There is no Chinese Race
March 28th, 2006 by MarkThe whole concept of “race” in general annoys me. It’s horribly vague and imprecise. People base all kinds of ridiculous decisions based on it. Only when there are clear scientific distinctions, is it more tolerable to use race to separate people. The concept may be useful for doctors when dealing with certain specific race related ailments, but on the whole it’s not one that deserves all the attention than it gets. Especially in the orient, this concept is maddening. I must read something in the news or hear something on the radio about the “Chinese race” nearly every day.
The whole idea is a sham. “Chinese” is a nationality. “Chinese” is an (extremely broad) umbrella under which various cultural ideas are grouped. But “Chinese”, is most definitely not a race. Northern Han Chinese people share more genetic similarities with Japanese, Koreans and Mongols than they do with the southern Han. Similarly, southern Han Chinese people share more genetic similarities with Vietnamese than they do with the northern Han. Readers interested in this topic should see this technical, but very thorough explanation of the concentrations of various haplogroups in east Asian people.
Corollary 1: “Japanese” is not a race.
Corollary 2: “Korean” is not a race.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Mark-san,
I hear the word “中華民族”on TV and radio many times a day in China. It might be a kind of propaganda for raising nationalism and overcoming an inferiority complex. I’m afraid that the word “Chinese race” is not a good equivalent for 中華民族. The 中華民族 is not the name of a race, as you wrote, but the name of an ethnic group.
Similarly, “the Japanese” is not a race, either. That is an ethnic group. As far as I know, the peoples in the northern/middle/southern parts of Japan are a little diffrent genetically one another. That’s because a long ago some of our ancestry came from many parts of Asia, such as China, Korea, Mongolia, Siberia, and Southeast Asia.
I do not know what the best word for “中華民族” is. Just to say the Chinese people is OK?
March 28th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Yeah, it is a mess between 種族, 民族, 華人, etc… What I was refering to is how Chinese people use 中國人 to refer to a race rather than a nationality. For example, I have many ancestors from Germany. Germans would never call me “German”, though. Chinese people do call people who have never even set foot in China, Chinese. The way the word 中國人 is used by Chinese people, it is an inheritable racial trait.
Japan has some of the same sort of terminology, but it seems that Japanese people are more likely to use clearer distinctions like 二世 and 三世.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Mark-san,
China has fifty-five ethnic minorities in it. Every group has its own language and culture, but the word “中華民族” includes all of those minorities when it is used in the PRC. It is one of the slogans of the communist Party, and its purpose is to keep China in one piece.
March 28th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
I’m well aware of that. I agree that the term is useful for holding the country together. However, you can’t really argue that 中國人, 華人, or 中華民族 are used only to describe Chinese nationals.
The Chinese also use those terms for Singaporeans, immigrants living in Indonesia (who may still practice Chinese traditions) as well as for 3rd and 4th generation American immigrants who don’t speak Chinese, don’t practice Chinese traditions and have no cultural or political connection with China at all.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Mark-san,
I hear that some Chinese-Singaporians do not feel happy when they are called Chinese(中国人) in the lump. On the other hand, most of the Chinese people in the mainland probably regard all the overseas Chinese descendants, some of them do not speak Chinese, as 中国人. I suppose that’s partly because of the Sinocetrism.
The Japanese seem to have less interest in this kind of issue. We do not care a lot about overseas Japanese and whether 二世/三世 are Japanese or not. If they speak good Japanese, we might call them 日本人 without any deep thought. Few young people know about the history on those who emigrated from Japan to foreign countries.
March 29th, 2006 at 2:56 am
Kanwa-kyudai,
I’m not so sure I believe you about the Japanese “not caring” about who is classified as Japanese.
I was in Japan during the Pervuian hostage crisis of 1997. I was amused that on Japanese TV President Fujimori’s name was written as フジモリ and not 藤森. Yes, Fujimori was born in Peru, and it’s completely fair to say he’s not Japanese, but to not even use kanji for his obviously Japanese surname seems a bit extreme.
In another example, I’ve spoken with Japanese people who have lived outside of Japan for extended periods (5-10 years), and they tell me that upon returning to Japan they have been treated a bit strangely by other Japanese, as if they are “less Japanese.”
I’d say the Japanese are extremely exclusive about who is Japanese, while the Chinese are extremely inclusive of who is Chinese (hence things like “American Born Chinese”). Partly a result of geography?
March 29th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
John-san,
> Japanese are extremely exclusive about who is Japanese, while the Chinese are extremely inclusive of who is Chinese
Thank you for your comment. You are right.
That is why the average Japanese who live in Japan are relatively indifferent to overseas Japanese and their descendant. We do not care about whether or not they are Japanese just because we tend to be uninterested in and shamefully exclusive about outsiders. And “do not care” usually means that we do not consider them “ real Japanese.”
Mr. Fujimori’s case was a little complicated. He is a Japanese legally because he still has his family register in Japan. It was a plausible excuse for the government for not deporting him to Peru. Although the case stimulated our nationalism a little, I imagine the number of Japanese people who regard him as “a real Japanese” is very small.
I have lived in China for six years. When I go back to Japan, some of my firends tease me saying I am a fake Japanese since I often forget some Japanese words and use Chinese instead. Of course, I know they are just joking. But if my ability to speak Japanese further decline, I am afraid I should carry my passport with me even in Japan !
July 28th, 2006 at 11:43 am
The point about the inclusivity of Chinese is interesting. Many Chinese try to search for some Chinese ancestry in my background (there is none, but my grandfather was Native American). I think this is an interesting comment on their racial self-conception, which is more cultural than ethnic. Therefore, people who are knowledgeable about their culture are considered nearly Chinese. I find this rather endearing.
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 am
Being “Chinese” is about the language more than your ancestry. The only thing that unites all the people that Chinese people call “chinese” is the fact that no matter what dialect you speak, you use the same characters to read and write. “Coincidentally” this happens to usually happen along ancestral and thus racial lines since Chinese is such a difficult language to learn. But in any case, Being Chinese is more of a cultural identity than one of race, so you’re right; “Chinese Race” is probably a misnomer.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Even if you would have been born in China, speak perfect Chinese, you would never be accepted as Chinese.