Crossing Border: Border Practices Of A Yao Village In China-Laos Border Region

Before the national political geographical boundaries come into being, there are no cross-border ethnic, their migrations are controlled by the state. After National political geographical boundaries generated, countries became a division line, which conclude national territory,citizens and political power, taking state and their neighbors division which relay on the social, economic and political, that belongs to different countries.Border study from the past probes into areas that contain boundary demarcation,boundary control and boundary govern which in state macroscopic perspective. However, national boundaries not only just represent closed and barrier,and also a field of cultural and economic dialogue and interaction.This study in perspective of border inhabitant, based on fieldwork in Yunnan province,Xishuangbanna state, Mengla country, Xinming village, combining theoretical method of Anthropology and Sociology, from Yao people of Xinming village, which as the culture process that presents border inhabitant and cross-border ethics identity, to discuss how to regard national border division and cross-border matter.In the paper, I combine the formation of the village,that villagers at the boundaries of the different historical period, and the findings of the practice in their daily lives.As a cross-border Yao people and the border of double identity demonstrates the subject initiative of border inhabitant in cross-border and practice border process.China-Laos borderline has experienced from fuzzy boundaries to clear boundaries. In the context of progressive enhanced national border controls, Xinming Yao people’s livelihood is changed from nomadic farming to settling down farming, and with the land system, household registration system and the decision of border inhabitant identity was gradually become a Chinese citizen. The powers of the state similar to an intangible net, affects the local Yao people in different level. Although the national border with functions of blocking and closed, but in the border practice of Xinming Yao village, national boundary as a ties of culture and economic between tow nations,bring more opportunities for local Yao people. The border practice is a cross-nationalborder, and include legitimate across, but at the same time, some are illicit,XinmingYao people have full use of local knowledge as well as the subject identity which in its practice of cross-border, it presents more positive state in its country’s negotiation.The double identities of Yao people in its border trade,cross-border marriage,social network,as well as the subject initiative that comes from daily life.They will bargain through consultation with the border, when the border encountered in the practice of national control, they not only achieve the purpose of border practice of national power through the bypass way, and also as well as establish the social network,exchange information through the public events, finally they discuss strategy together.