Han Chinese subgroups

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sub groups of the Han Chinese are based on linguistics, culture and region within mainland China. The terminology used in Mandarin to describe the groups is: "minxi" (Simplified Chinese: 民系, ethnic lineages) or "zuqun" (Simplified Chinese: 族群, ethnic groups).

These two terms are used in mainland China and Taiwan, respectively, refers to subgroups of the Han Chinese population, whose mother tongue are Chinese languages and does not belong to one of People's Republic of China's 56 official minority ethnic groups of China.

Contents 1 Han subgroups by dialect 1.1 Fujianese 1.2 Hakka 1.3 Cantonese 1.4 Wu-speaking groups 1.5 Mandarin-speaking groups 1.6 Smaller groups 2 Han subgroups by region 2.1 Greater China 2.1.1 Mainland China 2.1.2 Taiwan 2.1.3 Hong Kong 2.1.4 Macau 2.2 Malay Archipelago 2.2.1 Malaysia 2.2.2 Philippines 2.2.3 Singapore 2.3 Indochina 2.3.1 Vietnam 2.3.2 Thailand 2.4 the West 2.4.1 Australia 2.4.2 Canada 2.4.3 United States 2.4.4 United Kingdom 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Han subgroups by dialect

[edit] Fujianese

Within the Min language, spoken by the Fujianese people (also known as Min),^[1] there are several main dialects:

The Fuzhou dialect of Min Dong is spoken by the Fuzhou people, also known as the Foochow, Foochowese, Hockchia or Hockchiu. They are native to the province of Fuzhou.

The dialect of Puxian Min is represented by the Putian people (also known as Puxian, Xinghua or Henghua), the Puxian-speaking ethnic group native to Puxian.

The Minnan dialect of Min has the most dialects as well as the most ethnic groups speaking those dialects. The Teochew people (also known as Chaoshan), Hoklo people (also known as Hokkien) and Hainanese people are all Min-nan dialect groups. The Teochew are native to eastern Guangdong (Chaoshan), the Hoklo to southern Fujian and the Hainanese to Hainan.

The Hoklo people are the largest Han people in parts of Fujian, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

[edit] Hakka

The Hakka people speak the Hakka language and are predominant in parts of Guangdong and Fujian as well as parts of Taiwan. They are one of the largest groups found among the Chinese in Southeast Asia.

[edit] Cantonese

The Cantonese people are predominant in western Guangdong as well as Hong Kong and Macau. The Cantonese language is the third largest Chinese language.

The Cantonese, along with the Hokkien and Hakka, are one of the largest Han peoples found in Southeast Asia.

[edit] Wu-speaking groups

The Shanghainese people are centered around Shanghai and speak the Shanghainese dialect, a dialect of the Wu language. Wu is the second largest Chinese language, and is spoken in the Wu region.

[edit] Mandarin-speaking groups

Mandarin is the largest of the Chinese languages. Even in regions where non-Mandarin speakers historically dominated, Mandarin is being brought in as a lingua franca. The Mandarin-speaking groups are the largest group in mainland China, but in the diaspora the Min, Hakka and Cantonese dialects are more numerous.

The Kwongsai people are people from Guangxi province speaking the Guangxi dialect, a dialect of Southwestern Mandarin. There is a small Kwongsai population in Malaysia.

[edit] Smaller groups

Other minor subgroups include speakers of the Tanka people, Peranakans, Chuanqing people of Guizhou.

[edit] Han subgroups by region

[edit] Greater China

[edit] Mainland China

The Han people originated in Mainland China. Each Han subgroup is generally associated with a particular region in China; the Cantonese originated in western Guangdong, the Putian in Puxian, the Foochow in Fuzhou, the Hoklo in southern Fujian, the Chaoshan/Teochew in eastern Guangdong,^[2] the Hakka in eastern/central Guangdong and the Shanghainese in Shanghai.

[edit] Taiwan

In Taiwan, the main distinction within the Han Chinese is between two groups:

1. The Benshengren, who are early Hakka and Hoklo migrants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces of mainland China.
2. The "Mainlanders", who are descended from recent Mandarin-speaking migrants from mainland China who emigrated during and after the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The CIA World Factbook puts the number of Bensenren at 84% and the number of "mainlanders" at 14%. ^[3] 70% of Taiwan's population is Hoklo, while 10-15% is Hakka.^[4]

[edit] Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, a majority of the population are Cantonese. According to the CIA World Factbook, 89% of Hong Kongers speak the Cantonese language.^[5]

Other Han Chinese peoples present in Hong Kong are the Hakka, Hoklo, Teochew and Shanghainese.

[edit] Macau

Macau, like Hong Kong has a Cantonese majority. According to the CIA World Factbook, 85.7% of Macanese speak Cantonese.^[6]

The term "Macanese people" can either refer to anyone from Macau, or Macanese of mixed Cantonese and Portuguese descent.

[edit] Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago has one of the largest Overseas Chinese communities in the world. A majority of Chinese in the Malay Archipelago are from Fujianese peoples, especially the Hokkien. The Peranakans are a group that originated in the Malay Archipelago who mixed the culture of early South Chinese immigrants with indigenous Malay culture to create a separate Baba Malay-speaking Peranakan culture. Baba Malay is now near extinction, being superseded by Chinese languages such as Mandarin.

[edit] Malaysia

The Chinese from southern China are more common than the northern Chinese in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the largest Han people are the Hoklo, who are referred to as the Hokkien in Southeast Asia. The Putian, or Xinghua people are referred to as "Henghua", while the Foochow people are referred to as Hokchiu. The Hakka people, also known as Kheh, are the second largest groups of Malaysian Chinese. The Cantonese, or Kongfu, are another important group in Malaysia. Cantonese is a lingua franca in parts of Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kampar and Seremban. The Teochew, another group from Guangdong, are also present in Malaysia.

Other smaller groups are the Hainanese people, Kwongsai people, Shanghainese people and Shandong people. Even though the northern Chinese are smaller than the southern Chinese, Mandarin is used as a lingua franca among Chinese Malaysians.^[7]

According to the CIA World Factbook, 23.7% of Malaysia's populations are ethnic Chinese.^[8]

[edit] Philippines

The Hokkien people are a dominant group among Chinese Filipinos.^[9] 98.7% of Chinese Filipinos speak Minnan (Hokkien, Hainanese and Teochew are all Minnan dialects).^[10] The Hokkien dialect in the Philippines is referred to as Lan-nang.

[edit] Singapore

In 1980, 43.1% of Singapore Chinese were Hokkien, 22% Teochew, 16.5% Cantonese, 7.4% Hakkas, 7.1% Hainanese and 3.9% other.^[11]

According to the CIA World Factbook, 76.8% of Singapore's population is ethnically Chinese. The most prominent Chinese languages are Mandarin (35% of the population), Hokkien (11.4%), Cantonese (5.7%), Teochew (4.9%). Other Chinese dialects are spoken by 1.8% of the Singaporean population.^[12]

Although originally most Singaporeans spoke various South Chinese languages and used the Malay language as a lingua franca, the "Speak Mandarin" campaign changed that. Now a large portion of Singaporean Chinese are switching to Mandarin over their "native dialect". The "Speak Mandarin" campaign spread the idea that each Malaysian people should have a native language: the Indians having Tamil, and the Malays Malay - the message was that Mandarin should be the "native language" of the Chinese Singaporeans, regardless of dialect origin.^[13]

[edit] Indochina

[edit] Vietnam

A major group among the Chinese in Vietnam are the Cantonese.^[14][15]

[edit] Thailand

According to William Allen Smalley in "Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language Ecology in Thailand", there were:

1. 2,200,000 native Teochew speakers
2. 580,000 native Hakka speakers
3. 379,000 native Hainanese speakers
4. 275,000 native Cantonese speakers
5. 187,000 native Hokkien speakers (including Taiwanese speakers)^[16]

[edit] the West

[edit] Australia

According to the Australian Census of 2006, there were:

1. 244, 553 Cantonese speakers
2. 220, 597 Mandarin speakers
3. 35, 322 Other Chinese languages

^[17]

The number of Mandarin-speakers has increased over the years. Originally, the main Chinese immigrants to Australia were Cantonese, but more recently they've been mostly from Mandarin-speaking regions.

[edit] Canada

The early Chinese Canadians were almost exclusively Cantonese.

[edit] United States

The early Chinese Americans were almost exclusively Cantonese.^[18]

[edit] United Kingdom

Originally, Chinese migrants were mostly from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, but since the 1970s mainland China has become the principle country that Han people immigrate to Europe from.

In 1990s Britain, the Fujianese people (such as Hoklo, Foochow, etc.) became a small but prominent group.^[19]

According to Ethnologue.com, in Britain there were:

1. 300, 000 Cantonese speakers
2. 12, 000 Mandarin speakers
3. 10, 000 Hakka speakers

^[20]

[edit] See also

• Overseas Chinese

v • d • e Han subgroups by dialect or region Cantonese • Chuanqing • Fuzhou • Hainanese • Hakka • Hoklo • Hui'an maidens • Hunanese • Jiangnanese • Jiangxinese • Kwongsai • Min • Ningbo • Putian • Shanghainese • Tanka • Teochew • Wenzhou • Wu

[edit] References