Two of this week’s readings focus on nationalism, and in particular minority groups within Taiwan. Wilson discusses the ways in which the Hakka contest multicultural nationalism in Taiwan through the work of “culture workers;” this is done through an analysis of the second annual “Taipei Hakka Street Festival” (2009: 426). Yang and Chang examine the Waishengren, or mainlanders, in Taiwan, primarily historically. Understanding the ethnic characteristics and history of Taiwan helps to make clear the complex cultural interactions present in Taiwan.
Taiwan is described as being comprised of four ethnic groups: Hoklo, Hakka, Waishengren (those of mainlander origin), and Aborigines (Yang and Chang 2010: 110). Hoklo account for approximately seventy percent of the population and Hakka constitute for around fifteen percent and according to Yang and Chang are considered to “lumped together” as “native Taiwanese,” as they are descendants of early migrants to Taiwan (2010: 110). However, Wilson does not “lump together” these groups and notes that the Hoklo are primarily referred to as Taiwanese (2009: 417). Aborigines account for two percent of the population (2010: 11). The Waishengren, or mainlanders, make up between ten and thirteen percent of the population but are not considered “native Taiwanese” because they or their ancestors migrated later, between 1945 and 1956 (2010: 110).
Wilson’s focus, the Hakka, are an ethnic group that has roots in Southern China (2009: 416). The term Hakka is translated as “Guest People” in Mandarin Chinese (Wilson 2009: 416), which holds significance related their status on the island.There seems to be a stigma toward the identification as Hakka, as Wilson points out the increasing prevalence of how people of Hakka descent discontinue to identify as Hakka when they reach middle-class status (2009: 417). However, through Wilson’s research it is clear the Hakka are, at least somewhat, prideful of their ethnicity in that they are attempting to make spaces Hakka and link themselves to structures like government through the festival by taking it to specific locations of Taipei (2009: 429).
The Waishengren, or those with mainland origin, are civil war migrants and their descendants (Yang and Chang 2010: 110). The civil war migrants are tied to a KMT nationalist identity while younger generations seem to exhibit clear indications of indigenization (Yang and Chang 2010: 115). Contested national identity, which involves opinions on whether to reunite with China, an opinion of the civil war migrants, or attain independence, is seen as the most important factor to explain the division between mainlanders and native Taiwanese (Yang and Chang 2010: 113).
I found the complex relationships between the ethnic groups of Taiwan extremely interesting, but what I found most interesting was how ethnic and cultural identification, as mentioned by Wilson, was dependent on language. Wilson notes that such identification was very much dependent on what language a person spoke (2009: 419). The Hakka were then identifiable by the southern dialect of Chinese that they spoke, which is referred to as Hakka as well (Wilson 2009: 416). As for the Waishengren, local dialects from China were spoken and were often, as described by Yang and Chang, mutually incomprehensible (2010: 121). Although that many of these divisions have become less distinct as newer generations learned Taiwanese, the idea of such strong language distinctions dictating such substantial divisions between the ethnic groups, in this case more than two, within the same entity, an island, is especially interesting to me.
Wilson, R. Scott. 2009. "Making Hakka Spaces: Resisting Multicultural Nationalism in Taiwan." Chinese Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 131-182.
Yang, Dominic Meng-Hsian and Ma-Kuei Chang. 2010. "Understanding the Nuances of Waishengren: History and Agency." China Perspectives 3: 108-122.
No comments:
Post a Comment