Dear friends,
Today I am going to tell you the Hakka history. I hope you like it.
Who are the Hakkas?
The Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of "Han" Chinese originally active around
the Yellow River area. They are thought to be one of the earliest "Han" settlers
in China. One theory has it that many of the early Hakkas were affiliated with
the "royal bloods". The truth may be more complicated than that. It is highly likely that while Hakka may be a stronghold of Han culture, Hakka people also have married other ethnic groups and adopted their cultures during the long migration history of 2000 years. Due to the infusion of other ethnic groups from the northwest, north and northeast, these original settlers gradually migrated south and settled in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. They were called Hakka by the locals when they first settled in. This term has been used since by non-Hakka and Hakka people, and in international publications. The spelling "Hakka" is derived from the pronunciation in Hakka dialect ( pronounced as "haagga" in Hakka and "kejia" in Mandarin).
During the last hundred years or so, Hakka people migrated to South East Asia, East Africa, Europe (Holland, United Kingdom, France, Germany..), South America (
Brazil, Trinidad...) Canada, US. About 7% of the 1.2 billion Chinese clearly state their Hakka origin or heritage. However, the actual number may be more as many Hakka Han who settled along the path of migration assimilate with the local people. The Hakka identity is gradually lost.
Hakka people are noted for their preservation of certain cultural characteristics that could be traced to pre-Qin period (about 2200 years ago) as expressed in
the custom, foods, spoken language, etc.
Hakka people are also known to be very adamant in defending their cultural heritage, which was the reason for their migration to flee from the "northern" influence at that time.
As a late comer to places initially occupied by locals, Hakkas usually had to struggle and survive on the less desirable lands. Thus, Hakka people are well-known for their perseverance even in the most adverse environment.
Among all the Chinese people, Hakkas are among the most conservative in keeping
the traditions. Yet, many are willing to take risks and seek new opportunities elsewhere to establish themselves. The migratory tradition results in the distribution of Hakka in the most remote part of the world. An anecdote has it that the
north-most restaurant in the world close to the Arctic is in fact a Chinese restaurant run by a Hakka. :)
The Hakka people, paradoxically conservative and endeavoring, hard-working and enduring, is reflective of the spirit of Chinese culture.
Hakka definition
According to the well-known Chinese dictionary, Hakkas are inhabitants at the junction of Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangxi. Others have settled in Sichuan and Taiwan. They are a group entering the southern provinces after Jin dynasty. Hakkas
are characteristic of hardworking people and their spoken language can find roots in ancient classical Chinese.
The term Hakka (guest families) is a misnomer, only used since Qing dynasty. Although there are some theories about the origin, most scholars agree that Hakka Chinese migrated from northern China to the south starting from East Jin dynasty
(317-420 AD). Some even date the first migration as from Qin dynasty (220 -206 BC) when the first unified Chinese nation was formed. They were the early settlers in the Yellow River basin. The infusion of tribes from the north, flooding, grasshopper plaques, droughts, famines, and wars in the north drove people en masse to the south. The local people in the south called these northerners "guest families" when they started to settle in this area. In fact many of the southern Chinese were also from the north at an earlier time. So, who can say who is "guest"?
Hakka people have migrated repeatedly many times in China's history. Each time they carry with them something old and something new. In the end this tradition also is carried by migrating Hakkas to other countries.
The characteristics of Hakka people is they all claim to be Chinese and there is
no provincial difference to divide them. All those who are fortunate to still master the tongue would find a lot of "Tziga Ngin" (our own people) anywhere in China. Hakka dialect (language) is the thread that holds people together. There is now an annual international Hakka conference held in different countries. The
last one held in Longyan, Fujian had the biggest participation in years with many from Taiwan, showing that political issues cannot stop the root finding of Hakka people. At this conference, there was a moving piece of news. A Caucasian American adopted by a Hakka family during the war also participated the conference.
He, speaking in fluent Hakka, proudly declared himself a Hakka.
There are roughly 50 million to 75 million Hakkas all over the world. Hakka Chinese probably can claim the widest coverage by a single people. .
Different theories about origin of Hakka
Since Professor Lo Hsiang Lin (Luo Xiang Lin) started research on the origin of
Hakka, many theories have been developed. Basically, it can be divided into the
following theories:
1. Han emigrants from the north2. Indigenous southern She / Yue
3. Xiongnu descendents
I would say all of them are correct, yet none alone explains the origin of Hakka
.
The confusion is escalated by the different definition of 'north and south', and
'ancient and recent'. There is a research project using DNA typing to compare Hakka people with other southern Chinese people today. The conclusion from such study is Hakkas were not from the north, but indigenous to the south. The problem
of this type of research is in typing modern people we cannot ascertain who are
really the southern Chinese because many of them were also from the north, Hakka or non-Hakka. Even comparing with other Southeast Asian ethnic groups may have
the same problem, because many are descendents of ancient northern Chinese or related to them through inter-ethnic marriages. Unless each subject has a detailed genealogy to verify his/her ancestry, it would be inconclusive.
Some claim Hakka as "pure" Han people. But pure Han really does not exist. Recent archaeological studies have shown that China had multiple centers of civilization, developed rather independently of each other. Yangshao (Henan), Banpo (Shaanxi), Hongshan (Liaoning) , Liangzhu (Jiangsu/Zhejiang), Sanxingdui (Sichuan), Longshan (Shandong) all eventually merged into the Han culture. Han people
are thus the integrated composite of several different tribes. In a way, the definition of Han is just as difficult as the definition of American. Hakkas as Han
cannot be ethnically pure. Hakka have been at the interface of ethnic conflicts
for many dynasties. Genetically speaking, some Hakka people have clearly inherited some non-Han features such as wavy hair and high nose bridge. Hakka must have incorporated these features from the different ethnicities along the migration
path through out the 2000 years of history. The characteristic of Hakkas can only be recognized by the dialect and the adamant preservation of ancient Chinese
custom.
yours,
Tuney
