Knowing China
Based on over five decades of accumulated knowledge, this invaluable book offers an insight into China through its history, culture, people, economy, education, science and technology, as well as government and political system.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Knowing China
Chapter 4: The Chinese People
Who are the Chinese? Are there too many Chinese? These are the two questions I would like to answer. In describing the Chinese people I will consider the Chinese in Mainland China, in Hong Kong, in the United States and in Taiwan with reference to their characteristics. Since their cultural characteristics have been discussed in Chapter 2, this chapter will emphasize the characteristics that have been affected by their recent social environments. On the second question, my conclusion is that China does not have a population problem that requires a strict control of childbirths. This conclusion is not generally accepted and requires careful deliberations.
Who Are the Chinese
The Chinese in Mainland China
There are officially 56 ethnically different groups in Mainland China. The five major groups are Han, Manchu, Mongol, Moslem and Tibetan. Moslems are not a distinct ethnic, but a religious group that may include Hans who believe in Islam. Han is the largest ethnic group and consists of about 92 percent of the total population. Originally from the northeast, the Manchus, who ruled China during the Qing dynasty until 1911, are well integrated into the Chinese society. Originally from the north, the Mongols, who ruled China during the Yuan dynasty, have absorbed the Han culture that was in turn influenced by the Mongolian rule. The Chinese with Moslem background have mostly been socially integrated with the rest of the population. In the schools that I attended in South China in the 1930s and 1940s, there were often...
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