Hakka and its History.

As I was reading my email, I stumbled across an interesting link on History of Hakka. As a Hakka, I was intrigued by Hakka language, Hakka architecture and many related issues. My parents used to tell me that Hakka language is closer to Mandarin than Cantonese language although to me, it really sounds similar to Cantonese like ‘我不要‘. In Cantonese, it sounds like 'mm oi' and in Hakka, it also sounds the same thing. See this Hakka script " 崖冇愛 " When we say 'Thank you' '多谢', in Cantonese, it sounds "do sieh" which is also same as Hakka. Anyway, I am not well-versed in Chinese dialect and cannot comment much on it.

I will split this Hakka story into 4 parts: Hakka and its History (1), Hakka Language (2), Hakka Architecture (3) and Hakka Cuisine (4).

客家

Hakka (客家 Pinyin: kèjiā, ) are a Han Chinese people whose ancestors are said to originate from around Henan and Shanxi in northern China over 2,700 years ago. Their ancestors migrated southwards because of social unrest, upheaval, or by 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 a massive depopulation of the north, and a flood of refugees southward when the Jurchens captured the northern Song capitol, and 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.

The term Hakka is thought to be comparatively recent. To aid the move which was initiated by Emperor Kangxi to repopulate the coastal regions, each family were given an amount of money to begin their new lives and registered as "Guest Families" (客戶, kèhù). The indigenous settlers who returned to their original lands saw the influx of newcomers. The original inhabitants were protective of their own more fertile lands, and the newcomers were pushed to the outer fringes of fertile plains, or settled in more mountainous regions to eke out a living. As time went by, local antagonisms grew, and it is thought that "Hakka" became a term of abuse used by indigenous settlers aimed at the newcomers. Over time, this muted down, and became adopted as term of self reference for Hakka peoples. The Hakka farmers were known to have used their feet while standing upright to pull weeds off rice paddies, as their cultural pride would not allow them to kneel and crawl on land belonging to the Manchus.

During the first centuries, the migration of Hakka groups generally trailed behind the whole Han Chinese southern expansion. As a result, Hakkas had to settle on the less desirable lands (mountains etc.). With limited prospects in agriculture, Hakka men have turned more often than other Chinese toward careers in the military or public function. Consequently, Hakka society puts an extra emphasis on the working abilities of women, who had to take up a bigger load of work on the farms while their menfolks were studying or at war. Foot-binding was considered foolish and never practiced. Another consequence was the higher proportion of Hakkas with academic achievement. For example, some Taiwanese believe that the Mei-nung area in Kaohsiung (having a high concentration of Hakka) produced more doctorates than other areas in Taiwan.

The Hakkas have emigrated to many regions worldwide, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (West Borneo), Thailand and East Timor.

Hakka people have also emigrated to Australia, Canada, the United States of America, and many countries in Europe, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Hakka people are also found in South Africa, Tahiti (French Polynesia), Mauritius and the islands of the Caribbean, particularly Jamaica.

Hakka people can be also found in South America (Brazil, Trinidad, etc).

Most expatriate Hakka in Great Britain have ties to Hong Kong, and may have emigrated when Hong Kong was still a colony of Great Britain.

There has been a Hakka community in Calcutta, India of previous, considerable size, but most have migrated to Canada, the United States, Australia, and Taiwan.

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. :) I dunno whether this anecdote is true.

Today there are about 90-100 million Hakka speakers around the world.

The Hakkas have had a disproportionate influence on the course of Chinese and Overseas Chinese history particularly in the field of revolutionary and political leaders. This continues to be true in modern Chinese history where some of the most prominent Chinese leaders have been Hakkas. In the 1980s-90s, the Hakkas had the unique distinction of having all three political heavyweights of all three Chinese-led countries Hakkas at the same time: People's Republic of China's Deng Xiaoping, Republic of China's Lee Teng-hui and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew.

In addition, Dr Sun Yat-sen, Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew, all Hakkas, are three of the four Chinese named as 20th Century's 20 most influential Asians by Time magazine.


Last note, I have found the website on Chinese restaurant in Greenland. No information about their Hakka origin. I am thinking that I must go to Greenland one day before the glaciers and magnificient fjords will melt forever. See this article