Ethnic conflicts in China
October 17, 2010 11:10 AM   Subscribe

This-is-a-long-shot-filter: I'm just beginning to do a study of Muslims in China, a subject I find extremely interesting. Specifically, I'm looking at the Hui minority, histories of violence among Muslims in China, current ethnic tensions between the Hui and other ethnic identities, and conflict between the Hui and the Chinese government. Looking for personal accounts, opinions, and thoughts that can lead me further into research.

First of all, I'm sorry for the broadness of this question, and I realize it's not terribly easy to answer. I'm not really hoping for any sort of definitive answer but just some knowledge-tidbits I can use to jump to more in-depth research. So here's reaching out to anyone who has experience with the subject- I think it'd be really neat to get some opinions, resources, articles, or first-hand accounts from the hivemind that will lead me to learning something interesting!

Some food for thought/things to comment on-

I've noticed a huge difference between Chinese news sources reporting on violence/tension and foreign sources- in a lot of the things I've read so far, Chinese journals tend to downplay conflicts that occur while other sources make them sound much more violent. What's the history of this trend? Is it improving

Some things I've already found on Metafilter:
Jumping Through Hoops
Ethnic Conflict in China


Have at it. Thanks meFi :)
posted by pyrom to Education (12 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Second-hand anecdotal:

My (Chinese-speaking) ex spent a summer in China several years ago. On his first or second day there he got into a cab (in Beijing) and (being white) was asked by the driver what he was doing in China. When he found out he was there to study, the guy immediately launched into a diatribe about how much he hated Uyghurs (and black people!) and that my ex would be better served during his time in China if he knew how many problems they caused.

So, clearly that guy is a crazy asshole; I have no idea how many others share his opinion, but this guy wasn't afraid to share his with an impartial stranger.
posted by phunniemee at 11:17 AM on October 17, 2010


A few years ago I read a (travel) book by an author who was one of the first foreigners to travel the Karakorum Highway. He spent a lot of time with the Uighurs in SW China and learned to speak the language. It might be this book, "The Silk Road: Beyond the Celestial Kingdom" by Colin Thubron. The pub date seems right. He revisited the area more recently in "Shadows of the Silk Road".
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:46 AM on October 17, 2010


The CBC's Anthony Germain (heads their Beijing bureau) has done a lot of in depth reporting on the Uighur/Uyghur situation, and other muslim groups in China. It was featured on their radio series Dispatches in 2008 but I can't find a copy.
posted by furtive at 12:15 PM on October 17, 2010


Dru Gladney is the scholar who works on this issue. Check out books at the library.
posted by vincele at 12:20 PM on October 17, 2010


I got pretty close to a Hui family while living in China and went to a couple of weddings in Pingliang, Gansu Province. Strangely enough, this Hui family warned me to stay away from the Uighurs because "they're thieves." When I went to Xinjiang, though, the Uighurs I met were just as friendly as everyone in the rest of China. I've been on the Karakoram Highway and traveled a bit in southwestern Xinjiang.

I've read a couple of accounts trying to puzzle out why the Hui exists, because, for most intents and purposes, the Hui culture is so very similar to Han culture. The only difference between the Hui and the Han, in many respects (and in my experience among Han, Hui, and other ethnicities in China), is that the Hui are historically Muslim. I'm not a cultural scholar.

And the Hui make my favorite food in China. That's a fact!
posted by msbrauer at 3:35 PM on October 17, 2010


I know it's not quite relevant, but I wrote a paper in college on the Muslim traders used by the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty in China for tax collecting purposes. Morris Rossabi and Thomas Allsen are two authors to look up if you need any academic sources on Chinese Muslims of that period.

I've read a couple of accounts trying to puzzle out why the Hui exists, because, for most intents and purposes, the Hui culture is so very similar to Han culture. The only difference between the Hui and the Han, in many respects (and in my experience among Han, Hui, and other ethnicities in China), is that the Hui are historically Muslim. I'm not a cultural scholar.


From my understanding, the Hui tend to be the descendants of ethnically Han people that intermarried with or were converted by Muslim traders from Persia and Central Asia, particularly in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Plus, you can go to cities like Xi'an and see strong reminders that China has been interacting with Muslims even earlier than that.
posted by mrjackalope at 4:43 PM on October 17, 2010


(from the persepctive of an American who has worked/studied in China for six years):

On his first or second day there he got into a cab (in Beijing) and (being white) was asked by the driver what he was doing in China. When he found out he was there to study, the guy immediately launched into a diatribe about how much he hated Uyghurs (and black people!)

Not unusual at all, unfortuntely.

the Hui culture is so very similar to Han culture. The only difference between the Hui and the Han, in many respects (and in my experience among Han, Hui, and other ethnicities in China), is that the Hui are historically Muslim.

I've found this to be true. Many Chinese espouse prejudical views abot Ughuyrs, but I haven't heard anybody talking abou the Hui. THe Hui I've met have looked and acted just like the Han. I took a course on minorities in China and we learned that a lot of minority groups in culture, practice and appearance have pretty much blended in with the Han, and it seems that the Hui are like this too, aside from the fact that they may celebrate Muslim holidays and eat different foods. (but I don't think there are normally that religious)

The Ughguyrs, however, are quite different from the Han (in looks, culture, religious devotion, and on and on) and there are lots of tensions between them, the govt, and the Han majority. It might be more interested to study the tensions there.
posted by bearette at 7:30 PM on October 17, 2010


ugh, so many typos in that :/
posted by bearette at 7:31 PM on October 17, 2010


I've vague memories of Nick Danziger's Danziger's Travels and William Dalrymple's In Xanadu both having some references to Moslem minorities in China.
posted by Ahab at 11:28 PM on October 17, 2010


No titbits, other than a Han friend whose family rather resented their Hui sister-in-law for having dietary restrictions/ refusal to eat with Han. However, are you familiar with Maria Jaschok's work? Oxford anthropologist/ gender researcher working specifically on Hui women.
posted by tavegyl at 12:49 AM on October 18, 2010


I understand there's long been tensions between the Hui and Tibetans - Hui people will often do jobs that Tibetans traditionally saw as taboo, such as animal slaughter, and were visiting merchants in communities that looked on outsiders with suspicion (while needing the service). This is covered in some depth in Robert B. Ekvall, Cultural Relations on the Kansu-Tibetan Border, and I see (though I'd forgotten) that he describes Han-Hui relations too. Ekvall was quite a character and lived an amazing life, and although his work is dated there's few with his first-hand knowledge.
A contemporary scholar noted for his work on China's Muslim communities is Dru Gladney - I've seen him speak but not read his work, this is just an example via Google but should be worth your time.
posted by Abiezer at 3:27 AM on October 18, 2010


Oh, and I see this site I have bookmarked has a list of relevant books.
posted by Abiezer at 3:29 AM on October 18, 2010


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