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"I Am the Greatest Boxer": Articulating Group Identity through Chinese Folk Drama
- Journal of American Folklore
- American Folklore Society
- Volume 131, Number 521, Summer 2018
- pp. 250-271
- Article
- Additional Information
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Abstract:
Practitioners of the variant of Plum Blossom Boxing preserved in Zhuzhai village, Henan province, China, include in their repertoires, along with choreographed sequences designed to enhance martial prowess, a comic routine that parodies genuine fighting techniques while "combatants" exchange taunts and boasts. The article argues that this performance is a folk drama that symbolically recounts folk history, focuses group identity, and establishes prestige within the regional martial arts hierarchy.