The Hakka Origin

So I was saying this obsessive interest lately on the origin of the Hakka clan among all the other clans in the Chinese community, plainly because I'm a Hakka.

In the Going Places magazine that I read, the Hakkas were belived to be a subset of the Han people of the Han Dynasty in the ancient Chinese history. However, due to being rejected by the so called pure Han people, they emmigrated South and eventually settled in the southern region of China such as Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi. Hence many ot the earthern structures 'tu-lou' uniquely the Hakkas are found most in these regions. And if I don't recall wrongly, the word "Hakka" originate from what they call themselves, or rather what the locals called the immigrants, for "hak-ka" literally means "guest family".

And I thought, how pathetic! I'm the descendant of the rejects! *sniggering*

But I came across this while looking for more informations of the origin of the clan. Hopefully I won't be sued for plagiarism. *sniggering* Not that I'm publishing it or anything, and yeap, I'm stressing that I quoted the whole thing from the website.

The Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of "Han" Chinese originally active around the Yellow River area. They are thought to be one of the earliest "Han" settlers in China. One theory has it that many of the early Hakkas were affiliated with the "royal bloods". The truth may be more complicated than that. It is highly likely that while Hakka may be a stronghold of Han culture, Hakka people also have married other ethnic groups and adopted their cultures during the long migration history of 2000 years. Due to the infusion of other ethnic groups from the northwest, north and northeast, these original settlers gradually migrated south and settled in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. They were called Hakka by the locals when they first settled in. This term has been used since by non-Hakka and Hakka people, and in international publications. The spelling "Hakka" is derived from the pronunciation in Hakka dialect ( pronounced as "haagga" in Hakka and "kejia" in Mandarin).

During the last hundred years or so, Hakka people migrated to South East Asia, East Africa, Europe (Holland, United Kingdom, France, Germany..), South America (Brazil, Trinidad...) Canada, US. About 7% of the 1.2 billion Chinese clearly state their Hakka origin or heritage. However, the actual number may be more as many Hakka Han who settled along the path of migration assimilate with the local people. The Hakka identity is gradually lost.

Hakka people are noted for their preservation of certain cultural characteristics that could be traced to pre-Qin period (about 2200 years ago) as expressed in the custom, foods, spoken language, etc. Hakka people are also known to be very adamant in defending their cultural heritage, which was the reason for their migration to flee from the "northern" influence at that time. As a late comer to places initially occupied by locals, Hakkas usually had to struggle and survive on the less desirable lands. Thus, Hakka people are well-known for their perseverance even in the most adverse environment.

Among all the Chinese people, Hakkas are among the most conservative in keeping the traditions. Yet, many are willing to take risks and seek new opportunities elsewhere to establish themselves. The migratory tradition results in the distribution of Hakka in the most remote part of the world. An anecdote has it that the north-most restaurant in the world close to the Arctic is in fact a Chinese restaurant run by a Hakka. :) The Hakka people, paradoxically conservative and endeavoring, hard-working and enduring, is reflective of the spirit of Chinese culture.

Now THAT was something. *sniggering* Note the bold-ed ones!

Hakka people have migrated repeatedly many times in China's history. Each time they carry with them something old and something new. In the end this tradition also is carried by migrating Hakkas to other countries. There are roughly 50 million to 75 million Hakkas all over the world. Hakka Chinese probably can claim the widest coverage by a single people.

Some claim Hakka as "pure" Han people. But pure Han really does not exist. Recent archaeological studies have shown that China had multiple centers of civilization, developed rather independently of each other. Yangshao 仰韶 (Henan), Banpo 半坡 (Shaanxi), Hongshan 紅山 (Liaoning) , Liangzhu 良渚 (Jiangsu/Zhejiang), Sanxingdui 三星堆 (Sichuan), Longshan 龍山 (Shandong) all eventually merged into the Han culture. Han people are thus the integrated composite of several different tribes.

In a way, the definition of Han is just as difficult as the definition of American. Hakkas as Han cannot be ethnically pure. Hakka have been at the interface of ethnic conflicts for many dynasties. Genetically speaking, some Hakka people have clearly inherited some non-Han features such as wavy hair and high nose bridge. Hakka must have incorporated these features from the different ethnicities along the migration path through out the 2000 years of history. The characteristic of Hakkas can only be recognized by the dialect and the adamant preservation of ancient Chinese custom.

Quite an extensive read I'd say. And yeaps, it's all the publication of -- Siu-Leung Lee (Jan 2, 2001). I'm just quoting. Copy and paste. Yada yada. Of course I read, I don't copy blindly. *sniggering*

The wavy hair thingy is just SOOOOO TRUE! Not sure about high nose bridge thingy, I don't really like my own nose. *sniggering*



_______________________________
Tu-lou pic by Eion Murdock
Hakka Village pic by Bryan & Shannon Robinson
Taoism ritual pic by Yenching C
Hakka girl by caro wanders by mistake