Hometown Nostalgia, a Sense of Belonging and Identity—To Construct a Spiritual Home Common to the Nation by Ideological and Material Means

SHEN Wang-shu

Abstract: The core of the “nostalgia for hometown”tradition is“yearning”，which involves worship of ancestors, clan and customs. It also connects the overseas Chinese with their homeland emotionally. In contrast, the core of modern“hometown nostalgia”is about“belonging”，which focus on the sense of belonging associated with one's homeland. It also manifests people's national identity. “Hometown Nostalgia”，as a representative of“family culture”，is the key to the construction of a spiritual home. Therefore, this paper suggests improving the construction of spiritual homeland through the construction of nostalgia culture. Specific recommendations include:（1）to strengthen top-level design, which means Beijing should become the window to nostalgia culture;（2）to strengthen coordination, which involves utilizing different resources to construct the“nostalgia culture”experience center;（3）to strengthen management by immersing the nostalgia culture in the rural construction throughideological and material ways. The author believes that by enhancing the“hometown”attraction, many people will gain real benefit and respect from the construction of a spiritual home.

Keywords: hometown nostalgia culture; spiritual home; construction path