Ethnic minorities in China

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Ethnolinguistic map of China

For a list of ethnic groups in China, see List of ethnic groups in China.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. Although the 55 ethnic minority groups comprise only about 8% of mainland China and Taiwan's population, this is still a sizable population at over 107 million. In addition to these officially recognized ethnic minority groups, there are PRC nationals who privately classify themselves as members of unrecognized ethnic groups (such as Jewish, Tuvan, Oirat and Ili Turki). Also, foreign nationals who have become Chinese citizens form yet another separate group.

In general, the officially recognized ethnic minority groups reside within mainland China, with the exception of the Taiwanese aborigines. The Taiwanese aborigines are classified as a single one of the 55 ethnic minority groups, Gaoshan, even though they represent several linguistically and culturally diverse ethnicities. Hong Kong and Macau do not use this ethnic classification system, and figures by the PRC government do not include the two territories.

In the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC), these ethnic minority groups, together with the Han majority, make up the greater Chinese nationality known as Zhonghua Minzu.

1 Naming
2 Ethnic groups
3 Guarantee of Rights and Interests
4 Undistinguished ethnic groups
5 Religions
6 Taiwan aborigines
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Naming

Ethnic groups in China are often called nationalities in official English-language documents of the People's Republic of China, such as that nation's 1982 constitution.^[1] This is in the naming style of the Soviet Union government, and derived from Marxist-Leninist and Soviet ideology. The Chinese word minzu (民族) is used to translate the German and Russian words for "people" and "nationality," as used in Marxist-Leninist ideology^[2]. However, all the ethnic minorities in China are Chinese citizens, regardless of the fact that they are sometimes referred to as different "nationalities" in English, and the Chinese-language term that is used to refer to different ethnic groups, minzu, is not specific on citizenship status.

Officially, English-language terms such as "ethnic minorities"^[3]^[4], "ethnic groups"^[5], and "national minorities"^[6] are also used in PRC publications.

[edit] Ethnic groups

The Long-horn tribe, a small branch of ethnic Miao in the western part of Guizhou Province.

Most ethnic groups are distinctive from one another, but there are some that are very similar to the Han majority group. For example, most Hui Chinese are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except for the fact that they practice Islam. Conversely, the Hakka are sometimes thought of as an ethnic group separate from the Han majority^{[citation needed]}, but the PRC government classifies them as part of the Han ethnic group.

Some of the ethnic groups as classified by the PRC government contain, within themselves, diverse groups of people. Various groups of the Miao minority, for example, speak different dialects of the Hmong-Mien languages, Kadai languages, and Chinese languages, and practice a variety of different cultural customs. Some ethnic groups with smaller populations are simply classified by the PRC together with another distinct ethnic group, such as the case with the Utsuls of Hainan being classified as part of the Hui minority, and the Chuangqing being classified as part of the Han majority^{[citation needed]}.

While Han Chinese make up the vast majority of China's total population, the population distribution is highly uneven with large parts of western China having Han Chinese as a minority.

Uyghur girl near Khotan

The multi-ethnic nature of China is a result of many centuries of assimilation, expansion and modern consolidation of territories incorporated during the Qing Dynasty, whose emperors were themselves Manchu and not members of the Han majority. Today, modern Chinese ethnic theory is heavily influenced by that of the Soviet Union.

The degree of integration of ethnic minorities with the national mainstream community varies widely from group to group. With some groups, such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs, there is some resentment against the majority. Other groups such as the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, and ethnic Koreans are well integrated into the national community.

See also: List of ethnic groups in China

[edit] Guarantee of Rights and Interests

The PRC's Constitution and laws guarantee equal rights to all ethnic groups in China and help promote ethnic minority groups' economic and cultural development. One notable preferential treatment ethnic minorities enjoy is that they are exempt from the population growth control of the One-Child Policy. Ethnic minorities are well represented in the National People's Congress as well as governments at the provincial and prefectural levels. Some ethnic minorities in China live in what are described as ethnic autonomous areas. These "regional autonomies" guarantee ethnic minorities the freedom to use and develop their ethnic languages, and to maintain their own cultural and social customs. In addition, the PRC government has provided preferential economic development and aid to areas where ethnic minorities live. The "regional autonomies" are also to protect ethnic minorities' freedom of religion, however, the issue of freedom of religion in the PRC is, in itself, highly controversial and debatable.

[edit] Undistinguished ethnic groups

Main article: Undistinguished ethnic groups in China

"Undistinguished" ethnic groups are ethnic groups that have not been officially recognized or classified by the central government. The group numbers more than 730,000 people, and would constitute the 20th most populous ethnic group of China if taken as a single group (which it is not). The vast majority of this group is found in Guizhou province.

These "undistinguished ethnic groups" do not include groups that have been controversially classified into existing groups. For example, the Mosuo are officially classified as Naxi, and the Chuanqing are classified as Han Chinese, but they reject these classifications and view themselves as separate ethnic groups.

Citizens of mainland China who are of foreign origin are classified using yet another separate label: "foreigners naturalized into the Chinese citizenship" (外国人入中国籍). However, if there is an existing group among the 56 ethnic groups that describes a newly naturalized citizen (e.g. Han Chinese, Korean, Russian, Gin, Kazakh, etc.), then he or she is classified into that ethnic group rather than the special label.

[edit] Religions

Note that some of these ethnic groups hold belief systems that cannot be distinctly classified based upon the following system (in alphabetical order).

Buddhism: the Bai, Bulang, Dai, Jinuo, Jingpo, Mongol, Naxi (including Mosuo), Nu, Tibetan and Yugun.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity: the Russians
Islam: the Bonan, Dongxiang, Hui, Kazak, Kirgiz, Salar, Tajik, Tatar, Uyghur and Uzbek.
Shamanism: the Daurs, Ewenkis, and Oroqens.

[edit] Taiwan aborigines

Main article: Taiwanese aborigines

The PRC government officially refers to all Taiwanese aborigines as Gaoshan, whereas the ROC government of Taiwan recognizes a dozen groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term Gaoshan has a different connotation in Taiwan than it does in mainland China. While several thousands of these aborigines have migrated to Fujian province in mainland China, most remain in Taiwan; whether or not those remaining in Taiwan should be considered citizens of the PRC is sometimes a controversial issue of the political status and the legal status of Taiwan.