25 Jun 09 About the Hakka Homeland, in Details

First of all I would like to mention I am writing this based on what I have learned via word of mouth, having visited Meizhou recently and having relatives from that area who are Hakka.

The Hakka people are quite unique in many ways, first of all their name means “guest” as they are a migratory people who almost one thousand years ago migrated (were exiled) from northern China about the time that Genghis Khan took over the region starting the Yuan Dynasty.

They were not exactly welcome when they arrived in their new homeland in Guangdong, so they were forced to move to the mountainous and hilly regions, many overseas to places such as Singapore (Lee Kwan Yew is Hakka). Their capital is Meizhou, a city in eastern Guangdong with a small population of five million (small when compared to bigger cities in China such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, etc.).

In the countryside in Hakka territory one will find that homes are a lot different than those of, say Shantou. The farm buildings are grouped together, sometimes in a circular formation that provide protection from outsiders. In fact, if one looks closely one will find holes just large enough to shoot from dotting around the outside of the fortifications. The farmers themselves are large square fields that typically yield rice. Unlike the farms in other parts of China one will not find as many small huts dotting the farmscape, instead you will find irrigation pools used for the important task of flooding the rice paddy and cooling down (one will often spot groups of young farmers taking a break in the pools. Yaks or water buffalo are very common, and are seen doing much of the work (tractors are virtually non-existent out here). When the rice is ready, one will not see water or a paddy but a field of something that looks like wheat.

In Hakka culture education is very important, but traditionally men were the only ones educated as the female’s primary role was to marry off into another family. Women also do a lot of working in this area, and while men are studying, the women are out in the fields working on the crops. It was amusing to see a woman riding a bike with a man sitting on the back holding an umbrella (there was no rain, but some Chinese are picky about not getting a tan).

In the city lots of people use tricycles to get around, and hire someone for a menial price to take them where they want to go. Unfortunately Meizhou is famous for dog meat, and one will often find signs displaying the “gou rou” characters. After a while one might also get tired of the Hakka dialect, as it has evolved from people yelling across the mountains to each other and still retains its sharp, noisy characteristics. However, Hakka people are generally more law abiding as their position as commonly not owning land has made them focus on education and many enter civil service.

Tags: China, Hakka, Meizhou