Empowerment in the practice of making and inhabiting - Dong architecture in cultural reconstruction

Journal/Book: J Mat Cult. 1996; 1: 6 Bonhill Street, London, England EC2A 4PU. Sage Publications Ltd. 211-238.

Abstract: The Dong is one of the 55 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Although its history can be traced back thousands of years, Dong culture is essentially non-textualized. It takes forms in 'images', such as music, performance, textiles, social customs, rituals and, most importantly, architecture. In the practice of making and inhabiting their architecture, such as 'wind-and-rain bridges' and 'drum towers', the Dong have been able to strategically and inventively react to the historical and political constructions, particularly in the mode of textualization and colonization, form the Han Chinese and other ethnic groups and to survive and enhance their cultural ethnicity in the process of cultural reconstruction.

Note: Article Ruan X, Curtin Univ Technol, Dept Architecture, Sch Architecture Construct & Planning, GPO Box U 1987, Perth, Wa 6001, AUSTRALIA

Keyword(s): architecture; cultural reconstruction; empowerment; inhabiting; making

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