Foreigners and the Chinese themselves typically picture
China’s population as a vast monolithic Han
majority, with a sprinkling of exotic minorities living
along the country’s borders. This understates China’s
tremendous cultural, geographic, and linguistic diversity—in
particular, the important cultural differences
within the Han population. It also ignores the fact
that China is officially a multinational country, with
56 recognized “nationalities.” More important, recent
events suggest that China may well be increasingly
insecure regarding not only these official nationalities,
but also national integration.
China is seeing a resurgence of pride in local
nationality and culture, most notably among southerners
such as the Cantonese and Hakka, who are now
classified as Han. The differences may increase under
economic pressures, such as inflation, the growing
gap between rich and poor areas, and the migration of
millions of people from poorer provinces to those
with jobs. Chinese society is also under pressure from
the officially recognized minorities, such as the
Uyghurs and Tibetans.
For centuries, China has held together a vast multicultural
and multiethnic nation, despite alternating
periods of political centralization and fragmentation.
But cultural and linguistic cleavages could worsen in a
China that is weakened by internal strife, inflation,
uneven growth, or a post-Jiang struggle for succession.
At the National Day celebrations in October
1999, commemorating 50 years of Communist Party
rule, frequent calls for “National Unity”underscored
the importance China’s many ethnic populations will
play in its national resurgence