Flowing of Salt and the Social Connection Among the Northern China — Myanmar Border Region

Abstract

Salt is an indispensable material for human beings. Due to the uneven endowments among different regions  and ethnic groups in the northern China-Myanmar border region, salt has been undergoing long-term cross  regional, inter-ethnic and cross-border flowing, thus integrating all ethnic groups into its production,  circulation, and consumption. It also endowed with multiple secular and sacred meanings, and formed a  regional community with a shared future for mankind mediated by salt. By focusing on the interdisciplinary  research of the cognition and practice of salt among ethnic groups in the northern China-Myanmar border  region, this paper reveals the multiple functions of salt in the sacred and secular connection in multi-ethnic regions.