Health, Identification and Pleasure: An Ethnographic Study on the Self-Management and Construction of Taijiquan Park Culture Space

Abstract

The public space of a park is one of the most important carriers of social interaction and cultural practice in urban areas. Taking an ethnography of Taijiquan in Chengdu (China) as a case study, this article explores the production of Taijiquan’s “park culture space” (PCS). Our analysis revealed that the development of PCS not only transformed “public space” in the park to a “private space” through Taijiquan practice and exchange but also transformed “material space” in the park into “social space” with identification. We found that working on the process of self-managing Taijiquan’s “park culture space” included the democratic operation mechanism of communication and consultation, the cooperative operation mechanism of mutual benefit, and the incentive operation mechanism of balancing interests. Taijiquan’s “park culture space” was the reproduction of public space that was not only bonded with Taijiquan practice but was also reconstructed and expanded by Taijiquan practitioners. Furthermore, it involved the return of Taijiquan practitioners’ historical memory and collective life experience alongside the construction of Taijiquan practitioners’ group identity and the development of self-organization.