A Study On The Iconography Of Guizhou Haipa Mia

The thesis chooses the book "The Cowrie Shell Miao of Kweichow" as the research object,which written by Margaret Portia Mickey,an American missionary and anthropologist who came to Guizhou during the Republic of China(1912-1949),and applies the principles and methods of comparative literary imagery,supplemented by the knowledge paths of narratology,to examine the image and narrative logic of the Cowrie Shell Miao during the Republic of China(1912-1949),and then explore and interpret the meaning and mirror value of the work.Cowrie Shell Miao located in the central Guizhou Province,and is distinguished from other clans by their exquisite cowrie shell decorations.In 1940,Mickey was commissioned by Professor Wu Zelin of the Social Research Department of Daxia University to conduct ethnic surveys in the region twice,and through embedded participation,to create the book "The Cowrie Shell Miao of Kweichow ".The book "The Cowrie Shell Miao of Kweichow ",which covers the material production,behavioral system and spiritual psychology of the Cowrie Shell Miao people,can be said to be the first comprehensive and systematic study of the Cowrie Shell Miao at home and abroad,and has important historical memory and material value.In addition,Mickey’s writing of Cowrie Shell Miao is as an image of the Other in the eyes of overseas anthropology scholars,which has a certain mirroring value." It is through the Other that a society looks back at itself,writes about itself,reflects and imagines." Through the study of the construction of the image of this text,it is possible to clearly see the truth of the person being represented,as well as the historical truth of the representers themselves in terms of how and why they are represented,which is helpful for the academic reflection on the construction of cultural identity and image in a specific historical context.In terms of structure,the main part of this paper consists of four chapters,except for the introduction and conclusion.The first chapter briefly discusses Mickey and her book The Cowrie Shell Miao of Kweichow,to clarify the research object of this paper.The second chapter summarizes the author’s construction of the outline of the image of Cowrie Shell Miao in the text through an in-depth study of the text.The third chapter focuses on how the author constructs the image,focusing on the historical context in which the text is created and the author’s narrative strategy,using the theoretical methods of imagery and narratology to explore the way forward and analyze the construction rules of the text in depth.The fourth chapter aims to interrogate the meaning and mirroring value of the image beyond the text.Combining both in-text and out-of-text dimensions,The above four chapters aim to explore the figurative meaning and mirroring value of the text from the figurative perspective.As a non-fictional narrative text,"The Cowrie Shell Miao of Kweichow" is a first-hand source for understanding Cowrie Shell Miao in the Republic of China(1912-1949),which has irreplaceable historical value and historical memory.It has a positive effect on the cultural heritage of this people.At the same time,by studying the images of ethnic minorities in this text,it is also meaningful to explore the revaluation,image revitalization and discourse reshaping of China’s image at present.