TAJA Or AISropliog The Australian Journal of Anthropology (2014)25, 357-372 doi:10.1111/aja.12073 The crisscrossed agency of a toast: Personhood individuation and de-individuation in luzhou, China Brian harmon This article addresses debates over individuation in China through consideration of guanxi-rela tional feasting in Luzhou, Sichuan. I draw on Ortner's theorisation of subjectivity and agency to probe the often taken-for-granted question of cultural personhood which informs social action. Although the social imaginary in Luzhou is increasingly colonised by symbolic individualism, I propose that dominant local notions of personhood and agency, operating within feast practice, continue to define this process. By attending to three aspects of Yans individualisation thesis I demonstrate how local models of person and agency are indispensible to a fuller understand- ing of social life. Considering the important role ritual speech habits (largely trained in de-indi- viduating feasting)continue to play in socialising actors to economic institutions and power relationships more generally, individuation in China today remains a largely nominal and asp rational, if symbolically potent and potentially transformative, project Keywords: Individuation, agency, urban China, cultural personhood, ritual feasting During a late-night feast in a humble eatery in Luzhou, Sichuan, bank driver Yang playfully bullied bank computer systems operator Luo and me. Although Yang was lower in status, he subjugated us with his superior drinking capacity and aggressive style. Yang declared his friendship for us at one moment, and belittled us(with terms like 'landlord)the next. At one point Yang saw me not eating, and claimed that if did not eat he would not eat either. Yang argued with Luo for five minutes over how much the latter would have to drink to properly match Yangs own drink. Shaking hands at the end of the night, he grinned and nearly crushed my hand Yang had invited us; he was the host. Therefore, he vigilantly monitored our signs of solidarity. He used shame-inducing moral force to synchronise the group ritual play, demanding that we follow his example in sacrificing our own comfort for the sake of our emotional bond. He interpreted holding back in any way as directly harm ing him. He felt that I observed him and Luo in too detached a manner, and asked, What, are you waiting for a beautiful woman? 'Seeing me take notes, he told me to put down my pen. His joke about my waiting for a woman associated my too-reserved demeanour with the calculated behaviour covering secret intentions typical of status conscious urbanites. Individual freedom, the theme of so much marketing and youth @2014 Australian Anthropological SocetyThe crisscrossed agency of a toast: Personhood, individuation and de-individuation in Luzhou, China Brian Harmon Shandong University This article addresses debates over individuation in China through consideration of guanxi-rela￾tional feasting in Luzhou, Sichuan. I draw on Ortner’s theorisation of subjectivity and agency to probe the often taken-for-granted question of cultural personhood which informs social action. Although the social imaginary in Luzhou is increasingly colonised by symbolic individualism, I propose that dominant local notions of personhood and agency, operating within feast practice, continue to define this process. By attending to three aspects of Yan’s ‘individualisation thesis’, I demonstrate how local models of person and agency are indispensible to a fuller understand￾ing of social life. Considering the important role ritual speech habits (largely trained in de-indi￾viduating feasting) continue to play in socialising actors to economic institutions and power relationships more generally, individuation in China today remains a largely nominal and aspi￾rational, if symbolically potent and potentially transformative, project. Keywords: Individuation, agency, urban China, cultural personhood, ritual feasting During a late-night feast in a humble eatery in Luzhou, Sichuan, bank driver Yang playfully bullied bank computer systems operator Luo and me.1 Although Yang was lower in status, he subjugated us with his superior drinking capacity and aggressive style. Yang declared his friendship for us at one moment, and belittled us (with terms like ‘landlord’) the next. At one point Yang saw me not eating, and claimed that if I did not eat he would not eat either. Yang argued with Luo for five minutes over how much the latter would have to drink to properly match Yang’s own drink. Shaking hands at the end of the night, he grinned and nearly crushed my hand. Yang had invited us; he was the host. Therefore, he vigilantly monitored our signs of solidarity. He used shame-inducing moral force to synchronise the group ritual play, demanding that we follow his example in sacrificing our own comfort for the sake of our emotional bond. He interpreted holding back in any way as directly harm￾ing him. He felt that I observed him and Luo in too detached a manner, and asked, ‘What, are you waiting for a beautiful woman?’ Seeing me take notes, he told me to put down my pen. His joke about my waiting for a woman associated my too-reserved demeanour with the calculated behaviour covering secret intentions typical of status￾conscious urbanites. Individual freedom, the theme of so much marketing and youth The Australian Journal of Anthropology (2014) 25, 357–372 doi:10.1111/taja.12073 © 2014 Australian Anthropological Society 357