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colonised by ethnic Han Chinese. It was occupied during the reign of Han Wu Di, a century or more before the Christian era, albeit for centuries merely in pockets around the seaboard with the non-Han ethnic groups, mostly Li and Miao, having been pushed back into the hinterland, the central mountainous area,
Being the southern limit of China the island of Hainan is semi-tropical with early settlers from the Chinese mainland tending to be involuntary settlers, not necessarily outlaws or banished political exiles but colonists despatched by the government who intermarried with the aboriginal Li. Ethnically the Han Chinese stock, referred to as Hainanese for Hoilam in Hainanese], came largely from the province of Fujian, speaking Qiongwen [commonly called Hainanese] a sub-group of Minnan3, though there are also many Cantonese and Hakka Han Chinese within the population and even pockets of pure Cantonese or Hakka Chinese. The result of the hotchpotch of immigration over the centuries is referred to as a whole as Hainanese, and their culture and social mores reflect elements from all of their original ethnic groups. Hainanese people, as would be expected, cannot be differentiated by foreigners from other Han Chinese. However, the Cantonese, the Chaozhou and Fujian Han Chinese are never slow to point a finger at the Hainanese who they claim to be clannish, insular and very suspicious people. Many go as far as to claim that they are slow, dim-witted and gullible, Certainly, they are different though to a non-Chinese the difference is not immediately apparent. My experience is that they are not only friendly but extremely welcoming to foreigners, and especially diligent as house-servants.
Hot and remote, it was pioneer frontier territory - far from the capital and major cities, used during dynastic times as a penal colony or at least a refuge for political exile for Chinese officials, a backward area with agriculture and fisheries as the only form of subsistence. The first official was exiled there during the Han, about the time of Christ, though the peak periods of such exiles were during the Song and Ming dynasties, with some like Hai Rui, Su Dongbo and Cao Yu, being renowned throughout China. Fortuitously their presence on the island accelerated the development of cultural life, and when joined by their families and entourages, they left their mark on the culture of Hainan,
Although there are guide and travel books about most areas of
44
colonised by ethnic Han Chinese. It was occupied during the reign of Han Wu Di, a century or more before the Christian era, albeit for centuries merely in pockets around the seaboard with the non-Han ethnic groups, mostly Li and Miao, having been pushed back into the hinterland, the central mountainous area,
Being the southern limit of China the island of Hainan is semi- tropical with early settlers from the Chinese mainland tending to be involuntary settlers, not necessarily outlaws or banished political exiles but colonists despatched by the government who intermarried with the aboriginal Li. Ethnically the Han Chinese stock, referred to as Hainanese for Hoilam in Hainanese], came largely from the province of Fujian, speaking Qiongwen [commonly called Hainanese] a sub-group of Minnan3, though there are also many Cantonese and Hakka Han Chinese within the population and even pockets of pure Cantonese or Hakka Chinese. The result of the hotchpotch of immigration over the centuries is referred to as a whole as Hainanese, and their culture and social mores reflect elements from all of their original ethnic groups. Hainanese people, as would be expected, cannot be differentiated by foreigners from other Han Chinese. However, the Cantonese, the Chaozhou and Fujian Han Chinese are never slow to point a finger at the Hainanese who they claim to be clannish, insular and very suspicious people. Many go as far as to claim that they are slow, dim-witted and gullible, Certainly, they are different though to a non-Chinese the difference is not immediately apparent. My experience is that they are not only friendly but extremely welcoming to foreigners, and especially diligent as house-servants.
Hot and remote, it was pioneer frontier territory - far from the capital and major cities, used during dynastic times as a penal colony or at least a refuge for political exile for Chinese officials, a backward area with agriculture and fisheries as the only form of subsistence. The first official was exiled there during the Han, about the time of Christ, though the peak periods of such exiles were during the Song and Ming dynasties, with some like Hai Rui, Su Dongbo and Cao Yu, being renowned throughout China. Fortuitously their presence on the island accelerated the development of cultural life, and when joined by their families and entourages, they left their mark on the culture of Hainan,
Although there are guide and travel books about most areas of
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