Hakka people are also called Heluolang. The Hakka people are a Han ethnic group with distinctive characteristics. They are also one of the Han ethnic groups with the widest distribution range and the most far-reaching influence in the world.
▲The history of the Hakka people
The ancestors of the Hakka people originated from the Central Plains and migrated to the south from the Central Plains. They are a branch of the Han nationality in southern China. Because he was in a foreign land, he was nostalgic for his hometown Heluo (the Luo River Basin with Luoyang as the center) and called himself "Heluo Lang". On the one hand, Hakka culture retains the mainstream characteristics of Central Plains culture, and on the other hand, it accommodates the cultural essence of the local ethnic groups. Hakka people often use those talented men as role models to inspire and educate their children and grandchildren, and learn from their meritorious and successful predecessors. Some people say: Wherever there is the sun, there are Chinese people, and wherever there are Chinese people, there are Hakkas. Others say: Wherever there is sunshine, there are Hakkas; wherever there is a piece of land, Hakkas will gather together, work hard, and reproduce. Because Hakkas travel all over the world, immigrate to the world, and have many successful people in overseas business circles, they are called "Oriental Jews".
The first southward migration was during the era of Qin Shihuang. After Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, he sent 600,000 troops to "conquer Baiyue in the south" for political and military needs. The Qin army moving south entered Jieling (i.e. Jieyang Mountain, 150 miles north of today's Jieyang County) from the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, and reached the border of Xingning and Haifeng counties. In 214 BC, Qin Shihuang sent another 500,000 soldiers to "garrison the Five Ridges in the south" (today's Guangdong and Guangxi regions). These soldiers "garrisoned the five mountains and crossed the mountains" for a long time. After the fall of Qin, the two groups of Qin soldiers who went south stayed in the area and became the first batch of Hakkas.
The second migration to the south was during the "Five Husties" period in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At that time, some Central Plains residents moved to the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi border area in order to seek refuge. Later, due to the confrontation between the north and the south, about 960,000 people from the Central Plains moved south to both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Some of the population flowed into southern Jiangxi, and some entered the Fujian and Guangdong regions via Ningdu and Shicheng.
The third move southward was during the Huangchao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty. First, the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty brought huge disasters to the people and forced a large number of Han people from the Central Plains to flee south. During the Huangchao uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Han people from the Central Plains fled into the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi regions. For example, the clan member Li Meng moved from Chang'an to Bianliang, and then to Gubi Township, Ninghua, Fujian. Wang Xu and Wang Chao from Gushi responded to the Huangchao Uprising and led five thousand peasant uprising troops from Guangzhou and Shou Prefectures to Jiangxi, causing the population in the Fujian-Jiangxi border area to increase.
The fourth southward migration was the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Song Dynasty. The Jin people invaded and built the Yannan Crossing, and some officials and people migrated to the Taihu Lake Basin. Another part of the scholars either crossed the Dageng Mountains southward and entered Nanxiong, Shixing, and Shaozhou; or they traveled along Hong, Ji, and Qianzhou, and then from Qianzhou to Tingzhou; or they stayed in counties in southern Jiangxi. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan army moved south in a large scale, and a large number of Song people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi fled from Putian to Chaoshan along the coast of Guangdong to Hainan Island.
The fifth southward migration was in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. At that time, the Hakka people living in southern Jiangxi, eastern Guangdong, and northern Guangdong migrated to Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi, and Taiwan, as well as central and western Guangdong, due to the population proliferation and the lack of land. This large-scale migration is called the "Westward Movement" in the history of Hakka immigration. The Hakkas in Sichuan basically originated from this "Westward Expansion Movement". At that time, Sichuan's population dropped sharply due to war, plague and natural disasters. The Qing government particularly encouraged immigrants to "fill Sichuan from Huguang".
The sixth southward migration was during the Taiping Rebellion in the mid-19th century. At that time, some Hakkas migrated to South Asia to avoid the war, and some were lured into indentured labor and taken to Malaysia, the United States, Panama, Brazil and other places.
In addition to the above six large-scale southward migrations, there were also Han Chinese in the Central Plains who fled southward due to droughts and floods, and there were also those who were officials, demoted, businessmen, and students of the past dynasties and settled in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. Not all Han people who migrated south became Hakkas. Among them, only those from the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi ancestry and those originating from this ancestry were called Hakkas.
According to statistics, the Hakka people living in mainland China are mainly distributed in Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and other regions, with a total population of 5,000. More than 10,000 people account for 5% of the Han population. Abroad, Hakkas are mainly distributed in more than 80 countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Japan and North Korea in East Asia, the United States, Canada, and Brazil in the Americas, and the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria in Europe. countries and regions, with 10 million people.
The ancestors of the Hakka originally lived in the north, but later moved to the south of the Yangtze River, living in the provinces of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Taiwan and Qiong, and gradually dispersed abroad and spread all over the world. Gannan was the first stop for the Hakka ancestors to migrate south, and it is also one of the areas with the largest number of Hakka residents. The origin of the name "Hakka" is related to the migration of the Hakka ancestors. To the place where they live, these people are "guests" who have moved from elsewhere. It can be said that without migration, there would be no such thing as "Hakka".
There are many reasons why Hakka people migrate. In the early days, it was mainly due to the coercion of disasters. Such as cruel wars, floods, droughts, insects and other special natural disasters and epidemics of plague. Almost every large-scale war in Chinese history resulted in a great migration of Hakka people. According to historical records, there was a great migration of Hakka ancestors during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Just imagine, in the long years, the "Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms" have been in constant war and suffering people everywhere. Can you survive if you don't escape? It is said that our ancestors of the Chen family left their homeland in western Henan during that period, traveled to Jiangxi, and finally settled in Gan County. "The moon is the brightness of my hometown." At first, the ancestors may only want to stay here temporarily for a while, but they gradually got used to it. So they built houses, cultivated fields, raised pigs and cattle, and lived there for a long time. From a temporary guest to a permanent home. Just like that, we will be "Hakka" forever!
It is worth mentioning that there is a special way of migration. It is said that in order to build the Afang Palace, Qin Shihuang drove tens of thousands of "wooden guests" to the south of Gansu to cut wood for the rejuvenation of the country. Those who did not die from exhaustion later stayed there. These were probably the earliest ancestors of the Hakkas in southern Gansu.
The process of migration is definitely difficult and dangerous. Support the old and the young, travel across mountains and rivers, and settle down to live in a strange place. The ancestors of the Hakka people overcame obstacles and obstacles, "making roads in the mountains and building bridges in the water." They finally survived and formed a prosperous ethnic group with tens of millions of people today.
The last step of migration is to build a house and settle down. An elderly guest said: "The most important thing about settling down is the location of the house. How to decide? It depends on Feng Shui. This Feng Shui is not the superstitious Feng Shui that Mr. Geography talks about. The main thing is to get sunlight, look at the wind direction, and be close to water sources. , close to the hard mountain, choose a high ground. It is an ideal choice to sit in the north, facing the south, facing the sun, close to the water, and with a wide view. "
People often praise the Hakka people for their diligence, bravery, perseverance and resourcefulness. . As an ethnic group, the Hakkas have naturally experienced social reality and production reality in a more diverse and deeper way than other groups due to their ancestors’ long-distance migrations for several generations. Therefore, they must have been tempered and nourished more, and accumulated more Gain more experience in dealing with relationships with the natural world and social interpersonal relationships. Therefore, a large number of politicians, scientists, writers, and entrepreneurs have appeared in the Hakka community...
▲There are many theories about the origin of the Hakkas, the main ones are the Hakka original theory and the Hakka indigenous theory. The Hakka original theory believes that the main body of the Hakkas are immigrants from the Central Plains, while the Hakka indigenous theory believes that "the Hakka homogeneous body is the homogeneous body produced by the mixing of the Han people who migrated to the south and the ancient Yue immigrants in the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi triangle areas. The main body is the Guyue people living on this land, not the few Central Plains people living in this area." Starting from the Song Dynasty, Han people from the Central Plains migrated southward on a large scale, passing through southern Jiangxi and western Fujian to Meizhou, eventually forming a relatively mature and highly stable Hakka ethnic group. Since then, the Hakka people have used Meizhou as their base and moved to other parts of the country and even the world in large numbers. The "Three Hakka Prefectures" are Jiaying Prefecture, Ganzhou, and Tingzhou.
Speaking of Hakka, the most famous thing is their earth buildings. If you search for Hakka on the Internet, many entries about earth buildings will appear at the same time. If you are a philately enthusiast, you should have noticed that one of the Fujian houses in the Chinese residential stamps is a Hakka earth building. Since most of the Hakka people lived in remote mountainous areas or deep forests, they were not only lacking in building materials, but also noisy with wolves, tigers, leopards, and thieves. In addition, they were afraid of being harassed by local people. Therefore, the Hakka people built "defensive" castles like earth buildings. style residential building. In Fujian, there are two types of earth buildings: square earth buildings and round earth buildings, while round earth buildings are relatively rare.
I guess everyone still remembers a joke about Tulou: It is said that in the 1960s and 1970s, American spy satellites conducted photo reconnaissance on China and were surprised to find that there were many earth buildings scattered in the mountainous areas of Fujian Province, my country. Many unknown large-scale buildings, either round or square, are considered to be "missile launch bases" after analysis. China's military strength cannot be underestimated.
It was not until China and the United States established diplomatic relations that Americans learned that those so-called "missile launch bases" were actually earth buildings, typical Hakka dwellings.
Of course, Hakka tofu is also very famous: Hakka Yong Tofu, Sichuan Mapo Tofu, and Hunan Stinky Tofu. The latter two can only be regarded as side dishes and snacks. Only the Hakka people have elevated tofu to a main dish or main dish. vegetable. Even their wedding songs include tofu. For example, one song goes like this:
I bought a new grindstone with a round jingle,
I bought it to grind soy milk,
Grinding tofu in the middle of the night, grinding it until dawn.
▲The Origin of the Hakka
The Hakka are a huge ethnic group of the Han Chinese, with a long history and a large number of people. According to data, the total number of Hakkas is 5,500. million, including about 45 million in China. Among overseas Hakkas, most live in some countries in Asia, including about 1.25 million in Malaysia, about 4 million in Indonesia, about 500,000 in Thailand, about 300,000 in Vietnam, 200,000 in Singapore, and 10 in Myanmar. Thousands...Others are distributed in America, Europe, Australia and other places.
The Hakka ancestors came from the Central Plains. They were people who migrated directly from the Central Plains on a large scale due to wars in the past dynasties, or who moved in through time, or who settled there because of officialdom, relegation, or business. The migration of their ancestors occurred in the following periods:
(1) The Qin and Han Dynasties unified China, and immigrants from the Central Plains began to move south.
1. In the twenty-fifth year of the First Emperor of Qin (222 BC), the Qin army defeated Chu with 600,000 soldiers, who “conquered the king of Baiyue in the south.” After the Minzhong County was established in 1978, he divided his troops and went south, from the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi to reach Jieling, that is, Jieyang Mountain. It is 150 miles north of present-day Jieyang County and reaches the border of Xingning and Haifeng counties.
2. In the thirty-third year of the First Emperor of Qin, 500,000 people guarded the Five Ridges, that is, Zhao Tuo "generated troops to garrison the crossing." From this we can see that there are two Qin armies garrisoning on the border between Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, one at the border of Wunanye and the other at Jieling.
3. In the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor of Qin, Zhao Tuo built a city two miles across the river to control the Wu River, and built a city of ten thousand people on Zhongsu Mountain. Zhao Tuo built a city in Longchuan again. The number of these city builders is unknown, but during the same period, those who moved to the northern border counties to build cities could be estimated to be as few as 30,000 households and as many as 50,000 households.
4. In the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor of Qin, it is estimated that the Qin garrison immigrants stationed in the borders of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi accounted for more than one-third of the local population.
5. In the fifth year of Yuanding (115 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a large number of soldiers from the Central Plains went south to garrison Lingnan and were stationed in counties, counties and military strategic points.
6. In the first year of the Han Dynasty (110 BC), the Minyue people in central Fujian and Jieyang (Chao and Meigu were the Minyue areas) all moved away, leaving only the Qin people in the area. Descendants of immigrants from Zhong County. This shows that from then on, the residents of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi border areas were mainly immigrants from the Central Plains.
(2) From Jian'an in the late Han Dynasty to Yongjia in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains took refuge, and some people moved into the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi border areas.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, people from the Central Plains took refuge in Jiaozhou, which set off a climax. The southward migration mainly came by sea.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a confrontation between the north and the south. People from the Central Plains migrated southward on a large scale again, with a population of about 960,000. Most of them settled on both sides of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Some of them entered Jiangxi and southern Jiangxi, and some entered through Ningdu and Shicheng. Fujian and Guangdong border counties.
On the occasion of Yongjia, many gentry from the Central Plains flowed into Fujian.
(3) The Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty brought huge disasters to the people, and a large number of people in the Central Plains fled south.
(4) During the Huangchao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, a large number of Central Plains people fled into Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. For example, the clan member Li Meng moved from Chang'an to Bianliang, and then to Gubi Township, Ninghua, Fujian. Wang Xu and Wang Chao from Gushi responded to Huangchao's uprising and led 5,000 peasant uprising troops from Guang and Shou prefectures to Jiangxi. From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the population of Fujian and Jiangxi border areas increased sharply.
(5) During the Southern Song Dynasty and at the end of the Song Dynasty, a large number of people from the Central Plains fled to central Guangdong and the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi.
After Jianyan crossed to the south, some officials and people moved to Hangzhou, Xiu, Su, Chang, and Hu, that is, the Taihu Basin. The other part, and most of it, followed Long Huangtai along the way to Hong, Ji, and Qianzhou, and Huangtai returned to Lin'an. These scholars did not have the conditions to follow the Queen Mother, and they were unable to return north, so some of them crossed the Dageng Mountains southward and entered Nanxiong, Shixing, and Shaozhou. Part of it went from Qianzhou to Tingzhou. Some were stranded in counties in southern Jiangxi.
At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan army marched southward in large numbers. A large number of Song people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi fled from Putian to Chaoshan along the coast of Guangdong to Hainan Island.
(6) In addition to the large-scale southward migration due to wars mentioned above, people from the Central Plains fled south due to droughts and floods. There are also people who have been officials, demoted, businessmen, and study tours in the past dynasties and settled in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. .
From the above historical data, the Hakka ancestors mainly came from the Han nationality in the Central Plains. In the process of the formation of the Hakka ethnic system, they continued to absorb southern minority groups such as She, Yao, Dan, and Muke to strengthen the Hakka team.