Premises for the Study of Ethnic Minorities' Moral Life: The Mosuo Custom of "Walking Marriage" as a Case Study
This article examines foundational questions that must precede philosophical research into the moral life of ethnic minorities: why such research is necessary, what constitutes "moral life" as an object of study, and how it should be methodologically approached. Using the Mosuo "walking marriage" (zouhun) custom near Lugu Lake as a case study, the author traces his own evolving understanding—from initially dismissing it as a primitive matrilineal relic to questioning why such a system could persist unchanged for tens of thousands of years. Comparing it with mainstream marriage models, the author argues that walking marriage uniquely transcends non-emotional factors (economic, political, status-based) governing conventional marriage, and avoids typical extended-family conflicts, contrasting favorably with rising divorce rates in "civilized" society. The article calls for rigorous, non-superficial scholarship to avoid misreading minority cultures and misguiding their cultural self-awareness.
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