Abstract
ABSTRACT This article examines complex temporalities of belonging among residents of Zhujiajiao, a water town near Shanghai. Drawing on ethnographic material, the analysis shows how local temporal negotiation in relation to belonging is not a homogeneous process but is shaped by individuals’ temporal orientation and dominant political narratives. In doing so, the article challenges the idea that a specific group of people will share similar temporal logics in the formation of belonging. I argue that temporalities of belonging are historically informed and culturally specific, contingent on personal negotiation of dominant temporal agendas through the exercise of agency. The journeys of the residents of Zhujiajiao water town through varied temporal frameworks reveal how their experiences of belonging are intertwined with the changing political implications of ‘bitterness’ in a Chinese context. While older residents’ narratives critically adopt the Maoist legacy of ‘speaking bitterness’, younger people in Zhujiajiao tend to challenge the endorsement of ‘bitterness-eating’ within the China Dream discourse, albeit with internal differences. The article extends the literature on belonging by using the notion of ‘bittersweet temporality’ to theorise the relationship between the experience of time and shifting political discourses.
Published Version
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