Yunxiang Yan

Well-rounded description of the customs of gift giving in a small Chinese village. Especially interesting are the author's attempts to overlay changes in these practices over time as the political and social structure transitioned over the decades through starkly different phases. He was helped immensely as are few other anthropologists through the practice by recipients of carefully recording gifts received for all formal occasions, so his data were not limited to either informant's memories or his observations.… (mehr)