Literacy Practice in the Transcultural Context: Taking Hanzi in Bangkok''s Yaowarat neighborhood as Example
Date Issued
2014
Date
2014
Author(s)
Liang, Chen-Mu
Abstract
This research is based on the observations of Literacy Practices among Thai-Chinese, and I try to reconceptualize the concept of Chineseness through materiality and figure out how Chineseness influences materiality too. Most of the crucial points discussed in this dissertation will be the transformation of writing system, which means some of the Hanzi literacy practices have been substituted by Thai alphabet, but the inner cultural logic is the same. Because Thai government have always gave a flexible definition of Nation and never been colonized, nevertheless, the Thai elites always felt comfortable to gave power to Chinese immigrants through history, which made a good condition to make those immigrants loyal to Thai elites and government. Unprohibited inter-ethnic marriage and acceptable Theravada Buddhism also encouraged Chinese immigrants continuously assimilated into Thai society. But these two different cultures have different literacy traditions, the consequence of hybridity is the practices of Hanzi literacy have influenced the literacy practices of Thai writing system.
I did my fieldwork in Bangkok Yaowarat neighborhood. Although Thailand doesn''t have vivid line between Thai and Thai-Chinese, but since that area is a well-known "Chinatown", which means it is a place where people can observe some quite Chinese-like activities. The first issue of this dissertation is signboards in the streetview, and the key point is that signboards not only have commercial meanings. In this part, I suggest that the literacy practices among signboards can link to the family ethic and duty of traditional Chinese concept. Second, Chinese eager to be titled honorably because of the responsibility toward family and ancestors, which lead to some literacy practices among people, some of them are still worked among Thai-Chinese but some already changed. For examples, Thai-Chinese elites still like to use calligraphical products as a gift, but the Thai royal titles are the most welcome honor. In the end, I will disscuss some literacy practices which have the importance to cross the ontological gap. These artifacts are not only for decoration but also important object to create locality.
Subjects
讀寫實踐
漢字
華人性
物質性
泰國華人
海外華人
Type
other
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ntu-103-R00125002-1.pdf
Size
23.54 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):55db6d5a4ddaae8523786e66223ced55