Tattoos, Modernisation, and the Nation-State: Dai Lue Bodies as Parchments for Symbolic Narratives of the Self and Chinese Society

In this article, we report our research on Dai Lue in a rural area of Xishuangbanna, revealing how their tattoos have become an emblem of the self or an interiority cultivated through outer appearance, acted out and contested on people’s bodies as parchments for society’s discourses. China’s version of modernisation and nation-state building has underpinned shifting tattoo designs and subjectivities. Tattooing among younger people was different to their elders, as they were less inclined to practise it for a sense of belonging and conformity to Dai Lue and, instead, did so to stand out from and within their ethnic group, expressing a more individual and volitional self—a profound cultural change which also pervades many other aspects of their lives. We also show how popular discourses in China concerning the nation and ethnic minorities are being embodied and visually performed by Dai Lue through their tattoos, albeit creatively and not homogeneously. Our findings call for a more inclusive national story line in China which moves beyond simple stereotypes of ethnic categories currently popular in society to appreciate the complexity of peoples’ lives. Our study also updates the literature on tattooing among Dai Lue which, hitherto, was limited to descriptions in Chinese texts of old tattoo designs and rituals in isolation from society and politics.