Mobilités de travail et (re)construction des rapports sociaux au sein d’une
communauté Hmong de Chine (province du Guizhou)

Rural-urban mobility is unquestionably one of the most striking phenomena that China has experienced since the wide-ranging reforms of the 1980s. Besides its unparalleled magnitude, it has been an essential foundation of its economic transition and development. But if the social impact of mobility has been extensively studied in cities where ‘peasants’ (as farmers are called in China) sojourn, little is known of the effects of mobility in their community of origin, and even less when the community belongs to a ‘minority nationality’.   Based on fieldwork conducted over an 18-month period, this dissertation examines the impact of labor migration on the social (re)construction of a Hmong (Miao) community in rural China. Practices of mobility for work purposes are twofold in the studied community: migrants are either itinerant herbalists in close-by cities or factory workers in the eastern cities of the country. An original approach to social change has been used, integrating the spheres of imagination and practice, and takes into account the economic and spatial components of the migration phenomenon. Moreover, this research proposes an innovative theoretical model, by giving equal importance to the discourses and the actions in the process of social change of both migrants and non-migrants.  First, this study reveals the recent remodeling of the spatial and the economic foundations of the studied community. It shows that places, scales, social networks and borders all structure the community’s territory – in both real and imaginary spheres – and that they have become more complex and numerous as a result of the unprecedented circular migration of its inhabitants to and from their village. At the economic level, besides confirming dominance of remittances at the household level, it also appears that development and inequality issues are now addressed by members of the community primarily through the phenomenon of migration.   Second, the results expose the strong imprint of mobility in the social sphere. In need of support, migrants and left-behinds are increasingly seeking help within their lineage, clan, village, and matrilineal networks. In this process, it is not uncommon for them to consciously go against the traditional family hierarchies. Through mobility, long marginalized groups such as women and young adults, have now gained esteem, autonomy and decision-making power. Meanwhile, the social order has shifted. It is no longer the volume of agricultural production, but the number of migrant workers, which now determine the social classes within the community.   Finally, in the broader context of minorities in China and the Southeast Asian Massif, this dissertation addresses the debate about the social impact of mobility beyond the paradigms of modernization and integration. Unlike most of the literature pertaining to this issue, this research provides evidence that it is not enough to focus on the changes experienced by migrants through contact with urban dwellers and their so-called modern way of life. It shows that it is necessary to recognize the capacity for initiative and social innovation of all the members of these minorities, migrants or non-migrants. It also stresses the centrality of the question of identity. Feelings of marginality and subordination remain strong and they do not seem to fade as a result of migration. On the contrary, these feelings seem to most often result in a strengthening of social and community bonds within these minorities.

Keyphrases: Construction territoriale, Hmong, Miao, Rural-urban mobility, Labor migration, Spatial construction, Social relations, Ethnicity, China, Social change