Twentieth century China has seen local societies undergo unprecedented transformations accompanied by a remarkable continuity in state practice. In this path-breaking study of two ethnically different communities, the matrilineal Mosuo and the patrilineal Han, in northwest Yunnan province, the author traces cultural change from a historical perspective in relation to ecology and politics. The treatment of state penetration into local society challenges the conventional binary narrative of state-society and Han-non-Han relations. With its interdisciplinary approach, this book enriches the...