised subordinate ethnic groups. Focusing on Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in northern China, this study draws on nearly a year of fieldwork and 50 semi-structured interviews, alongside an analysis of ten officially designated cultural symbols, to examine how state-promoted representations of Mongolian culture contribute to identity formation. It argues that while these official cultural symbols, framed within the national narrative, contribute to the partial preservation of Mongolian traditions, they simultaneously construct a rigid and stereotypical image of nomadism. This portrayal detaches Mongolian culture from processes of urbanisation and modernisation, limiting its capacity to evolve. Consequently, this state-led culturalisation fosters a form of internal Orientalism within the Mongolian community itself, producing dichotomous discourses such as steppe versus city, nomadic versus agrarian, which deepen cultural anxieties and fuel fears of assimilation.
