and functions of national myths are introduced. However, the scope of this thesis is not to examine all possible debates within the context of nationalism but to inform how the concept of national myths has been developed in order to link national myths with tourism. The chapter ends with a brief introduction of the relationship between postcolonialism and nationalism. This discussion will inform Chapter 4, where Chinese postcolonial destinations are introduced. 2.2 Theories of nation and nationalism Like all other contested studies or theories, the term nation or nationalism has been defined with various terms and conditions. Broadly speaking, there are four schools of thought about nation and nationalism: primordialism, modernism, ethnosymbolism and postmodernism (Smith 1998, 2009, 2010, Day & Thompson 2004). Each of them has their own distinctive points to express their views of ethnicity, the relationship between past and present, the nature of culture, the ways of defining boundaries between nations as well as their explanations of the relationship between nation and nationalism. The following section illustrates these four theoretical approaches in chronological order. Key ideas of each paradigm are introduced, compared and critiqued in order to understand the underlying assumptions and convictions on contemporary discussions of nation and nationalism. 2.2.1 Primordialism As the earliest trend of nation and nationalism, primordialists or perennialists argue that nations, like races, were given in nature and are therefore ancient (Hayward, Barry & Brown 2003). For the origin of nationalism, perennialists describe nationalism as a reflection of the ancient, even immemorial, and perceived evolutionary tendency of humans to organise into distinct grouping based on an affinity of birth (Motyl 2001). Thus, perennialists often regard ethnic community as primordial. According to Masters (1989) the primordial explanation of the origin of ethnic groups is that they are thought to be similar because they are based on kinship and promoted along lines of common ancestry. Therefore, kinship, historical tradition and homeland are common themes among perennialists. For primordialists, nations, races and ethnic communities are expressions of extended kinship deriving from genetic affinities (van den Berghe 1978). For van den Berghe, individuals’ behaviour associated with nepotism is the fundamental element of ethnocentrism and nationalism. For example, he thinks individuals are willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their kin or fellow ethnics, because they share genes by common descent in a
and functions of national myths are introduced. However, the scope of this thesis is not to examine all possible debates within the context of nationalism but to inform how the concept of national myths has been developed in order to link national myths with tourism. The chapter ends with a brief introduction of the relationship between postcolonialism and nationalism. This discussion will inform Chapter 4, where Chinese postcolonial destinations are introduced. 2.2 Theories of nation and nationalism Like all other contested studies or theories, the term nation or nationalism has been defined with various terms and conditions. Broadly speaking, there are four schools of thought about nation and nationalism: primordialism, modernism, ethnosymbolism and postmodernism (Smith 1998, 2009, 2010, Day & Thompson 2004). Each of them has their own distinctive points to express their views of ethnicity, the relationship between past and present, the nature of culture, the ways of defining boundaries between nations as well as their explanations of the relationship between nation and nationalism. The following section illustrates these four theoretical approaches in chronological order. Key ideas of each paradigm are introduced, compared and critiqued in order to understand the underlying assumptions and convictions on contemporary discussions of nation and nationalism. 2.2.1 Primordialism As the earliest trend of nation and nationalism, primordialists or perennialists argue that nations, like races, were given in nature and are therefore ancient (Hayward, Barry & Brown 2003). For the origin of nationalism, perennialists describe nationalism as a reflection of the ancient, even immemorial, and perceived evolutionary tendency of humans to organise into distinct grouping based on an affinity of birth (Motyl 2001). Thus, perennialists often regard ethnic community as primordial. According to Masters (1989) the primordial explanation of the origin of ethnic groups is that they are thought to be similar because they are based on kinship and promoted along lines of common ancestry. Therefore, kinship, historical tradition and homeland are common themes among perennialists. For primordialists, nations, races and ethnic communities are expressions of extended kinship deriving from genetic affinities (van den Berghe 1978). For van den Berghe, individuals’ behaviour associated with nepotism is the fundamental element of ethnocentrism and nationalism. For example, he thinks individuals are willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their kin or fellow ethnics, because they share genes by common descent in a