Hakka Heritage and Future in the Electronic Age

(A narrative accompanying the slides presented at the Toronto Hakka Conference 2000)

Siu-Leung Lee

1. Hakka Culture origin – The different theories about the origin of Hakka as Han, Xiongnu, Xianbei, She, Miao, Yao, could all be true as Hakka people have migrated throughout China in more than 2000 years since Qin dynasty. I believe the first ones to move from central China to the south should be the 50,000 (?) Qin soldiers and 30,000 women ordered to settle in Guangdong, near the north Pearl River. Inter-ethnic marriages with the locals have made the Hakkas a very diversified group. Just look at the facial and physical features of the participants of the Hakka Conference. There are few similarities among all of us.
2. The next few slides (#4-12) summarize the history of various migrations during different periods. The information is mostly summarized after Luo Xianglin’s research.
3. Slides #13-16 – distribution of Hakka people in China and the world. The statistics taken from different sources may vary significantly because the definition of Hakka can be obscured by marriage and assimilation with local cultures on new settlements. We should note that more than 80% of the Hakkas who are still speaking the dialect/language are in China.
4. Hakkas were from the Yellow River territory, if we agree with Luo’s research, and there is evidence to demonstrate the association. So we should look at how our culture developed in this area in ancient time. Slide #17 shows the various excavated sites dated to Neolithic era. Many of the Chinese legends we hear today can find supports from these archaeological sites. The things to note is there were multiple centers of civilization developed more or less independent of each other but eventually merged together to form the integrated Chinese culture.
5. Slide #18 shows a recent theory about the origin and migration of humankind from Africa to the rest of the world. (Should we call them the earliest “Hakka”?) The interesting part is what happened around 10,000 years ago in where China is today. A rich culture started to develop and influence a greater part of Asia and the world.
6. Slides #19-30 depict some of the possible links of Chinese culture to the “new world”. Some of these slides are quite controversial and involve very bold assumptions. However, the evidence seems more than coincidental.
1. #21 Terraced agriculture is found in Yellow River area, Hakka villages and Machu Pichu, Peru.  This type of farming is seldom seen in other cultures.
2. #22 Pyramids are not the monopoly of Egypt. Chinese emperors have built quite of few of them, so have the native Americans in North America (e.g. Cahokia near St. Louis) and Central America (Chitchen Itza,Teotihuacan).
3. #23 A very intriguing discovery of a 9000-year old flute found in Henan province sheds some light on how advanced the Chinese culture was. Henan is called Zhongzhou (the midland) and Hakkas are often called Zhongzhou people. The flutes made from deer bones are still playable and tonally correct to modern standards. It shows that our ancestors had a good life and leisure time to explore entertainments.  To drill the holes on bones accurately to include the musical scale of our time is an amazing development.
4. Slide #24 shows another intriguing fact that visualizing a “rabbit” in the moon is shared by Chinese legend and Mayan legend. Out of the thousands of natural objects of our imagination, this can hardly be coincidental unless there was a link between the two cultures.
5. Slide #25 The worship of serpents among Ohio Hopewells and Mayans, and worship of dragon among Chinese is strikingly similar. Note the Mayan ‘serpents’ have lion manes just like the Chinese dragon, and the Hopewell serpent has a pearl in front of the mouth, the same way presented in Chinese designs.
6. Slide #26-27 are the most fascinating and puzzling ones. In La Venta, Mexico, where Olmec relics are located, a group of jade figurines wearing tall hats are found to gather around a number of steles. There are inscriptions on the steles that look awfully similar to the oracle writing of Shang dynasty. What is more intriguing is if the interpretation is correct for the inscription, it makes sense in the Chinese language!
7. Slide 28-29. Mayans and Chinese cultures share the love of jade. The custom of placing a jade mask on the deceased king and nobleman is shared by both cultures. Carving and drilling jade requires tools of high precision and extra strength since jade is a mineral second in hardness to diamond.
8. Slide #30 there are native American words reminiscent of the Chinese language. “Ho” is a river in the Olympic peninsula of Washington state. “Hopi” is the name of an Arizona tribe which named their tribe after the meaning “peace”. The Haida word “totem” for a monstrous animal carved on a pole sounds the same as “totim”, the animal on most bronze vessels in Shang and Zhou dynasties.
7. Chinese culture has some unique characteristics and contributions to the civilization of humankind.  There are many more that can be fit on this slide #31.
8. Chinese culture has strong influences on the neighboring countries in Asia. Japan preserves much of the Tang dynasty culture.  There are many examples that one can discover. I will leave this to the reader to discover.
9. Slide #33 Today’s Los Angeles is used an example of rapid demographic changes and cultural changes. A culture can change drastically as the demographic changes. When Hakkas moved from one place to another, they brought their culture to the new settlement and absorb the cultures of the locals.  From this a polychromatic culture is evolved.
10. Sllide#34 Due to the constant migration of the Hakka people, we have developed certain personalities. Emphasis on education and preservation of our heritage are two most important characteristics. Hakka people have to be entrepreneurial, persevering and adaptive to new environments. Solidarity among us is also essential for survival.
11. Slide#35. Such personalities have brought us many politicians, military strategists, writers, merchants, and artists among the Hakka people. Only a few of these great people are shown. 
12. Slide #36-39. The Internet has brought some new meaning to migration. Now migration today is instantaneous, done by the click of a mouse. The world is getting smaller everyday. For Hakka culture to survive and thrive, we need to be economically successful and competitive.  Our culture would have to be truly beneficial to other people and not only to those speaking the same dialect. We know genetics cannot define Hakka any more. It is in fact a good thing to happen that our culture can live among others who are not conventionally defined as Hakkas. We will have more pride to consider ourselves as Chinese than just Hakka. Think of us Hakkas as diplomats of Chinese culture. Sharing it with all will broaden our horizon. Be more outward looking and inclusive. We will only be accepted by others if we accept others. There are also a lot to learn from others. We Hakkas have been doing that along the migration routes, incorporating new cultures to our own. After we are all guests to this world. 

The following are some of my humble views of what a Hakka Chinese should be or do: