Hakka
For the language/dialect, see Hakka (linguistics). Hakka is also a genus of jumping spiders.) are a
Han Chinese people whose ancestors are said to have originated in the
Henan and
Shanxi provinces of northern
China over 2,700 years ago. In a series of migrations, the Hakka settled in
Guangdong and
Fujian provinces in southern China, and then they went overseas to various Chinese enclaves throughout the world. The Hakka have had a significant influence on the course of Chinese and Overseas Chinese history: they particularly have been a source of revolutionary and political leaders.
The use of the term
Hakka to describe this people is thought to be comparatively recent, dating to the
Qing Dynasty (c. 17th century).
Their ancestors migrated southwards several times because of social unrest, upheaval, and the invasion of foreign conquerors, since the
Jin Dynasty (265-420). Subsequent migrations occurred at the end of the
Tang Dynasty when China fragmented, during the middle of the
Song Dynasty which saw massive depopulation of the north and a flood of refugees southward, when the
Jurchens captured the northern Song capital, at the fall of the Song to the
Mongols in the
Yuan Dynasty, and when the Ming Dynasty fell to the Manchu who formed the
Qing Dynasty.
During the reign of the Qing
Kangxi Emperor, the coastal regions were evacuated by imperial edict for almost a decade, due to the danger posed by the remnants of the Ming court who had fled to what is now Taiwan. When the threat was eliminated, the Kangxi Emperor issued an edict to re-populate the coastal regions. To aid the move, each family was given money to begin their new lives; newcomers were registered as "Guest Families" (客戶, kèhù).
The original inhabitants, the
Cantonese people, were protective of their own more fertile lands, and the newcomers were pushed to the outer fringes of fertile plains, or they settled in more mountainous regions to eke out a living. Conflict between the two groups grew, and it is thought that "Hakka" was a term of derision used by the Punti aimed at the newcomers. Eventually, the tension between the two groups would lead to the
Punti-Hakka Clan Wars.
Over time, the term "Hakka" was adopted by the newcomers to refer to themselves. However, because the term also covers Hakka language-speakers, and because the Han Chinese registered as Guest Families who migrated at the time may not have been Hakka language-speakers, and because of intermarriages among Hakka and Punti members, identification as Hakka was largely a matter of self-selection. Through studies of both
Cantonese and Hakka genealogies, some Hakka and Punti people with the same surnames claim the same ancestors, although their descendants strongly identify with one group to the exclusion of the other.
The Hakka ancestors are thus but one group amongst many who migrated southwards. Hakka people now are found in the southern Chinese provinces, chiefly in
Guangdong, south-western
Fujian, southern
Jiangxi, southern
Hunan,
Guangxi, southern
Guizhou, south-eastern
Sichuan, and on
Hainan and
Taiwan islands. The
Hakka dialects across these various provinces differ
phonologically, but the Meixian (Meizhou) dialect of Hakka is considered the archetypal spoken form of the language.
Although they frequently are distinctive in culture and
language from the surrounding population, the Hakka are not considered a
separate ethnic group by the Chinese people: they are seen as part of the majority
Han Chinese. Indigenous settlers thought that the Hakka were not Chinese at all; but due to common ancestry, as traced in clan genealogies, Hakka descendants have been shown to be as Chinese as their neighbours. In fact, the Hakka are no more non-Han than are any other southern Han populations.
Historical sources shown in census statistics relate only to the general population, irrespective of particular districts, provinces, or regions. These census counts were made during imperial times. They did not distinguish what language the population spoke. Therefore they do not directly document Hakka migrations. The study by
Luo Xianglin,
K'o-chia Yen-chiu Tao-Liu / An Introduction to the Study of the Hakkas (Hsin-Ning & Singapore,
1933) used genealogical sources of family clans from various southern counties.
With population movement, it is reasonable to assume that there is mixing among newcomers and the indigenous people. A recent study showed that there is genetic diversity in the general
Han Chinese population. This suggests that the southward migration of people is borne out by these DNA studies, consistent with genealogical data. Further, two main groups of modern Han Chinese are observed: a northerly Han group with genetic affinity with northerly Mongoloid peoples, and a southerly Han group which have genetic affinity with the
Gin Vietnamese. This finding is consistent with the migrations experienced during the history of the Hakka, from the north to the south of China. Even though this study is not a direct study of Hakka ancestry using DNA data, it does show that all modern southern Chinese have non-Han genotypes, due to a history of intermarriage with indigenous aboriginal peoples in the places in which they came to settle.
With limited prospects in agriculture, Hakka men have turned toward careers in the military or public service. Consequently, the Hakka culturally emphasized education and have performed well in Imperial examinations.
Hakka society was dependent on the working abilities of women, who had to take up a larger share of the farming work while the men were studying or at war. Because the women had to work, the Hakkas did not practice
foot-binding.
Due to their agrarian lifestyle, the Hakka have a unique architecture based on defense and communal living (
See Hakka architecture), and a hearty savory cuisine based on preserved and fried and stewed items (
See Hakka cuisine).
Hakkas in Guangdong
The Hakkas who live in Guangdong comprise about 60% of the total Hakka population. Worldwide, over 95% of the overseas-descended Hakkas came from this Guangdong region, usually from
Huizhou: the Hakkas there live mostly in the eastern part of the province, particularly in the so-called Xing-Mei (
Xingning-
Meixian) area. Guangxi contains the second-largest Hakka community. Unlike their kin in Fujian, the Hakkas in the Xingning and Meixian area developed a non-fortress-like unique architectural style, most notably the
weilongwu (Chinese: 圍龍屋, wéilóngwū) and
sijiaolou (Chinese: 四'", sìjǐaolóu).
Hakkas in Fujian
The Hakkas who settled in the mountainous region of south-western Fujian province, developed a unique form of architectural building known as
tu lou (土"), literally meaning
earthen structures. The
tu lou are either round or square, and were designed as a combined large fortress and multi-apartment building complex. The structures typically had only one entrance-way, with no windows at ground level. Each floor served a different function: the first floor containing a well and livestock, the second food storage and the third and higher floors contain living spaces. Tu-lou were built to withstand attack from bandits and marauders.
(see
Hakka architecture)
In Taiwan, Hakka people comprise about 15% of the population and are descended largely from Guangdong: they form the third largest population group on the island. Many Hakka moved to lands high up in the hills or remote mountains to escape political persecution. Many of the Hakka people continue to live in these hilly locations of Taiwan.
Taiwan's Hakka are concentrated in
Hsinchu City and
Hsinchu County,
Miaoli County, and around
Jhongli in
Taoyuan County, and
Meinong in
Kaohsiung County, and in
Pingtong County, with smaller presences in
Hualian and
Taitung County. In recent decades many Hakka have moved to the largest metropolitan areas, including
Taipei and
Kaohsiung.
The Hakkas have emigrated to many regions worldwide, notably,
Malaysia,
Singapore,
Indonesia, and
Thailand.
Hakka people also emigrated to
Australia,
Canada, the
United States, and to many countries in
Europe, including
Great Britain,
France,
Germany,
Belgium, and the
Netherlands. Hakka people also are found in
South Africa and
Mauritius, on the islands of the
Caribbean (
Jamaica and
Trinidad and Tobago, and in
Central and South America. Most expatriate Hakka in Great Britain have ties to Hong Kong, and may have emigrated when Hong Kong still was a British colony. There once was a Hakka community in
Calcutta, but most there have migrated to
Canada, the
United States,
Australia, or
Taiwan. Today there are about 90-100 million Hakka speakers around the world.
Hakka people in Indonesia are found primarily in cities in Western Kalimantan (Borneo), such as
Pontianak,
Singkawang, and towns along the
Kapuas River. They are descendants of gold prospectors who migrated from China in the late 19th century. (It is said that the first migrants wore Qing-style ponytails.) Hakka also are found on the Indonesian islands of
Bangka and
Belitung. However most have moved on to the city of
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
Hakkas on the island of
Bangka have a very interesting accents scheme, said to be heavily influenced by the
Malay native language. Because Chinese languages are dependent upon intonation, to convey meaning, slight difference in intonation can change the meaning entirely. The Hakka spoken by the islanders has such a different intonation that their spoken language is hardly intelligible to Hakkas from other regions.
There was a relatively large and vibrant Hakka community in
East Timor before the Indonesian invasion in 1975. During the invasion many Hakka were slaughtered, while others escaped to
Australia. Now they can be found in
Darwin and spread-out in major cities such as
Sydney and
Melbourne. They often are highly-educated, and many continue their educations in Taiwan or China. The Australian government took some years to assess their claims to political asylum in order to establish their credentials as genuine refugees and not illegal immigrants. As no Asian country was willing to accept them as residents, or grant political asylum to displaced Hakka and other Timorese, they were forced to live as stateless persons for a time.
The Hakka have had a significant influence, disproportionate to their small total numbers, on the course of Chinese and Overseas Chinese history, particularly as a source of revolutionary and political leaders.
Hakka were active in the
Taiping Rebellion, led by the failed Qing scholar
Hong Xiuquan who claimed he was the younger brother of
Jesus, and they led a movement which formed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (Taiping Tian Guo).
This continues to be true in modern Chinese history, in which some of the most prominent Chinese leaders have been Hakkas. In the 1980s-90s, the political leaders of three Chinese-led countries simultaneously all were Hakkas: the
People's Republic of China's
Deng Xiaoping, the
Republic of China's
Lee Teng-hui and
Singapore's
Lee Kuan Yew.
In addition, Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew, both Hakkas, are two of the four Chinese named as "the 20th Century's 20 Most Influential Asians" by
Time magazine.
Revolutionaries and politicians
*
Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping **
Hong Xiuquan (
1812-1864; Hua County, Guangdong), Heavenly King
**
Feng Yunshan, South King
**
Yang Xiuqing, East King
**
Shi Dakai (
Guiping, Guangxi), Wing King
**
Li Xiucheng (
Teng County, Guangxi), Loyal King
**
Chen Yucheng, Ying King
**
Hong Rengan, Premier and Shield King
* Republic of China (China)
** Soong Family
***
Charlie Soong (
1863-1918; Wenchang, Hainan)
***
Soong Sisters****
Soong Ai-ling (
1890-1973; Wenchang, Hainan; born in Shanghai), wife of
H. H. Kung****
Soong Ching-ling (
1893-1981; Wenchang, Hainan; born in Kunshan, Jiangsu), wife of
Sun Yat-sen****
Soong Mei-ling (
1898-2003; Wenchang, Hainan), wife of
Chiang Kai-shek***
T. V. Soong (
1894-1971; Shanghai), former
premier of the Republic of China* People's Republic of China
**
Zhang Guotao (
1897-1979; Pingxiang, Jiangxi), founding member and leader of
Communist Party of China **
Zhu De (
1896-1976; Yilong, Sichuan), founder of the
People's Liberation Army of China
**
Hu Yaobang (
1915-89; Linyang City, Hunan), former
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China**
Li Peng (
Chengdu, Sichuan), former Premier and former Chairman, National People's Congress; was second in ranking in Communist Party of China behind Jiang Zemin
**
Ye Jianying (
1897-1986; Meixian, Guangdong), famous
People's Republic of China leader and general
**
Zeng Qinghong (
1939-, Ji'an, Jiangxi), present Vice-President,
People's Republic of China** Ye Xuanping (
Meixian, Guangdong), former governor, Guangdong Province, China
** Xie Fei, former governor, Guangdong Province, China
** Huang Huahua, present governor, Guangdong Province, China
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
**
Yeh Chu-lan (
1949-; born in Taiwan), presently acting mayor of
Kaoshiong,
Republic of China**
Hsu Hsin-liang (
1941-), a leading opposition politician in Taiwan and a co-founder and former chairman of the
Democratic Progressive Party* Overseas
** Low Lan Pak (
1738-1778, Meixian, Guangdong), founded the Hakka republic of Lanfang (present Western Kalimantan, now part of Indonesia), 1777-1884
** Yap Ah Loy (
1837-1885, Huiyang, Guangdong), founder of Kuala Lumpur (present capital of Malaysia)
** Arthur Raymond Chung (
1916-), first President of the Republic of Guyana, 1970-80
**
Lee Kuan Yew (
1923-; Dapu, Guangdong; born in Singapore), founding father of modern
Singapore**
Lee Hsien Loong (
1952-, Dapu, Guangdong; born in Singapore), present
Prime Minister of Singapore**
Thaksin Shinawatra(丘"新), (
1949-; Fengshun, Guangdong; born in Thailand), present
Prime Minister of Thailand **
Adrienne Clarkson, (
1939-, Taishan, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), former
Governor General of Canada ** Sir
Solomon Hochoy, former Governor and Governor General of
Trinidad and Tobago**
Hu Tsu Tau Richard (
1926-, Yongding, Fujian; born in Singapore), former Finance Minister of Singapore
**
Ne Win (
1910-2002; born in Burma), former head of state of Burma (now Myanmar)
Government officials
*
Supachai Panitchpakdi, (
1946-; born in Thailand), first and only Director-General of
World Trade Organization of Asian origin
* Yong Pung How (
Dapu, Guangdong; born in Malaysia), Chief Justice,
Singapore* Patrice Ah-Chip (
Muiyuen, Guangdong; born in Mauritius), Mayor of Triolet,
MauritiusLiterary figures
*
Guo Moruo (
1892-1978), famous Chinese literary figure
*
Han Suyin (
1917-; Xinyang, Henan), famous author of books on modern China
*
Luo Xianglin (
Xingning, Guangdong), the most renowned scholar on Hakka culture and language
Artists
* Lin Fengmian (
1900 - 1991; Meizhou, Guangdong), aka Lim Foong Min in Hakka - first to harmoniously combine Western and Chinese painting techniques.
Entrepreneurs
* Yong Koon, founder of Royal Selangor, Malaysia, the largest pewter manufacturer in the world
*
Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par (
Yongding, Fujian; born in Burma), philanthropists of
Tiger Balm fame
*
Cheong Fatt Tze (
1840-1916; Dapu, Guangdong), well-respected business tycoon in South-east Asia who contributed greatly to the interests of Overseas Chinese during China's Qing and Republican era
*
Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (
born in Malaysia), founder and chairman of The Sunway Group of Companies,
Malaysia*
Alan Yau, founder of the
Wagamama restaurant chain,
Hakkasan, and
Yauatcha. Hakkasan and Yauatcha are the only Chinese restaurants in the UK to be awarded a
Michelin star.
*
Jimmy Choo, renowned designer of shoes and handbags.
*
Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman and CEO of AIC Limited - one of Canada's largest mutual fund companies.
Entertainers
* Hong Kong
**
Leslie Cheung (
Meixian, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), late Hong Kong singer/actor
**
Chow Yun-Fat (
1955-; Bao'an, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong and Hollywood actor
**
Leon Lai (
1966-; Meixian, Guangdong; born in Beijing), one of the "Four Great Heavenly Kings" of Chinese pop music
**
Alex Man (
Bao'an, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong actor
**
Cherie Chung, Hong Kong actress
**
Jordan Chan (
Huiyang, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong actor
**
Eric Tsang (
Wuhua, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong actor-comedian
**
Francis Yip (
Huiyang, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong singer
**
Deanie Yip (
Huiyang, Guangdong; born in Hong Kong), Hong Kong singer/actress
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
**
Hou Hsiao-Hsien (
1947-; Meixian, Guangdong), award-winning Taiwanese film director
**
Lin Feng Qiao, famous Taiwanese actress in 70s-80s, wife of Jackie Chan
**
Luo Dayou, godfather of Taiwan pop music
**
Cyndi Wang, female Taiwanese singer
**
S.H.E, Taiwanese female pop group
*** Hebe Tien
*** Ella Chen
**
Shino Lin, Taiwanese singer
* People's Republic of China
**
Huang Wanqiu (
Meixian, Guangdong), China actress of the classic movie "
Liu San Jie" (
Third Sister Liu)
* Singapore
**
Fann Wong, famous Singaporean actress-singer-model
**
Dick Lee, Singaporean musician
**
Adrian Pang, Singaporean actor
**
Michelle Chong, Singaporean actress
**
Ho Yeow Sun, Singaporean singer
**
Celest Chong, Singaporean actress/singer
* Malaysia
**
Eric Moo, famous Malaysian pop singer
**
Huang Guangliang and
Wang Pingguan (
Hepo, Guangdong), famous Malaysian pop singers
**
Penny Tai (
Haifeng/Lufeng, Guangdong; born in Malaysia), Malaysian pop singer
**
Zhang Zhicheng, famous Malaysian singer
*
Hakka architecture*
Hakka language*
Hakka cuisine*
Hakka Hill Songs*
Meizhou*
Punti*
Punti-Hakka Clan Wars*
The Hakka Dialect. A Linguistic Study of its Phonology, Syntax and Lexicon, by Mantaro J. Hashimoto. (Cambridge University Press, 1973).
*
The Hakka Forum*
Hakka Culture Information *
Hakka Information *
The 20th World Hakka Convention *
http://www.worldhakka.org*
The Institute of Hakka Research at Jiaying University*
Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad (Book)*
Hakka Population and Distribution
