By : Xueyan Hu Lecture Four: Nationalities

The People‘s Republic of China (PRC) officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. By definition, these ethnic minority groups, together with the Han majority, make up the greater Chinese nationality known as Zhonghua Minzu. Chinese minorities alone are referred to as "Shaoshu Minzu".

Demographics of the ethnic people The largest ethnic group, Han, according to a 2005 sampling, constitute about 91.9% of the total population. The next largest ethnic groups in terms of population include the Zhuang at 18 million, the Manchu at 10.7 million, the Hui at 10 million, the Miao at 9 million. Minority population grows faster than that of the majority Han Chinese.

Although they make up only a small proportion of the overall Chinese population, the 55 minority ethnic groups are distributed extensively throughout different regions of China. The regions where they are most concentrated are Southwest China, Northwest China and Northeast China. No matter whether it is Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai or Sichuan, Gansu, Hubei, Hunan or another province, one can find Chinese ethnic minorities. From the areas listed above, the greatest number of minorities can be found in Yunnan Province (25 ethnic groups)

Guarantee of rights and interests The PRC's Constitution and laws guarantee equal rights to all ethnic groups in China and help promote ethnic minority groups' economic and cultural development. One notable preferential treatment ethnic minorities enjoy is their exemption from the population growth control of the One-Child Policy.

Some ethnic minorities in China live in what are described as ethnic autonomous areas. These "regional autonomies" guarantee ethnic minorities the freedom to use and develop their ethnic languages, and to maintain their own cultural and social customs.

Five Ethnic Autonomous Areas

Full Equality Among Ethnic Groups Full equality among ethnic groups is a constitutional principle of China. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Constitution") stipulates: "All ethnic groups in the People's Republic of China are equal." Based on this principle, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional Ethnic Autonomy (hereinafter referred to as the "Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy") and other laws and regulations make clear and detailed stipulations about equality among ethnic groups.

Together with the Han people, the Chinese ethnic minorities are making great efforts to build a prosperous China. Each of the minority ethnic groups has a distinctive and different character.

The Zhuang Nationality

Population and Distribution With a population of about 17,000,000, the Zhuang ethnic minority is the largest minority group in China with a long history and glorious culture. Over 90 percent of the Zhuang people live in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rest of the Zhuang people reside in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan Provinces.

The Zhuang ethnic minority has a language of its own that belongs to the Zhuang-Dai branch of Zhuang-Dong Austronesian (an austronesian belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages) 汉藏语系壮 侗语族壮傣语支. The language is divided into two dialects although they have few differences. Language

Character In 1957, a writing system based on the Latin alphabet has been created with the help of the Chinese government. The Latin alphabet has been adopted to publish many books. Since then, the Zhuang ethnic minority has had their own language. In the year of 1982, the Zhuang language was revised and has been greatly used among the Zhuang people.

Festivals Besides sharing similar festivals with the Han, the Zhuang minority has its unique ones including: the Singing Festival, the Ox Soul Festival, the Devil Festival and so on.

Singing Festival Held on March 3rd of the lunar calendar. The Zhuang people will sing to each other to challenge each other not only the song itself but also wit. Lyrics （歌词） are usually improvisational and humorous that makes every one burst into laughter. It is also a perfect day for the young men to express their love to the girls by singing, so it is also reputed （普遍认为） as the Valentine's Day of the Zhuang ethnic minority.

Ox Soul Festival 牛魂节 The Ox Soul Festival held on April 8th of the lunar month is to celebrate the birthday of the king of oxen and to show their love and respect to the ox, therefore, each ox is relieved from their yokes and free from plowing （耕种）. People give the ox a bath accompanied with beating drums （打鼓）. Parents of a family feed the ox with five-colored glutinous rice, while singing folksongs. It is a festival that represents their great hope for a good harvest.

Devil Festival The Devil Festival, held on July 14th of the lunar month, is regarded as an occasion second to the Spring Festival The day before the Devil Festival, every family does a thorough house cleaning and makes special preparations of outfits used in the sacrifice. On that day, duck, pork and good wines along with some candies and fruits must be offered in order to show great respect to their ancestors.

Marriage Customs

Mongol Nationality

Basic Information Population :5.8 million (ranking 6th. in national minorities) Distribution : Inner Mongolia,Liaoning Province,Jilin Province Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province,Xinjiang Common place of origin : Ergun River Language :Mongolia The name of Mongol means the eternal flame

custom Resenting a hada Kumiss

Mongolian yurt portable tent----A Leleche

Apparel and Accessories

Musical Instruments Matouqin Sihu Huobusi

Festival Nadam FairEntertainment and games WrestlingArchery Horserace ----

The skill of riding horses Dance performances Economic and cultural exhibitions Interflow of commodities

Dance of Mongol nationality

Daily life

Tibetan nationality is one of minorities in China. Most Tibetan peple settle in Tibet,Qing Hai,Gan su,Si Chuan and Yun Nan.

Present Hada Hada is a piece of silk used as a greeting gift among the Tibetan and Mongol nationalities. Different colored hadas have different meanings.Blue stands for sky,white stands for cloud,green stands for river,red stands for a kind of numen and yellow stands for land.

Presenting a hada is the most important ritual of Tibetan. It stands for their respect and warm welcome for guests. The host should bend waist to present it,and the guest should also bend waist to accept it.

Food Culture Tibetan usually live on beef and mutton,sometimes eat pork. Tibetan never eat horse,donkey and dog flesh.Some even don’t eat fish.Horse and dog are their friends.

Tsamba （糌粑） Tsamba is Tibetan’s main food.They eat it every meal. First,pour some ghee （酥油） into a bowl,then pour some tea. Second,put tsamba into the bowl and mix them by hand. Finally,when they are mixed so that we can turn them into some small patch,we can eat it.

Chang （青稞酒） Chang is a kind of wine in local Tibet. It is made from highland barley. It is Tibetan’s favourite wine. They drink it when celebrating festivities, marrying, greeting friends and so on.

Buttered Tea （酥油茶） Buttered tea is a kind of drink that Tibetan drink everyday.It is made from ghee and strong tea. Tibetan can’t drink it without cease.They must be drinking it while pouring some as well.

The End! Thank You !