鄉村精英在疫情期間的身分轉化：以禮物交換為促能媒介的視角

Cross-domain Identity Transformation of Rural Elites through the Pandemic: Gift Exchange as an Enabling Medium

本研究以中國東部一處鄉村「產業扶貧」的地方實踐為案例，從「精英循環理論」與「禮物交換」為媒介的角度，透過田野調查來探索發展扶貧產業期間，返鄉精英的角色變遷歷程。本研究發現，透過多元彈性且動態多變的禮物式行動策略，推動個體精英角色的橫向跨域轉化，與階層和新舊之間的縱向更迭。具體而言，（一）精英在都會區所積累的資本與知識，因其選擇回流而成為回饋給鄉村的「禮物」；（二）回流精英在鄉村推動扶貧產業，促動自己從城市文化精英轉型成為村內經濟精英；（三）回流精英在鄉村推動義工服務，促動自己從村內經濟精英轉型成為村內社會精英；（四）COVID-19大型公共危機事件的突發，帶來策略行動的契機，回流精英開展一系列禮物式的賑災行動，隨之帶來多元的身分轉化與策略性的賑災場域運作；（五）回流精英以「農務達人」的角色符號，賦權並強化了傳統農民向精英階層縱向流動的可能性，但部分「農務達人」也會因為其慣性思維的鄉土性與承擔專業角色的脆弱性，難以適應現代化產業運作而復被取代，進而揭示對鄉土性重構下的鄉村扶貧事業的運作邏輯。

This research examines a case of poverty alleviation through industrialization in east rural China to explore the identity transformation of returning elites when they engage in rural field. The study employs field research and applies the theory of elite circulation in which gift exchange is regarded as an enabling medium to accelerate circulation. The results reveal that a diversified, flexible, and dynamic gift-driven action strategy that is shaped by different types of gifts helps promote the cross-domain identity transformation of elites and facilitates circulation between those with different social statuses and the old and new elites. The highlighted findings are as follows. (1) The knowledge and social capital that elites have accumulated through urban experiences are regarded as a gift for their returning village. (2) Poverty alleviation through industrialization is perceived as a gift that transforms the elites from urban cultural elites to village economic elites. (3) Voluntary helping actions are perceived as gifts that facilitate the continuous transformation of village economic elites into village societal elites. (4) The emergence of the large-scale public crisis of COVID-19 has brought opportunities for strategic actions. The returning elites have carried out a series of gift-like disaster relief operations, which have brought diversified identity transformations and strategic disaster relief operations. (5) Returning elites have empowered skilled farmers with symbolic gifts, which provide these farmers with opportunities to enter the elite hierarchy; however, these new entries could be rapidly displaced by newer empowered farmers, because of the strength of inertial thinking and the weakness of assuming professional roles. This study further explores the dynamic pattern of rural governance and the logic of poverty alleviation under the reconstruction of rural areas that are a product of the identity transformation of rural elites and circulation between hierarchies, which are subsequently shaped by the poverty-alleviating effect of industrialization in rural areas.