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    Any Chinese ethnic minorities out there?

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    • starlight1968sgS Offline
      starlight1968sg
      last edited by

      Interesting.

      What is your family name?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • floppyF Offline
        floppy
        last edited by

        pirate\" post_id=\"1921231\" time=\"1563692686\" user_id=\"66252:

        I am wondering whether there are any ethnic Chinese minority KSPs out there. This may seem like a strange question, because we all know that in Singapore, the Chinese are the majority race.

        But it's not that straightforward!

        Not long ago, I discovered an old family secret. Even my parents and my aunts (who are in their 80s) did not know. I think my grandfather knew, but he never said anything about it. My family (father's side) is not Han (汉族)! It turns out that our ancestral village up in the remote mountains has been officially designated an ethnic minority village (少数民族村). Everybody from the village is She (畲族). Apparently there are fewer than one million of us in the whole of China.

        So now, if anybody were to say 'Chinese' in Singapore actually means Han, I can rightfully say, \"Excuuuse me!\"

        It's weird to be a minority majority. 😂
        It may not be that unusual. One of my friend is a Manchu. I mean he is a Singaporean, has a Han Chinese name (Tong), listed as a Chinese but is really a Manchu :skeptical:

        The problem really is understanding 'ethnicity' and 'race'. Race is a social construct. China recognises 56 distinct ethnic groups (including the majority Han), each equally as 'Chinese' as the other.

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        • P Offline
          pirate
          last edited by

          starlight1968sg\" post_id=\"1921237\" time=\"1563695965\" user_id=\"14025:

          Interesting.
          What is your family name?
          One of the three. 😆

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          • . Offline
            .010675zeit
            last edited by

            If you’re Hakka, maybe you have some 畲族 blood.


            But bear in mind 出生地 and 祖籍 can be mutually exclusive. Your grandfather might be 100% 汉族 who just happened to be born in or lived near that 畲族-dominant village before migrating to SEA.

            There have been a lot of mass migrations over the last 200 years due to: the opening up of trading ports and 租界 (more job opportunities), 中日战争 and 国共 civil war. One could be of 山东祖籍 but because of the civil war, your Shandongese grandparents might have joined the KMT army or civil service after 1911, so they moved with the troops or ruling government across China, resulting in your parent being born in another city like 重庆–the last KMT capital during the war. Or your grand ancestors could be of 满族 descent but during the Qing dynasty, moved to 北平 or 天津, but after the collapse of the Qing dynasty, your grandparent later migrated to 上海 settlement to work before WW2. I also know there were many 汉族 KMT soldiers who got stuck in 云南中缅, 广西 where there are many ethnic minorities. Some might have married the locals and had offspring who later migrated to SEA.

            If you have an existing 祠堂 , 族谱 and 祖坟 in that ethnic 畲族 minority village, you can confirm if you’re 汉族 or 畲族。

            That said however, even if you trawl through your family tree and see only 汉 surnames and generational names, it isn’t suffice to say you’re pure Han either. The minority that married into the Han family might have adopted a Han name.

            As we all know, many Manchurians ditched their Manchu surnames and adopted Han surnames after 1911. 富察 became 傅 or 付, 马尔泰 became 马, 爱新觉罗 became 金 赵 罗,瓜尔佳 became 关 (关之琳),钮祜禄 became 郎 (郎朗 / 郎姑) 钮 (钮承泽),赫舍里 became 何,他塔拉 became 唐,乌雅 became 吴,叶赫那拉 became 那 (那英)or 叶, 齐佳 became 齐(齐秦) .

            Floppy’s Manchua friend was from the 佟佳 clan, so the sinicised or transliterated Han surname became 佟 (佟大为)or 童(童安格).

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            • . Offline
              .010675zeit
              last edited by

              pirate\" post_id=\"1921250\" time=\"1563701429\" user_id=\"66252:

              starlight1968sg\" post_id=\"1921237\" time=\"1563695965\" user_id=\"14025:

              Interesting.
              What is your family name?

              One of the three. 😆

              王?

              畲族 = 钟 (Chung/Chong) 蓝 (Nah) 雷 (Lui?)...what else?

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              • P Offline
                pirate
                last edited by

                .zeit\" post_id=\"1921278\" time=\"1563721617\" user_id=\"171271:

                If you have an existing 祠堂 , 族谱 and 祖坟 in that ethnic 畲族 minority village, you can confirm if you're 汉族 or 畲族。
                Yah, we have. Our names have been entered into the 族谱 back in the village even though we are 华侨. Apparently my great grandfather was quite well-known. He even got his own baike.baidu page. :shock:

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                • P Offline
                  pirate
                  last edited by

                  .zeit\" post_id=\"1921279\" time=\"1563721757\" user_id=\"171271:

                  pirate\" post_id=\"1921250\" time=\"1563701429\" user_id=\"66252:

                  [quote=starlight1968sg post_id=1921237 time=1563695965 user_id=14025]Interesting.
                  What is your family name?

                  One of the three. 😆

                  王?

                  畲族 = 钟 (Chung/Chong) 蓝 (Nah) 雷 (Lui?)...what else?[/quote]Dun have 王 lah. It's not a 灯谜. You very naughty. 😆

                  Yah lah. One of those three.

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                  • J Offline
                    jtoh
                    last edited by

                    .zeit\" post_id=\"1921279\" time=\"1563721757\" user_id=\"171271:



                    畲族 = 钟 (Chung/Chong) 蓝 (Nah) 雷 (Lui?)...what else?
                    This is an interesting thread. Are those the three surnames pirate was referring to earlier, which point to the She minority group? Which other surnames point to an ethnic minority group?

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                    • NebbermindN Offline
                      Nebbermind
                      last edited by

                      So eventually, what dialect did you adopt?

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