S&C - 3 - Ethnic Landscape

Historical background

• Since Qin a multi ethnic country

民族

• 民 - people

• 族 - clan, inheritance, tribe, family

五族共和

• 1912 attempt at creating strong equal nation.

  • See Liang Qichao for example

• the flag:

  • Han - Red

  • Manchu - Yellow

  • Mongol - Blue

  • Hui - White

  • Tibetan - Black

• but most terms referring to non han were quite discriminatory

• by 1920’s → 少数民族

  • but KMT did not categorize to make sure a strong united nation could be build

  • CCP tried exploiting this by supporting independence movements.

People’s Nationalist

• Common language

• Common territory

• Common economy

• Common culture

So NOT only blood and religion

This became basis of the 1950’s Ethnic Classifications Project

Ethnic Classifications Project

• 1950’s

• in 1964 → 183 groups registered

  • 56 民族

    • 55 minority groups

      • other 129 groups were subcategories of these 54

        • But the Hui only differ slightly. Same as Han just different belief.

      • 1 group for other nationalities

    • 1 Han group

      • within han 3 division lines:

        • Physical Diversity

        • Cultural Diversity

        • Religious Diversity

      • Example the Hakka

Diversified policies regarding minorities

• One Child Policy exceptions

• Language and education

• Collectivization

  • Land reforms:

    • Nomad mongols had reforms later than sedentary mongols

  • Hundred flower campaign and anti rightist campaign

    • CCP saw their local nationalism as anti socialist during the hundred flower campaign and struck down hard with the anti rightist campaigh

  • Great Leap Forward 58 - 59

    • Were not allowed to have traditions

      • could hinder production

    • Big catastrophy

      • Lead to revolts in Xinjiang and Tibet → tibet question

  • Tibet question

    • Revolts crackdown in 1959

    • Fleeing to India and USSR

• Gaige Kaifang

  • Rise and later suppression of “ethnic nationalism”

  • under Deng Xiaoping relaxations

    • Had to stimulate liberal economy

    • good relationship inside with the minorities was interesting for foreign economic incentives

Examples:

• Yi of Yunnan had to liberate slaves while Yi of Sichuan were allowed to keep their slaves

Autonomous regions

• Neimenggu zizhiqu - Mongols 1947

• Xinjiang Weiwu’erzu zizhiqu - Uyghurs 1955

• Ningxia Huizu zizhiqu - Hui 1958

• Guanxi Zhuangqu Zizhiqu - Zhuang 1958

• Xizang Zizhiqu - Tibetans 1965

62 autonomous districts

659 autonomous cities and villages

growth minorities vis a vis han

• 1953 - 6.06%

• 1964 - 5.78%

• 1982 - 6.67%

• 1990 - 8.01%

• 2000 - 8.47%

• 2010 - 8.40%

• 2020 - 8.89%

Reasons:

• Han people who register as minority

  • To not be affected by the policies on Han

• Different policies

territory minorities

• 60% of the whole PRC territory is inhabited by ethnic minorites

Current reality minorities China

• Increasing assimilation attempts

  • Ethnicity

  • Culture

  • Language

Deng’s relaxations for minorities

• Tourism was stimulated to these regions

• Gov subsidized restauration of temples/mosques

• education

  • Quotas in universities

• language re-installed

  • 22 of the 54 have their own language

• Politics

  • Law 1982

    • 12% of congress must be ethnic minorities

  • Law 1984

    • Autonomous regions decision making in same problems according to traditions

Idea was that long term this was beneficial and would auto assimilate with Han. This lead to increase of wealth but still a growing income gap

Taiwan indigenous people

• Not a categorization system like PRC

• 9 indigenous people groups recognized during Japan period

• 16 groups now present by the Council of Indigenous People CIP

• around 560 000

  • only 2.3% of pop

• 2001

  • Status Act for indigenous peoples

    • recognition and reconstruction of identity

2016

• formal apology tsai ing-wen and promise of restoring

2017

• Mongolian & Tibetan affairs commission abolished

  • Focus on Taiwan indigenous people

  • No need to focus on mainland stuff

2018

• Protest because of not living up to promise

Hakka

• Not a seperate group

  • part of Han

    • subgroup - 民系

• History of migration

• 客家

  • Guest people - strangers

• Common Languages and rituals

• the jews of asia

This just shows that even the HAN is not identical