The following introduces research and exhibitions I have been involved with during my time at Minpaku, from 1988 to 2017. My paper on ‘Trends and problems in studies of Nong Zhigao, a Zhuang (ethnic hero)’ was published in the Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology 40 in January 2016. In the paper, I critically reviewed how Nong Zhigao [ 儂智高 ] has been studied, particularly in China, from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China to the present day. In addition, I presented analyses of problems that have never been studied. To put it simply, the rebellion by Nong Zhigao has been interpreted differently according to the changing times. From the 1950s to the 1960s, whether the society in question was in a state of slavery or feudalism, and what rebellion accorded or not in relation to the former question, was debated on the basis of Marxist Developmental Theory. After the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, however, the debate shifted to a specific examination of the issue of his nationality. After the 1980s, as policies of reform and openness were developing, the paradigm of Nong Zhigao debate changed gradually. By the late 1990s, his evaluation as an ‘ethnic hero’ became established. The view of Nong Zhigao as a patriot who was poisoned, and his rebellion as a patriotic war strengthened against the backdrop of a groundswell in patriotism. During the first decade of the 2000s, as the internet has become increasing popular, many intellectuals and ordinary people, aside from professional researchers, have broadened the base of studies.
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