Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong
Material Civilization and Hygienic Modernity: Reflections on Toilet Practices in Rural South China
8 November 2013
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| Fieldwork in China |
When anthropologists
firstly go into the field, one of the most important issues is to figure out
where to go to the toilet. Gonçalo Santos, an assistant professor at the
University of Hong Kong, recently gave a fascinating talk about people's toilet
practices in rural south China based on his field work in Yingde, Guangdong
Province from 1999 to 2001.
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| Local urine buckets vs. 'advanced' toilet arrangements -- the local flush toilet |
When
he began his fieldwork, families were mostly going to the surrounding field or
to public latrines which are far away from the living quarters or using
buckets. A few families had begun to build the "modern" style
private toilet and bathroom inside the house.
It seemed that people chose where to go to the toilet based on the
development of technology. However, according to Dr. Santos's observation, even families with a "modern" flushing toilet keep on using the indoor-buckets and even the
public latrines. The main reason initially was the value of human waste as effective fertilizer. Even after they stopped
using nightsoil as fertilizer, many villagers said that using indoor-buckets
rather than flushing is much cheaper, more convenient, and uses less water.
Without a proper sewage system, many bathrooms flooded because of excess water
flowing into the septic system. Dr. Santos argued that technological choices are
not independent from the social relationships and cultural values, but are
socially and culturally constructed. The reason for the popularity of flushing
toilet is not how efficient the technology is, but how it becomes a symbol of
modernity in the villagers' imagination.
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| Local septic system |
Reviewed by
JIANG Yan (Echo)
M.Phil. Candidate
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