Native place explained

Someone's native place is a concept of specific rural settlement origin particularly found in rapidly urbanizing societies. This in Asia and elsewhere may be linked to the rural home of grandparents and ancestors of first and second or third generation city-born descendants. In China this is known as jiāxiāng, among other terms, and is legally entrenched in the hukou registration. In Korea this is known as kohyang and related to nostalgia for rural life.^[1] This concept is distinct from notions of tribe, region or nation and is specifically anchored on specific settlements. Whereas European notions of sub-national homeland such as German heimat or Swedish hembygd may have a larger regional identity, and in literature this a trope in romanticism,^[2] in Asia the native place is highly localized. In India "native place" can refer to one's origin from very distant ancestors.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Bryna Goodman Native Place, City, and Nation 1995 "This book explores the role of native place associations in the development of modern Chinese urban society and the role of native-place identity in the development of urban nationalism."
2. Peter Blickle Heimat: A Critical Theory of the German Idea of Homeland 2004 Page 27 "Romantic writers had already noted the sense of Entzweiung (separation) from nature in modern consciousness and had ... Not surprisingly, then, in light of Giddens's and Habermas's theories, Heimat in the modern age becomes an ."
3. Anand Giridharadas India Calling 2011 page 14 "The most mystical new concept, though, was “native place,” which I eventually discovered was the village where my ancestors had most recently milked cows, even if “recent” meant the year 1500."