Lesser Dragons: Minority Peoples of China

Lesser Dragons: Minority Peoples of China

by Michael Dillon
Lesser Dragons: Minority Peoples of China

Lesser Dragons: Minority Peoples of China

by Michael Dillon

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Overview

Lesser Dragons is a timely introduction to the fascinating, complex, and vital world of China’s national minorities. Drawing on firsthand fieldwork in several minority areas, Michael Dillon introduces us to the major non-Han peoples of China, including the Mongols, the Tibetans, the Uyghur of Xinjiang, and the Manchus, and traces the evolution of their relationship with the Han Chinese majority. With chapters devoted to each of the most important minority groups and an additional chapter exploring the parallel but very different world of inter-ethnic relations in Taiwan, Lesser Dragons will interest anyone eager to understand the reality behind regional conflicts increasingly covered by global media. From the tense security situation in Xinjiang to China’s attitude toward Tibet and the Dalai Lama, to the resistance efforts of Mongolian herders losing traditional grasslands, Dillon’s book both examines clichés—such as those found in the Chinese press, which often portrays ethnic minorities as colorful but marginal people—and defies expectations. He shows us how these minority peoples’ religions, cultures, and above all languages mark these groups as distinct from the Chinese majority—distinct, yet endangered by the systemic forces of integration.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781780239118
Publisher: Reaktion Books, Limited
Publication date: 06/15/2018
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Michael Dillon was founding director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at Durham University, where he taught courses on modern China, Chinese history, and Chinese language. He has also been a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society, and a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Introduction: Dragons, Majorities and Minorities 9

1 Evolution of Ethnic Classification and Policies 28

2 Multicultural Beijing Past and Present: Lama Temple and Chinese Ethnic Culture Park 45

3 Hakkas: A Han Minority 59

4 Hui Muslims and their Neighbours in Northwest China 70

5 Xinjiang and the Uyghurs 90

6 Mongols of Inner Mongolia 117

7 Tibet and the Tibetans 134

8 Minorities of the Southwest: Yunnan Province 155

9 Manchus: The Renaissance of an Ethnic Group 167

10 Minor Minorities and Disputed Identities 177

11 Taiwan: Another China, Another Model 186

12 Ethnic-minority Policies: Unity and Conflict 200

Conclusion: Ethnic Minorities in the Age of Xi Jinping 217

China's National Minorities (shaoshu minzu) 222

References 225

Further Reading 237

Acknowledgements 243

Index 247

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