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Hakka people

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Hakka is also another name for the Hani people, a Nationality of China.

Hakka (Chinese: 客家; pinyin: kèjiā, literal meaning "guest families") are a Han Chinese people whose ancestors are said to originate from around Henan and Shanxi in northern China over 2700 years ago. Their ancestors migrated southwards because of social unrest, upheaval, or by invasion of foreign conquerors since the Jin Dynasty. Subsequent migrations occurred at the end of the Tang Dynasty when China fragmented, during the middle of the Song Dynasty which saw a massive depopulation of the north, and a flood of refugees southward when the Jurchens captured the northern Song capitol, and the fall of the Song to the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty and when the Ming Dynasty fell to the Manchu who formed the Qing Dynasty.

The term Hakka is thought to be comparatively recent. During the reign of the Qing Kangxi Emperor, the coastal regions were evacuated by imperial edict for almost a decade, due to the influence of the remnants of the Ming court who fled to what is now Taiwan. When the threat was eliminated, Kangxi issued an edict to repopulate the coastal regions once again. To aid the move, each family were given an amount of money to begin their new lives and registered as "Guest Families" (客戶, kèhù). The indigenous settlers who returned to their original lands saw the influx of newcomers. The original inhabitants were protective of their own more fertile lands, and the newcomers were pushed to the outer fringes of fertile plains, or settled in more mountainous regions to eke out a living. As time went by, local antagonisms grew, and it is thought that "Hakka" became a term of abuse used by indigenous settlers aimed at the newcomers. Over time, this muted down, and became adopted as term of self reference for Hakka peoples. The Hakka farmers were known to have used their feet while standing upright to pull weeds off rice paddies, as their cultural pride would not allow them to kneel and crawl on land belonging to the Manchus.

There is an interesting outcome to this scenario, that the newcomers themselves may not all be the ancestors of the Hakka language speakers, since it was a blanket term. Through studies into both Cantonese and Hakka genealogies, some surnames have the same ancestors, though they would not identify with the other's ethnic grouping. The Hakka ancestors are thus just one group who migrated southwards. Hakka people are now found in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, western Fujian, Jiangxi, southern Hunan, Guangxi, southern Guizhou, south eastern Sichuan, Hainan and Taiwan islands.

Although they are frequently distinctive in culture and language from the surrounding population, they are not considered a separate ethnic group by Chinese and are seen as part of the majority Han Chinese. Traditionally, Hakka have often lived separately from the local population and in the past there have been conflicts, occasionally violent, between the Hakka and local groups. In these conflicts, indigenous settlers thought that Hakka were not Chinese at all, but due to common ancestry as traced in clan genealogies, Hakka descendents are as Chinese as their neighbours. Hakka were active in the Taiping Rebellion led by the failed Qing scholar Hong Xiuquan who thought he was the brother of Jesus, and led a following which formed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (Taiping Tian Guo).

Hakka women never practiced foot binding and were known for their high academic achievement. For example, some Taiwanese believe that the Mei-nung area in Kaohsiung (having a high concentration of Hakka) produced more doctorates than other areas in Taiwan.

File:Hakka tulou.jpg
Examples of Hakka tu lou buildings in Fujian with terraced rice fields in back.
File:HakkaTower.jpg
Sijiaolou
File:HakkaRingHouse.jpg
Weilongwu

Hakka in Fujian

The Hakka who settled in Fujian province in China developed unique architectural buildings called tu lou, literally meaning earthen structures. Because they were latecomers to the area, Hakka set up homes in often undesirable mountainous regions and were subject to attack from bandits and marauders.

The tu lou are either round or square, and were designed as a fortress and apartment building in one. The structures typically had only one entranceway and no windows at ground level. Each floor served a different function -- the first hosts a well and livestock, the second is for food storage and the third and higher floors contain living spaces.

(see Hakka architecture)

Meizhou Prefecture (in yellow), where Xingning and Meixian are located

Hakka in Guangdong

In Guangdong, the Hakka live mostly in the eastern part of the province, particularly the so-called Xing-Mei (Xingning-Meixian) Area. Like their kin in Fujian, the Hakka in the Xingning and Meixian area developed unique architectural styles, most notably the weilongwu (Chinese: 围龙屋, wéilóngwū) and sijiaolou (Chinese: 四角楼, sìjǐaolóu).

Hakka outside China

The Hakka have emigrated to many regions outside mainland China, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan,Thailand and East Timor.

Hakka people have also emigrated to Australia, Canada, the United States of America, and many countries in Europe, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Hakka people are also found in South Africa, Mauritius and the islands of the Carribean, particularly Jamaica. Most expatriate Hakka in Great Britain have ties to Hong Kong, and may have emigrated when Hong Kong was still a colony of Great Britain.

Prominent Hakkas

The Hakkas have an influence on the course of Chinese and Overseas Chinese history, totally disproportionate to their numerical weight, especially in the field of revolutionary and political leaders.

In modern history, the most prominent Chinese leaders are Hakkas. These Hakkas share many similar characteristics. They have strong political convictions, are loyal to their country, have a sense of responsibility for their countrymen and the ability to rally large communities for their given causes.

In the 1980s-90s, the Hakkas had the unique distinction of having all three political heavyweights of all three Chinese-led countries Hakkas at the same time: China's Deng Xiaoping, Taiwan's Lee Tenghui and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew.

In the 21st century, there are four Hakkas leading their respective countries: Taiwan’s Chen Shuibian, Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra, Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong and Canada’s Adrienne Clarkson.

In addtion, Dr Sun Yatsen, Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew, all Hakkas, are three of the four Chinese named as 20th Century's 20 most influential Asians by Time magazine. The fourth being Mao Zedong.

Revolutionaries and Politicians

Literary Figures

  • Guo Moruo (1892-1978) famous Chinese literary figure
  • Han Suyin (1917-; Xinyang County, Henan Province), famous author of books on modern China
  • Lo Hsianglin (Luo Xianglin), most renowned scholar on Hakka culture and Hakka language

Entrepreneurs and Professionals

  • Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par (Yongding County, Fujian Province; born in Myanmar), philanthropists of Tiger Balm fame
  • Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (born in Malaysia), founder and chairman of The Sunway Group of Companies, Malaysia
  • Jimmy Choo (born in Malaysia), famous British shoe designer

Entertainers

  • Hou Hsiao-Hsien, (1947-; Meixian County, Guangdong Province), award-winning Taiwanese film director
  • Chow Yun-Fat (1955-; Bao'an County, Guangdong Province; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong and Hollywood actor
  • Leon Lai (1966-; Meixian County, Guangdong Province; born in Beijing), one of the "Four Great Heavenly Kings" of Chinese pop music
  • Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer/actor
  • Francis Yip, Hong Kong singer
  • Cherie Chung, Hong Kong actress
  • Alex Man (Bao'an County, Guangdong Province; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong actor
  • Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor
  • Luo Dayou, godfather of Taiwan pop music
  • Hebe Tien and Ella Chen, of Taiwanese female pop group S.H.E
  • Shino Lin, Taiwanese singer
  • Dick Lee, Singaporean musician
  • Fann Wong, famous Singaporen actress
  • Adrian Pang, Singaporean actor
  • Eric Moo, famous Malaysian pop singer

See also

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