Identity Of Land-lost Peasants In Xinxiang Area

In China's construction of the New Socialist Countryside,peasants are issued the citizen identity at the institutional level.However,in the sphere of cultural and intercultural studies,identity is more of a self-reflection than a system imposed on one.This research is to explore the so-called land-lost peasants' self-concept in the context of the urbanization in Xinxiang area.Three levels of factors which play into identity negotiation proposed by Ting-Toomey are analyzed to probe into the interaction between the change of cultural climate and land-lost peasants' psychological status.Data is collected with qualitative methods and the participants' narratives are cited for illustration.The research indicates that land-lost peasants generally do not identify themselves as citizens despite the institutional change for the following reasons: on the institutional level,due to the unfairness in job opportunity and compensation,they feel deprived and insecure;on the individual level,despite their active participation into various community activities,they are preoccupied with memories constructed in their original settlement,and their expectations for integrating into the new settlement,either high or low,do not help in the negotiation of a citizen identity;on the interpersonal level,land-lost peasants' contact network takes on high homogeneity,which blocks their access to urban social networks.The depiction of normal rural life on social media platforms aggravates this effect.