Performing exemplarity: the “two faces” of a village cadre in North China

Abstract

This article investigates the practice of exemplarity in rural China through Secretary Xu’s oral narratives to provincial leaders and local villagers in a northern model village. It applies a performative narrative analysis to reveal how Xu constructs his persona, utilizing narrative structures, chronotopes, and the interplay of events to forge exemplary images suited to each audience. In presentations to leaders, Xu highlights rural development achievements, while to villagers, he emphasizes common prosperity and community service. This strategic narrative manipulation not only showcases Xu’s skill in aligning with both state and local values but also fosters cultural intimacy and community cohesion despite narrative discrepancies. The case study expands the discourse on narrative techniques and representational strategies within rural revitalization and social governance, offering a nuanced perspective on the intersection of narrative, identity, and governance.

Keywords:

• Performative exemplarity
• cultural intimacy
• chronotope
• official representation
• rural China

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Elise Kramer from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for her invaluable feedback on the original draft of this article. I am also grateful for the detailed suggestions and advice provided by two anonymous reviewers at Asian Anthropology.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 To explore further information on food safety governance practices, refer to the detailed article by Liao (2020).

2 One Chinese mu equals 0.165 acres.

3 The colloquial expression “晴天一身土, 雨天一脚泥” is commonly used in Chinese to convey the idea that the road conditions are poor, with an unpaved dirt surface that becomes dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days due to the lack of cement hardening.

4 The transcriptions presented in this article are based on the actual speech delivered by Secretary Xu, faithfully capturing his words as spoken. This approach has been deliberately chosen to maintain the authenticity and immediacy of Xu’s communication style. It is important to note that, as a result, some of the transcribed sentences, notably in the impromptu speech, may not adhere strictly to the grammatical norms of written Chinese. This deviation from standard grammar is not an error in transcription but rather a reflection of the natural flow and idiosyncrasies of spoken language.

5 In 2018, Lanling County introduced a set of policies known as the “Si Yan Gongcheng” (四雁工程 “Four Geese Project”) aimed at addressing various aspects of rural development. The project focused on training and nurturing local talent (“head geese” or tou yan 头雁), attracting skilled individuals who had left rural areas back to their hometowns (“returning geese” or gui yan 归雁), promoting large-scale agricultural and aquaculture operations (“swan geese” or hong yan 鸿雁), and enhancing farmer organization and cooperation (“goose flocks” or yan zhen 雁阵).

6 Qilu (齐鲁) is a poetic reference to the region of Shandong Province and represents its unique cultural heritage.

7 The term “Shandong dialect” encompasses a variety of dialects spoken in Shandong Province, forming part of the Mandarin dialect group. While sharing core similarities with standard Mandarin, the Shandong dialect is characterized by distinct regional variations, which may pose communication challenges for those unfamiliar with it. The Shandong dialect, as used by Secretary Xu and other villagers, retains the basic structure and vocabulary of standard Mandarin but includes regional variations in pronunciation, idiomatic expressions, and a range of specific lexical items.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Sixth Tone Fellowship and the Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (Grant Number: Gr. 10323).