Distinguished Hakka People Worldwide (客家人天下)

Distinguished Hakka People Worldwide (客家人天下)
The Hakka (客家) people are a social, cultural and economic group within the Han people of China. They speak several variations of the Hakka dialect, including Meixian and Longchuan. The Hakka dialect spoken in Meixian is considered the standard form and can be transcribed into standard Chinese characters as well as other Chinese vernaculars. The Chinese characters for Hakka (客家) literally mean "guest families".

The Hakka people were forced to flee their homes in the war-torn Yellow River valley (Shanxi, Henan, Hubei and Anhui in north-central China) to seek refuge in southern China in five successive waves of migration at various stages between the 4th and 13th centuries AD.

The first migration during the 4th century at the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, when Hakka ancestors reached as far south as Hubei, south Henan, and central Jiangxi. By the late 9th and early 10th centuries, with the disorder created during the late Tang dynasty, the ancestors of the present-day Hakka moved farther south into Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. The third wave, which stretched from the beginning of the 12th century to the middle of the 17th, was caused by the exodus of the Southern Song dynasty and their supporters in a southward flight from the Mongol invasion. This dislodged people from Jiangxi and southwestern Fujian and forced them further into the northern and eastern quarters of Guangdong. By the end of the Yuan dynasty (1368), northern and eastern Guangdong were exclusively Hakka. The fourth wave, which lasted from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century, began with the Manchu conquest, and during the Qing dynasty, migration expanded into the central and coastal areas of Guangdong, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hunan, Taiwan, and southern Guizhou. By the time of the fifth wave, beginning in the middle of the 19th century, conflicts between the Hakka and the Yue increased. Triggered by population pressure, the Hakka-Punti (Yue called themselves Punti people, meaning local people in Cantonese dialect) Wars, and the large Hakka involvement in the Taiping Rebellion, the fifth wave of migration sent Hakka emigrants to seek better lives farther afield, to the southern part of Guangdong, Hainan Island, and overseas to Southeast Asia (Malaya and Borneo). The establishment of the People's Republic of China and China's announcement of the intent to reclaim Hong Kong in 1997 have created the sixth wave of migration, which has continued the flow of Hakka overseas to the United States, Australia, and Canada.

By the 20th century Hakka could be found on virtually every continent. Many of them have settled in Taiwan, Asia (India, Burma, Bangladesh), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and East Timor), North and South America (USA, Canada, Panama and Brazil), the Carribean (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago), Africa (South Africa and Mauritius), Australia and Europe (Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands).

The Hakka people have had a significant influence on the course of Chinese and world history. The Hakka have long played an important role in Chinese politics, despite their economic disadvantages. During the Qing dynasty, the Hakka fared well in the imperial examinations and ascended into the imperial bureaucracy. Today they are disproportionately well represented in the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). While they comprise of 3.7% of the population of the PRC, they represent a far greater proportion of government leaders. Among the most well-known Hakka political figures are Deng Xiaoping; Zhu De, the military commander during the Long March; Marshal Ye Jiangying, leader of the Peoples Liberation Army; and former Communist Party Secretary Hu Yaobang. Outside of the PRC, Hakka leaders include Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui; Singapore's Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong; Burma's Prime Minister Ne Win; and the governor-general of Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Solomon Hochoy. .

It was estimated that the total population of Hakka people in China was over 38 million in 1990, comprising approximately 3.7 percent of the total Chinese population. In 1992 the world population of the Hakka was approximately 75 million, increasing to about 80 million worldwide today.

Background music:
The Red Detachment of Women - Act IV performed by the Shanghai Ballet Orchestra (红色娘子军芭蕾舞)

For reference and more information on the Hakka people:
http://manmadewonders.tripod.com/hakka-people.html

History of Malaysia on video playlist: http://worldresources.tripod.com/video-malaysia01.html

History of the Hakka People:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=WgXxhNFLbkk

Chinese music playlist:
經典中國民歌 / 經典金曲精选:
http://worldresources.tripod.com/chinese-classical-music01.html

Видео Distinguished Hakka People Worldwide (客家人天下) канала Peter Tong