| Miancheng Hui ethnic township, situated in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, is a typical multinational community. Its ethnic and religious plurality leads to the multiformity in people's lifestyle and the complexity in ethnic relations. The population in Miancheng is small, yet when they live together with other ethnic groups, they can adapt themselves to the mixed-living enviroment, assimilating different cultural elements and forming the lifestyle of their own. Therefore, The Hui ethnic group living in Miancheng constitutes a typical case when investigating the changing lifestyle of the Hui people mixed among other ethnic groups.Research shows that, it is because of co-living and co-existing with other etnic groups that the lifestyle of the Hui people living in Miancheng has undergone marked changes since PRC was founded in 1949. This dissertation is based upon the research findings made by other people and the methods and theories used in it are those widely used in ethnology, anthropology and sociology. Through the synchronic and diachronic comparative study, the author analysizes the process of the Hui people's lifestyle changes, its reasons, characteristics and developmental tendency. On the basis of this analysis, the author hopes to identify the new problems as well as the old ones with new phenomena appearing in the process of lifestyle change, to explore the mode of and the practical ways in constructing the new lifestyles for dispersed and mixed ethnic groups, and to make effective and practical policies and measures. The author hopes this research will deepen our understanding of the ethnic groups' lifestyle changes, promote the research on the ethnic relations and ethnic problems, offer a frame of reference for the research on the ethnic lifestyle and the approaches to ethnic relations in other dispersed and mixed communities. This dissertation is composed of ten chapters, and the number of Chinese characters contained in it is approximately 280,000.Chapter 1. Introductory Remarks. In this chapter, the author makes a brief introduction of the reasons for project selection, its significance, theory basis and research methods, discusses the concepts of lifestyle and the lifestyle of the ethnic group, makes a review on the research status and research results on lifestyles, and introduces the theories which will be used, the basic roadmap for the dissertation-writing and the main content of the dissertation, and describes the dissertation's research focus, research difficulties, major points and innovative points.Chapter 2. Formation and Development of the Pattern of Dispersed and Mixed Hui People. In this chapter, the author deals with the formation and development of the layout of dispersed and mixed Hui People in Hubei Province and other districts of China, makes a review on the origin of the Hui ethnic group and the history of ethnic relations in Miancheng, and discusses the developmental tendency of the pattern of the dispersed and mixed Hui people and its significance for the development of the Hui people.Chapter 3. An Overview of Miancheng Hui Ethnic Township. This chapter introduces the geographic conditions, natural resources, natural products and the history of Miancheng Hui ethnic township. The author hopes to present the cultural diversity in Miancheng through an analysis of the local ethnic groups, the religion, traditional culture and the basic social conditions.Chapter 4. Change of Economic Lifestyle. Centering around the revolution of production relations since the PRC was founded in 1949, the author analyzes the changes of economic lifestyle and the accommodation process of Miancheng Hui people. The process of the economic structure change is also the process of the production mode and lifestyle change witnessed by Miancheng. With the development of commercial economy and village industrialization, and the appearance of tourism economy and part-time economy, the social life has also undergone radical change. Agricultural economy has served as a dismantling of tradition, but at the same time it is helpful in reconstructing and preserveing tradition. This shows that it has similar tendencies as the revival of tradition. This is the inheritance, sublation and accommodation of the traditional economic lifestyle under the new historical conditions and against a new cultural background.Chapter 5. Change of Political Lifestyle. In this chapter, the author discusses the process of the management system reform of Miancheng Hui ethnic township, analysizes the change of political lifestyle decided by the national system, explores Miancheng's political structure and its functions as well as the village political structure and the pattern of power operatiom in the villager autonomy system. And the author also discusses the issue of political participation from the perspectives of political cognitive ability, the access to political information, the politics participation conditions of the villigers, voting preferences and the motivation for participation in village affairs and the factors influencing the participation enthusiasm of the villagers.Chapter 6. Change of Consumer Lifestyle. In this chapter, the author discusses the changes of Miancheng Hui people's consumption level, consumption structure and consumption concept influenced by the change of distribution system and the income level. The change of consumption structure includes such issues as the change of consumption structure, the change in the structure and proportion of the gross consumption, and the developmental tendency and problems of consumption structure. The change of consumption concept formed by Miancheng Hui people shares some similarities as well as intergenerational difference.Chapter 7. Change of Marital and Family Lifestyle. Based on the description of the traditional marital concepts formed by Miancheng Hui ethnic group, the author discusses the change of the spouse-searching standards, marriage convention and its change, and the change of sexual values. Then the author analyzes the reasons for the change of married life. The disintegration of Hui religion and Hui family have been discussed. The changes in the family size and family structure, family relations, family authority, the rules of breaking up the family and procreation values have also been expounded.Chapter 8. Change of Religious Lifestyle. Firstly, the author analysizes the status quo of Miancheng Hui people's religious faith and the different ethnic groups attitudes towards the religion. Secondly, the author discusses the change of religious lifestyle from the perspectives of the structure and function of mosques and temples, religious observances and the intergenerational differences in religious faith. Thirdly, the author explores the characteristics of Miancheng Hui people's religious lifestyle.Chapter 9. Change of Leisure Lifestyle. Based on the analysis of the concept of "leisure", the author describes the traditional ways in which Miancheng Hui people spend their leisure time. In order to discuss the change of leisure lifestyle, the author divides their leisure lifestyles into four periods-collective age, post-collective age, tea-house age and leisure family life age - and discusses the four periods respectively.Chapter 10. Modes and Construction of Change of Lifestyle. The author holds that both external factors and internal factors have contributed to the change of Miancheng Hui people's lifestyle, and the change is also a process from the narural cultural accommodation to the conscious cultural accommodation. Through the theoretical exploration on the change of the lifestyle, the author explores the nature, the developmental orientation, the basic modes and the construction process of the new lifestyle suitable for the dispersed and mixed ethnic groups. And the author also explores the main ways of creating new lifestyle for Miancheng Hui ethnic group.
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