The movement of Han Chinese into minority regions has been a long-standing pattern in China. However, China's minorities have taken longer to start moving in significant numbers and have now become part of a social change phenomenon, motivated by economic, social, and political factors. This book looks at how current changes in China are affecting the minority population. The case studies focus on how population shifts and the movement of China's minorities impact such issues as education, ethnic identity, the environment, local economy, labor, and regional development. Han-minority interactions within a number of regions are also examined.

The movement of Han Chinese into minority regions has been a long-standing pattern in China. However, China's minorities have taken longer to start moving in significant numbers and have now become part of a social change phenomenon, motivated by economic, social, and political factors. This book looks at how current changes in China are affecting the minority population. The case studies focus on how population shifts and the movement of China's minorities impact such issues as education, ethnic identity, the environment, local economy, labor, and regional development. Han-minority interactions within a number of regions are also examined.

Upon coming to power in 1949, the Chinese Communist government proclaimed that its stance toward ethnic minorities--who comprise approximatelyeight percent of China’s population--differed from that of previous regimes and that it would help preserve the linguistic and cultural heritage of the fifty-five official "minority nationalities." However, minority culture suffered widespread destruction in the early decades of the People’s Republic of China, and minority areas still lag far behind Han (majority) areas economically. Since the mid-1990s, both domestic and foreign developments have refocused government attention on the inhabitants of China’s minority regions, their relationship to the Chinese state, and their foreign ties. Intense economic development of and Han settlement in China’s remote minority regions threaten to displace indigenous populations, post-Soviet establishment of independent countries composed mainly of Muslim and Turkic-speaking peoples presents questions for related groups in China, freedom of Mongolia from Soviet control raises the specter of a pan-Mongolian movement encompassing Chinese Mongols, and international groups press for a more autonomous or even independent Tibet. In Governing China’s Multiethnic Frontiers, leading scholars examine the Chinese government’s administration of its ethnic minority regions, particularly border areas where ethnicity is at times a volatile issue and where separatist movements are feared. Seven essays focus on the Muslim Hui, multiethnic southwest China, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet. Together these studies provide an overview of government relations with key minority populations, against which one can view evolving dialogues and disputes.

This much-needed volume explains who ethnic minorities are and how well do they do in China. In addition to offering general information about ethnic minority groups in China, it discusses some important issues around ethnicity, including ethnic inequality, minority rights, and multiculturalism. Drawing on insights and perspectives from scholars in different continents the contributions provide critical reflections on where the field has been and where it is going, offering readers possible directions for future research on minority ethnicity in China. The Handbook reviews research and addresses key conceptual, theoretical and methodological issues in the study of ethnicity in China.

PART 1: THE BACKGROUND

Iredale (human geography, U. of Wollongong, Australia), Naran Bilik (anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) and Wang Su (Chinese National Institute of Educational Research, Beijing) address particular aspects of the mobility of minority populations within China. They begin with existing census data, and draw on a targeted survey in four regions: Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang and Uyghur, and Beijing. They argue that while minorities have probably taken longer to start moving in significant numbers, they have now become part of the trend. The phenomena, they say, is manifestly urbanization. c. Book News Inc.