true chinese

[tywy_99]

On my flight back from China, I sat next to an interesting old Chinese man. We talked a bit. He was going back to NY where he immigrated to some years ago. He turned out to be a bit of a seer because when I showed him a picture of my wife he guessed her profession and also guessed the region of China she was from. I know this can be chalked up to some "parlor room" trick but it was still quite amazing. He went on talking about how he can tell from facial features what part of China one is from. He spoke of "true" Chinese and how few there are left. I'm no expert but I know of Cantonese to the south and that over 90% of the population is Han and is the majority ethnic group with many minority ethnic groups including the manchu and maybe the mongols. I'm just curious about what he meant by "true Chinese." Anybody know?....I didn't understand him.

 

I found this cool webpage listing ethnic groups of China:

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/L...e-ethnic-groups

 

Also, he carried a U.S. passport that was green. Is this an old passport or is it the kind given to naturalized citizens?

 

Thanks

[frank1538]

I'm no expert but I know of Cantonese to the south and that over 90% of the population is Han and is the majority ethnic group with many minority ethnic groups including the manchu and maybe the mongols.

While going to the Great Wall, we got into a conversation with our driver about this. He said that he remembered when he was in school, he had to fill out some forms, and one of the questions dealt with his ethnicity. He didn't know the answer, so he asked the teacher. The teacher said to put Han which he did. So, now he is Han for the rest of his life.

 

A piece of unverified trivia. The Chinese flag's five stars were supposed to represent the five major ethnic groups - Han (the big star), Manchu, Mongolians, Tibetans and Uyghurs. I think revisionist history now gives the stars political significance, with the big star representing the CP.

[tonado]

Read hereChinese Ethnic Groups

[keelec]

Also, he carried a U.S. passport that was green. Is this an old passport or is it the kind given to naturalized citizens?

My first passport was issued in 1982, and was blue colored.

 

It expired halfway though a trip to Italy, so my second passport was issued in Milan, Italy, and was also blue.

 

The biggest differences between the old passports and the new one are:

 

1 - Picture pasted into the passport vs digitally transfered.

2 - Passport number punched into the cover of the passport.

 

It is possible that a really old series of passport did not have an expiration date, but I doubt it would be valid today.

 

Sorry, I don't have any idea why a person would have a green passport. Perhaps it is a diplomatic series. You should have asked him.

 

------ Clifford ------

[Charlotte]

I'm just curious about what he meant by "true Chinese." Anybody know?....I didn't understand him.

 

Also, he carried a U.S. passport that was green. Is this an old passport or is it the kind given to naturalized citizens?

1. I am a "true Chinese" too. Frankly I don't know what he meant -- but Han (which most of us are) is the majority in China -- maybe that 's what he referred to.

2. I am also a naturalized citizen, but my passport looks the same as native born citizens here.

[Charlotte]

A piece of unverified trivia.  The Chinese flag's five stars were supposed to represent the five major ethnic groups - Han (the big star), Manchu, Mongolians, Tibetans and Uyghurs.  I think revisionist history now gives the stars political significance, with the big star representing the CP.

Sorry I have to disagree here:

 

The national Flag --- five stars DO NOT represent 5 races -- the big star represents Communist Party; the other 4 represent the 56 ethnic groups (including Han) in China that are led by the Party. The flag became national flag in 1949 when the CP took over China. This was designated as above; no new political significance was assigned to it as far as I recall.

[Mick]

Good to hear from you again Charlotte. You should come around more often.

[robhon]

I always tell Youyue that, if I work really hard, one day I will also be a "true Chinese."

 

Not sure what it means, though.

[tonado]

According to Dictionary.com, Chinese is:

 

A native or inhabitant of China.

A person of Chinese ancestry.

[tywy_99]

According to Dictionary.com, Chinese is:

 

A native or inhabitant of China.

A person of Chinese ancestry.

:::and that's true in the most strict sense of the word. To most Caucasians, Chinese is Chinese...but!...is,(or was) there a more purer race of chinese from long ago? I think this is what the old man was saying but he was way above me on this subject. The topic came up the other night and it sparked my interest so I thought I would post it here for any thoughts. The best I can remember is that the old man said this race came from the middle east part of China.

[Robert S.]

This guy was making some kind of distinction where he thought he was more pure than someone else who is also Han Chinese. This may or may not be true but it is not helpful to create divisions. I think China is cool the way they celebrate all their different ethnic peoples. They even have several different types of writing on their money. I understand the one baby policy does not apply for many of the small ethnic groups.

[se_lang]

I asked my MM and she had no clue what "True Chinese" was she said most are Han this we all knew already, I think it is like a "true American" who were the first here or there, they have absorbed so many groups into the "Chinese" culture who can really claim to be first? I see the US as China was over 5000 years ago.

[tonyontherock]

"True Chinese". I believe I know what he means. It is not about whether you are a Han or not. Not how many years you can trace back or the purity of your blood line. I could trace mine back to Han Dynasty, with pure blood of the Liu family. Yet it means nothing.

"True Chinese" when the old man speaks of it, he was referrring to those that keep the traditional value alive. For instance, in my blood line there was one divorce before me. The great-great grand pa and grandma separated in Mid-Ming dynasty about 7 hundred years ago.

Following the traditional values is what he was referring to. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case in China.

In every culture, the immigrants takes and keep the culture they had when they left the mother country. For some, it was 1900, for some it was the 80s. My friends and I always laments that the romantic spirits of the 80s were gone and there are no more "true chinese" left, while some who came in the 40s tell me that we kept little of the tradition.

[newman]

Once again I don't think "Google" disappointed me on this one. For true Chinese culture go to http://www.chikung.org.tw/etxt/q060.htm.