Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad

296 Pages·2005·17.923 MB·English

by  Nicole Constable

STUDIES ON ETHNIC GROUPS IN CHINA
Stevan Harrell, Editor
STUDIES ON ETHNIC GROUPS IN CHINA
Cultural Encounters on China)s Ethnic Frontiers
Edited by Stevan Harrell
Guest People:
Hakkaldentity in China andAbroad
Edited by Nicole Constable
GUEST PEOPLE
Hakka Identity
in China and Abroad
Edited by
NICOLE CONSTABLE
University of Washington Press
Seattle and Londcn
STUDIES ON ETHNIC GROUPS IN CHINA
is supported in part by a grant
from the Henry Luce Foundation to the
Henry M. Jackson School ofInternationai Studies
of the University of Washington.
The publication of
Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad
is supported in part by a grant from the
Henry M. Jackson Foundation.
Copyright © 1996 by the University of Washington Press
Printed in the United States of America
AIl rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guest people: Hakka identity in China and abroad / edited by Nicole Constable.
p. cm.-(Studies on ethnic groups in China)
ISBN 0-295-<)7469-<) (alk. paper)
1. Hakka (Chinese people) 1. Constable, Nicole. II. Series.
DS731.H3G83 1996 95-17857
951--dC20 CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39-48-1984. ~
TO THE HAKKA AMONG WHOM WE HAVE BEEN GUESTS

Contents
Introduction
What Does It Mean to Be Hakka?
NICOLE CONSTABLE
3
II The Hakka or "Guest People"
Dialect as a Sociocultural Variable in Southeast China
MYRON L. COHEN
21 Hakka Villagers in a Hong Kong City
The Original People ofTsuen Wan
ELI ZAB ETH LOM INS KA JO HN S ON
80
31 Poverty, Piety, and the Past
Hakka Christian Expressions ofHakka Identity
NICOLE CONSTABLE
4f Form and Content in Hakka Malaysian Culture
SHARON A. CARSTENS
124
51 Still "Guest People"
The Reproduction ofHakkaIdentity in Calcutta, India
ELLEN OXFELD
149
Vll
CONTENTS
6/ The Hakka Ethnic Movement in Taiwan, 1986-1991
HOWARD J. MARTIN
176
7/ The Hakka Paradox in the People's Republic of China
Exile, Eminence, and Public Silence
MARY S. ERBAUGH
196
Glossary
232
References
235
Contributors
269
Index
271
V111
Maps
7.1. HAKKA LANGUAGE AREAS
200
7.2. SO V lET BAS E S
201
7.3. HAKKA COUNTRY AND 1935 PROVINCIAL
BOUNDARIES
202
7.4. LONG MARCH ROUTES
203
ix
Note on Romanization
Most of the Chinese terms in this volume have been romanized in
Mandarin pinyin with several exceptions: The terms Hakka (Mandarin:
Kejia) and Punti (Mandarin: Bendi) are written according to their most
familiar English spellings rather than in their less-common pinyin
forms. Place names outside the People's Republic of China generally
follow local custom (e.g., Hong Kong, not Xianggang), and personal
names follow either individual or personal preferences or the standard
recognized spelling (e.g., Sun Yat-sen, not Sun Zhongshan). Unless
otherwise indicated, oral colloquial expressions are cited in the dialect in
which they were spoken. A glossary of Chinese characters appears at the
end of this volume.
x