Competing for orthodoxy: territorial kings and the creation of lineages among the Tujia

This paper explores cultural unity and diversity in terms of the origins of orthodoxy. First, it examines the long-standing tradition of territorial kings (tuwang) in the local context – this tradition persisted even under the native chieftain (tusi) system imposed by imperial states. Secondly, it argues that the dual identities of native chieftains reflect competing claims to orthodoxy. Native chieftains derive their legitimacy not only from the state but also from their territory. To root their legitimacy in the territory itself, native chieftains emphasized their ancestors’ heroic events and their own ability as territorial kings to protect the region from invasions by other chieftains as well as the imperial state, while also stressing their ability to provide continued spiritual protection after their deaths. This paper furthermore shows that, in the process of constructing a system of ritual orthopraxy through incorporating state-promoted rituals like ancestor worship, native chieftains gained legitimacy by integrating Tujia society, on the one hand, while expanding their territories along the Western Hunan Miao frontier, on the other hand.