The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village
By Yunxiang Yan.
Description
Gift-giving is a classic topic in anthropology, where on-going debates involve the principle of reciprocity, the spirit of the gift, and the relationship between gifts and commodities. In this study, the author examines the gift-giving and related social activities that pervade daily life in China, focusing on routine activities - visits between relatives, exchanges of food and labour between neighbours, gift-giving between friends - while not ignoring such special occasions as weddings and funerals. He constructs a classification of exchange behaviour in village society, examining the item...
ISBN(s)
0804726957, 9780804726955
