Producing Authenticity: Ethnic Costumes in Contemporary Inner Mongolia

Abstract

Abstract This article examines multivocal Mongolian costumes to shed light on the performance and representation of Mongolian identities in China. In particular, it explores the promotion of Mongolian costumes in online media spaces, in commercial cultural studios, and at state-sponsored heritage events. The article argues that the discursive construction of authenticity and cultural hegemony overshadows and hierarchises heterogenous Mongolian cultures and identities. The article also finds that the meanings taken on by Mongolian costumes contest and go beyond those inscribed by the state. The study aims to improve our understanding of minority cultural transformation in post-Mao China and the agency of minority Mongols who reshape their evolving cultural forms.