An Introduction to Geography and Ethnicity in China

by Michael and Cara Abraham

Special Thanks to Yale University’s PIER (Programs in International and Educational Resources), Caryn Stedman and the generous support of The Freeman Foundation.

Geography and Climate

China (3.7 mill. Sq. miles) has an extremely diverse topography and range of climates. It stretches from Siberia to the tropics.

Mountains (Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountains) the Tibetan plateau and harsh deserts (Taklamakan and Gobi) dominate the north and west.

The two major rivers – the Huang He (Yellow) and Chang Jiang (Yangzi) flow from the Tibetan Plateau.

As one moves east, China’s rugged landscape gives way to fertile plains.Recommended: Stewart Gordon’s Major Asian Rivers of the Plateau of Tibet . Education. About Asia. Winter 2010.

Fast Facts: By 2012, Yangzi will have risen by 175 meters. The dam will contain a 5 five-tier ship lock, 32 hydropower turbo-generators, and send electricity to 8 provinces and municipalities.

Recommended: A Final Test for the Big Dam by Li Li, Beijing Review, and Jim Yardley’s series and videos “Choking on Growth”.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/11/19/world/asia/choking_on_growth_4.html#story3

Begun in 2003, this massive canal project is expected to take almost 50 years to construct. It will eventually divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water annually to the population centers of the drier north, esp. Beijing and Tianjin. When finished, the work will link China's four main rivers – the Yangtze, Yellow River, Huaihe and Haihe – and requires the construction of three diversion routes, stretching south-to-north across the eastern, central and western parts of the country. The complete project is expected to cost $62bn – more than twice as much as the country's controversial Three Gorges Dam. (http://www.water-technology.net/projects/south_north/)

South-North Water Transfer Project

Impact of Geography on Chinese Cooking

China’s geographic diversity has spurred several schools of Chinese cuisine. The north is conducive to growing wheat, and therefore wheat noodles are commonly eaten. The south is hot, humid and receives a lot of rain, so rice is the staple in the south.

In terms of prep stir-fry cooking with a wok is widespread, yet steaming is common in some areas.

Among the many schools of Chinese are:Northern (Beijing) – staples include corn, sorghum, millet. Dishes include noodles, porridge, steamed bread, cabbage, turnips and onions. Pickling is common. Traditional meats include pork, chicken and duck. Lamb and beef where pastoralists are close by.

Eastern (Shanghai)– Rice is the staple. Bland dishes require ginger and onion. Fish and shellfish for protein.

Western (including Hunanese and Sichuanese) – extremely spicy, include ginger, garlic, onions and peppercorns.

Southern (Cantonese) – Rice, fresh vegetables and fruits. “anything that walks” including insects.

Recommended: Jonathan Lipman’s Chinese Geography through Chinese Cuisine.

Political Jurisdictions – China consists of:• 22 Provinces• 5 Autonomous regions – Xizang (Tibet), Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia,

Ningxia Hui, Guanxi Zhuang • 4 Municipalities – Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing• 2 Special Administrative Zones – Hong Kong and Macau

Ethnicity in ChinaThe PRC recognizes 56 ethnic groups, or minzu.

Though the dominant ethnic group is the Han ( 92% of pop.), minorities (8% of pop.) account for over 100 million people.

Moreover, minorities form the majority in land areas covering more than 50% of China. Rule over minority areas also poses some of China’s biggest political and economic challenges. Photo: Abraham -

Central Chongqing

Estimated 2008 Population StatisticsWorld – 6.7 billion (Worldometers.com)China – 1.3 billion (BBC News)India – 1.27 billion (Infoplease)U.S. – 333 million (Infoplease)

China’s Peasants

Despite the growth of China’s cities, 2/3 of Chinese still live and farm in the countryside.

“They labor at plowing in the spring and hoeing in the summer, harvesting in the autumn and storing foodstuff in the winter … … throughout all four seasons, they never get a break … They need funds to cover obligations such as entertaining guests, burying the dead, bringing up the young … No matter how hard they work, they can be ruined by floods or droughts … When taxes are due, they will sell at half price, or even sell their land, houses, and children ….”

- Chao Cuo – circa 178 B.C.

Language in China

There are hundreds of linguistic groups

Most common spoken languages are Mandarin (Putonghua) in the north and Cantonese, or Yue in the south.

Even within each of these languages many different dialects exist.

MandarinMandarin (also known as putonghua, zhongwen or hanyu) is the official language of China and Taiwan (known as guoyu). It is spoken widely throughout northern China and by some 70 % of Chinese. Other major dialects include Cantonese (Yue) and Hakka.

Mandarin consists of 4 major tones:• High and flat (ma = mother)• Mid level and rising (ma =

numb)• Mid level, falling and rising

back to middle (ma = horse)• High to falling (ma = scolding)• Sometimes a fifth, neutral

tone is identified

Translating Chinese into English

Until 1979, the most common transliteration system of Chinese to English was known as the Wade-Giles system – developed by British linguists in the 19th century.

Starting in 1979, much of the West turned to the Pinyin system that China itself had completed in 1958.

:W-G PinyinPeking BeijingChou ZhouChing QingTzu ZiTaoism DaoismSung SongTien TianHsia Xia

Minorities as Migrants

China’s unprecedented economic boom has increased the need for migrant laborers. This “floating population” is now estimated to exceed 200 million people.

Many migrant workers come from minority areas, are unskilled, and speak different languages or dialects from Mandarin Chinese.(Photo – Abraham)

China’s Relations With Minorities Before 1949

Contact between China and its minority peoples dates back to the earliest annals of Chinese recorded history.

Most common distinction was that of Han as sedentary and minorities as peripheral nomads.

Sun Yat-sen recognized the importance of minorities, but thought it more important to emphasize a strong Han majority. (Gladney)

Minority Policy in Early PRC

The Red Army relied on minority help during the Long March. (Gladney)

CCP minority philosophy derived from Lewis Henry Morgan’s Five Evolutionary Stages of History (1877) - primitive, slave, feudal, capitalist and socialist. (Harrell)

Four criteria for minority recognition - common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up. Some 400 groups applied for nationality status. (Gladney) Early PRC, exhaustive research completed on minority groups.

(Suggested Film: Yellow Earth)

Hani, or Akha are closely related to Tibetans and Yi. Photos - Abraham

Minority Policy - Later Years

During the Cultural Revolution extensive research ended. Han were often sent to minority areas to learn from peasants. (See Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress). Yet, minorities were often persecuted for religious practices.

Last 20 years have witnessed renewed unrest in minority areas, particularly Xinjiang and Tibet.

Minorities often exempt from One-Child policy. In recent years the CCP has tried to provide assistance to minorities seeking higher education.

Meng Hun market

Minority Distribution in China

When one thinks of China’s minority areas, usually Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang come to mind.

In fact, the south and southwest of China are even more ethnically diverse and complex.

Kunming also known as the “City of Eternal Spring”, is capital of Yunnan Province and China’s most ethnically diverse province with 20 recognized minzu.

The Hui

The Hui are China’s 3rd largest minzu (8.6 million). Sometimes called “Han Chinese Muslims,” Mandarin or Cantonese is often their first language.

Descended from a variety of Muslim immigrants who came via the Spice or Silk Routes, the Hui have a designated autonomous region - Ningxia Hui. Yet, they live throughout many parts of China and sometimes their dietary practices (Qing Zhen – “pure and truthful”) can serve as a stronger bond than Islam among Hui.

Hui noodle maker and mosque below – Lanzhou, Gansu Province. (Abraham)

Kazakhs, Turkic-speaking Muslims, Population 1.1 million

Photo - Uighur merchant in Kashgar

The Uighurs

The Uighurs are the most numerous of Xinjiang’s many ethnic groups, with approximately 9 million people. The term Uighur - first used during the 8th c. CE applies to Turkic-speaking Muslims of Xinjiang.

Tibet’s BordersAccording to the political boundaries set by the PRC, The Tibetan Autonomous Region comprises approximately 12.8% of China. (China and the World)

Q. Why does China refer to Tibet as autonomous?

Historical Tibet

Tibet (Xizang) in the PRC today

Tibet: People, Land and Resources By tradition, many Tibetans were nomadic and supported themselves through animal husbandry, limited agriculture and procurement of Tibet’s natural resources such as salt. Recommended : Heinrich Harrer’s Seven Years in Tibet.

Photo - Abraham

Photo – Tibet Environmental Watch

Photo – Tibet Environmental Watch

Tibetan BuddhismThough usually

categorized as one of the Mahayana schools of Buddhism, Tibetan

Buddhism is unique due to its blend of Tibetan folk religion, mysticism

and emphasis on monasticism. Tibetan

Buddhism is also distinguished by its rich

use of imagery.

Recommended Reading:

Tibetan Buddhism by Robert Thurman.

Photo - Abraham

Photo - Abraham

Mandala of Vajrabhairava, Ngor

Monastery Tibet, 1600-1800

The Jokang Temple, lies in Barkhor Square, the hub of Lhasa. It is the site of the Great Prayer

Festival – one of the holiest days on the Tibetan calendar.

Tibetan pilgrim performing the Chakstra – a series of prostrations, or bows. This act of devotion is often done for hours or days, or even while on pilgrimage en route to a spiritual destination.

Photo - Abraham

Pilgrimages

Tibet’s MonasteriesBy tradition, at least one son from most Tibetan families would join a

monastery.

Stupas, Prayer Wheels

and Incense Burners

Imagery and Ritual in Tibetan Culture

Prayer Flags often mark Tibet’s koras,

or spiritual paths. At right, a vendor

hawks raised print pads for making

prayer flags.

630-649 CE King Songtsen Gampo expands Tibet and institutionalizes Tibetan

Buddhism.

7th–10th cent. CE Tibet rivals Tang China.

1240 – Mongol lord Godan Khan establishes “priest-patron” relationship with

head of Tibet’s Sakyapa order.

1578 Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) head Sonam Gyatso, meets with Mongolian chieftain Altan Khan, who bestows upon him the title “Dalai Lama” (“Oceans of Wisdom”).

1652 – The Great 5th Dalai Lama Lobsang Gyatso visits the Qing Emperor Shunzhi.

1720 – The Qing army invades Tibet, installs a Dalai Lama and establishes Tibet

as a protectorate.Painting - Sonam Gyatso,

3rd Dalai Lama. Rubin Museum of Art

A Few Key Events in

Tibet’s History

20th CenturySino – Tibetan

Relations 1913 - Tibet proclaims independence from Nationalist Republic of China.

1950 - Communists completes occupation of Tibet and later force

Seventeen Point Agreement on Tibet.

1959 - Dalai Lama goes into exile in India from where he has since

served as head of the Tibetan Gov’t in Exile and figurehead for the

Tibetan cause.

Since 1950, major uprisings have occurred sporadically most notably

in 1956, 1989 and 2008.

1959 Dalai Lama Flees Tibet. Photo – The Guardian

Recommended reading: The Dragon in the Land of Snows by Tsering Shakya

Drawing of Mao – Jail Cell in Tashilumpo Monastery.

Photo - Abraham

Prospects for Reconciliation

Mao called Tibet part of the “motherland”. PRC sources frequently point to the harsh, feudal and primitive social climate of Tibet before 1950. In

particular the last decade has seen

unparalleled economic development in Tibet. Tibetan voices including

the Dalai Lama’s cite “cultural genocide” due

to heavy handed Chinese rule and Han

settlement.

The Karmapa Lama in India

Image – BBC News

Han Police Officers in Lhasa.

The Panchen Lama - Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, not seen since 1996.

Some of the Obstacles Between the PRC and the Tibetan Government in

China

Return of the Dalai Lama. Degree of Tibetan autonomy.

Responsibility for Tibet’s internal security. Control over Tibet’s resources and economy.

Future selection of Dalai Lama and high ranking lamas.

Han migration to Tibet. Preserving Tibetan culture.

International Opinion Other

Four Corner Activity – TibetOption 1 – Independence for Tibet

Option 2 – Increased Autonomy for TibetOption 3 – Tibet is China’s Internal

ConcernOption 4 –Other

Other