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Studies on Ethnic Groups in China
Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad
The essays in this volume analyze and compare what it means to be Hakka in a variety of sociocultural, political, geographical, and historical contexts including Malaysia, Hong Kong, Calcutta, Taiwan, and contemporary China.
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
Nicole Constable
9 books5 followersNicole Constable is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. Other contributors are Sharon A. Carstens, Myron L. Cohen, Mary S. Erbaugh, Elizabeth Lominska Johnson, Howard J. Martin; and Ellen Oxfeld.
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March 11, 2021
This collection of seven (plus one) scholarly papers on Hakka Identity looks at what it means and how the Hakka identity is manifest in locations from Hong Kong, the new territories around Hong Kong, Malaysia, Calcutta India, Taiwan, and China (see authors and article titles below). Hakka means “guest people” (or “strangers”), 客家(pinyin ke2 jia1), and came from moving into territories already occupied by other groups. There is general agreement of the Hakka originating in northern China, and generally migrating south, and then to many parts of Southeast Asia.
Most of the studies in this collection are anthropological, with one linguistic; several describe aspects of the Hakka history. The retention of common traits and expression of identity vary over locations. One common trait that provided identity to the various local Hakka communities is the language. Several communities (and those around them) commented on the hard working nature of the Hakka people, on the (relative) independence of women and their hard work, the emphasis on education (often because business opportunities were blocked by the majority, non-Hakka groups).
Starting in the 1980s, there has been a resurgence of interest in Hakka studies, sometimes reflected in new schools and departments, but also manifest in conferences and international organizations. In Taiwan this resurgence coincided with a political opening up of society and a contemporaneous fear of losing the language through non-usage.
There have been many well know people with Hakka heritage: in Taiwan (former President Lee Teng-hui, current President Tsai Ing-Wen, Annette Lu), in Singapore (Founding father, first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew). As the article by Mary Erbaugh notes, in the People’s Republic of China, Hakka identity was not often claimed by the leaders, although several of the participants in the Long March were Hakka. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... for more individuals identified as Hakka.
This is not a book for everyone, since these are papers that were at the forefront of their field. Interestingly, not much has been printed in English with the breadth of this book since it was published in 1996. However, there are some interesting perspectives for the determined reader, such as the role of Hakka in Calcutta, the relationship of some Hakka with Christianity, and later with revolution in China.
FB. A scholarly book on what it means to be Hakka (“guess people”, 客家, pinyin ke2 jia1), in the context of several different cultural and geographic settings. There are some common attributes across geography and culture that seems to have been preserved, language being one of the key ones, hard work and the role of women in society being another in several of the studies. This book appeared early in the resurgence of interest in Hakka studies (1996).
Authors and Article Titles in the collection.
Introduction. “What Does It Mean to Be Hakka? Nicole Constable
1. The Hakka or “Guest People”. Dialect as a Sociocultural Variable in Southeast China. Myron Cohen.
2. Hakka Villagers in a Hong Kong City. The original People of Tsuen Wan. Elizabeth Lominska Johnson.
3. Poverty, Piety, and the Past. Hakka Christian Expressions of Hakka Identity. Nicole Constable.
4. Form and Content in Hakka Malaysian Culture. Sharon Carstens.
5. Still “Guest People.” The Reproduction of Hakka Identity in Calcutta, India. Ellen Oxfeld.
6. The Hakka Ethnic Movement in Taiwan, 1986-1991. Howard Martin.
7. The Hakka Paradox in the People’s Republic of China. Exile, Eminence, and Public Silence. Mary S. Erbaugh.
Most of the studies in this collection are anthropological, with one linguistic; several describe aspects of the Hakka history. The retention of common traits and expression of identity vary over locations. One common trait that provided identity to the various local Hakka communities is the language. Several communities (and those around them) commented on the hard working nature of the Hakka people, on the (relative) independence of women and their hard work, the emphasis on education (often because business opportunities were blocked by the majority, non-Hakka groups).
Starting in the 1980s, there has been a resurgence of interest in Hakka studies, sometimes reflected in new schools and departments, but also manifest in conferences and international organizations. In Taiwan this resurgence coincided with a political opening up of society and a contemporaneous fear of losing the language through non-usage.
There have been many well know people with Hakka heritage: in Taiwan (former President Lee Teng-hui, current President Tsai Ing-Wen, Annette Lu), in Singapore (Founding father, first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew). As the article by Mary Erbaugh notes, in the People’s Republic of China, Hakka identity was not often claimed by the leaders, although several of the participants in the Long March were Hakka. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... for more individuals identified as Hakka.
This is not a book for everyone, since these are papers that were at the forefront of their field. Interestingly, not much has been printed in English with the breadth of this book since it was published in 1996. However, there are some interesting perspectives for the determined reader, such as the role of Hakka in Calcutta, the relationship of some Hakka with Christianity, and later with revolution in China.
FB. A scholarly book on what it means to be Hakka (“guess people”, 客家, pinyin ke2 jia1), in the context of several different cultural and geographic settings. There are some common attributes across geography and culture that seems to have been preserved, language being one of the key ones, hard work and the role of women in society being another in several of the studies. This book appeared early in the resurgence of interest in Hakka studies (1996).
Authors and Article Titles in the collection.
Introduction. “What Does It Mean to Be Hakka? Nicole Constable
1. The Hakka or “Guest People”. Dialect as a Sociocultural Variable in Southeast China. Myron Cohen.
2. Hakka Villagers in a Hong Kong City. The original People of Tsuen Wan. Elizabeth Lominska Johnson.
3. Poverty, Piety, and the Past. Hakka Christian Expressions of Hakka Identity. Nicole Constable.
4. Form and Content in Hakka Malaysian Culture. Sharon Carstens.
5. Still “Guest People.” The Reproduction of Hakka Identity in Calcutta, India. Ellen Oxfeld.
6. The Hakka Ethnic Movement in Taiwan, 1986-1991. Howard Martin.
7. The Hakka Paradox in the People’s Republic of China. Exile, Eminence, and Public Silence. Mary S. Erbaugh.
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