A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHINA'S ETHNIC MINORITIES

Approximately 92% of China's population are Han in ethnicity. Thus, regional

differences aside, the majority population shares common beliefs,

history, and ancestry of the Han culture.

The remaining population consists of a number of smaller groups now known

as the “Ethnic Minorities”. According to the government, there are

roughly 55 separate minority groups.  Many of these minority groups

have lived in China for thousands of years. and each group has its own history,

with stories of repeated wars and migrations. Many minorities sought the safety

of living in the more remote areas of China.  Thus, as much as possible, they

stayed separate and apart from the mainstream Han population. There they were

able to develop their distinct ancestry, culture, language and customs.

The stability of the Chinese Han Culture prevailed and was considered to be

the history of China. Unless the minor groups inhabited useful land, little interest or

attention was paid to those outside the mainstream culture. For centuries, the Han only

distinguished the diverse groups by direction of the compass, to name a few minorities

by direction; the Di lived in the northern areas of China; the Rong were predominantly in

the west; the Yi, in the east; and the Miao lived to the south.

In 1911, the last Imperial Dynasty, (Qing), was unseated by the Nationalist Party of

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. Though many of the Nationalists denied the concept of China as an

ethnically diverse nation, Dr Sun saw China as a "Republic of Five Nationalities". The 5 stars

on the Chinese Flag represented the Han, the Di, the Rong, the Yi and the Miao groups.

In 1949, the communist party came into power. Using the idea of the "Peoples Republic" as

a "unitary, multi-national socialist state" they initiated an effort to investigate and to

categorize the diverse groups within China's borders. An invitation was extended for

each group to register with the government for official status as an "ethnic minority".

Political and economic advantages were offered as incentives for the groups to register.

As a show of goodwill, the government made it illegal to use the term "tribe" which in

Chinese is pseudonymous with the term "dog" when referring to these groups.  "Nationality"

was the official term. 300 groups responded. After several years of detailed studies and

field research investigating the claims of the different groups, the government recognized

55 ethnic minority groups as independent nationalities.    Of course, some groups disagreed

with their official classifications...i.e. The "Miao" of Ge Jia claim they are not Miao but claim

themselves to be a separate minority group.