Originally Posted by
Darth Rotor
Two thoughts on this fantastic discussion.
1. How ya gonna keep them on the farm once they've seen Shanghai?
The short answer is, you don't, or can't, and they will adapt in some way. Your efforts to help them keep as much control of the transformation is admirable, and is to me empowerment at its best.
Thank you...very much!
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2. About the fatalism, and "control of large spiritual forces," it seems their initial reaction bordered on "be careful of what you wish for, since you are sure to get it."
That would be a Western approximation, but really doesn't get into how much this view of life and 'fate' affects Asian philosophy in general, and Chinese in particular. The Mosuo believe very strongly that every aspect of their lives is mandated by the gods. They believe in free will -- you can reject what the gods have decided -- but doing so only brings pain and suffering. Thus, you do not take
any action until you are sure that it is what the gods want you to do.
The problem is that the best indication of the gods' favor is to take an action, and have it be successful (which is what I did when I started this organization). But you can't take an action unless you're sure it has the god's favor. And then throw in the whole Tibetan Buddhist influence, and the idea that "desire" is a bad thing, one should simply accept the way things are, and abandon any desire for change...change will happen if it happens. Fortunately, now that it appears I have the gods' blessings on this idea, getting support for other ideas is much easier. Basically, the Mosuo suggest and debate an idea; bring it up in our committee; then ask for my opinion or advice. If I say I support it, that's basically as good as saying that they have the gods' blessings on it. So we can move ahead full steam (or the Mosuo approximation of full steam, which to me sometimes seems more like 1/4 steam).
I want to emphasize, yes, there are frustrations and problems...there are times that problems and delays that seem to me entirely avoidable instead put us weeks or months behind schedule. But I love the Mosuo very deeply, and have phenomenal respect for them. They come from an entirely different world than me, and the way they perceive that world, the way they make decisions about that world, will inevitably be completely different. But not only are things getting done, it is the
Mosuo themselves who are getting it done. We're laying a foundation, and no matter how slow that process may be, it is a very solid foundation that I have every expectation will last for many years to come.
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If all you can achieve is a preservation of the language, stories, and cultural baseline, given that within a couple of generations the likelihood is that the modern/outside world will prevail over the indigenous culture, your effort will have been worth it. Anything beyond that is gravy. (The Atheist's link was a nice counterpoint to the "inside the box" story you have provided.)
I agree completely; I will not even try to make predictions about what the situation of the Mosuo will be 50 or 100 or 200 years later...worst case scenario, they will have forgotten their language, will know little or nothing of their culture or history, and will be essentially indistinguishable from any other Chinese. But at some point, there are going to be some of them who are going to want to know about their ancestors' heritage, their history, their language, etc. And we will at least have the information there, preserved for those future generations.
At best -- and this is what I hope for -- the Mosuo will still retain their own language, preserved and encouraged by the development of a written form taught to them from primary school. They will still retain a strong cultural identity, and although they certainly will have changed/evolved somewhat, will still retain a unique 'Mosuo' character. They will be in charge of their own lives, controlling and benefiting from whatever businesses/industries they have developed. And they'll be spreading out across China, and to other parts of the world, introducing more people to their culture...and bringing new knowledge and experiences back to their home communities to share and benefit from.
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Your hypothetical of the Han all fading away, and two centuries of Muosuo growth into the vacuum of course had to ignore . . . the rest of the world. I'm thinking the ambitious and industrious Viet Namese would steal a march on the Muosuo.
lol -- I thought of about half a million problems with that hypothetical right after I posted it, and had to force myself to refrain from going back and ruining it entirely with a whole slew of clarifications, conditional statements, and alternate possibilities.