Others No More: The Changing Representation of Non-Han Peoples in Chinese History Textbooks, 1951–2003

Abstract

This article analyzes the changes in the representation of non-Han peoples in textbooks of premodern Chinese history published in China since the establishment of the People's Republic. Whereas in the early 1950s, these peoples were treated as non-Chinese others and were even referred to as “foreigners,” by the beginning of the twenty-first century, they were totally incorporated into the Chinese historical self through a new narrative claiming that they had always been Chinese. Simultaneously, the textbooks exhibit a clear shift from a Han-exclusivist vision of Chinese history to a more inclusive and multi-ethnic one. Based on an analysis of the content, language, and organization of textbooks and other related materials, the article proposes that although the incorporation of non-Han peoples into the Chinese historical subject was gradual, this process accelerated dramatically as a result of a planned reform launched in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The article explains the reasons for the reform and its timing, and examines its implications for the Chinese nation-state and China's ethnic minorities.

The power of knowledge: a critical analysis of the depiction of ethnic minorities in China’s elementary textbooks

“…Baranovitch's (2010) found the same tendencies in his analysis of Chinese high school history textbooks. In addition, the interethnic contact is always constructed from the perspective of the Han: the Han protagonist's feelings, actions, and motivations are presented, while nothing is mentioned about the ethnic minorities' experiences or perceptions of such contact or the 'help' from the Han.…”

“…In the PRC's official discourse, 'Chinese Nation' is a highly politicized concept that is frequently interpreted as a historic product formed over 5000 years of 'ethnic merging' of many ethnic groups that have been living or lived in the current territory of China (Leibold 2006;Baranovitch 2010). Fei Xiaotong, the pioneering Chinese sociologist and anthropologist, describes this unity out of diversity of the Chinese Nation as 'diversity in unity' (Wan 2004;Postiglione 2009).…”

Us and Them: The Portrayal of Malaysians and British in Malaysian History Textbooks

“…In Baranovitch (2010) and Cruz (2002), the non-Han in China and Latin Americans in the United States of America respectively are portrayed negatively although this has changed in China (Baranovitch, 2010). This negative portrayal was evident in the textbook's image and language.…”

Moon Over the Eastern Mountain: Constructing the Han Chinese Imagination of Modern Tibet

“…Minorities were the subject of far greater official attention, but the narrative of their relationship with Han Chinese also shifted from an exclusive monotonic discourse to a more inclusive and multiethnic one. For example, in a high school history textbook published in 1956 by People's Education Press, non‐Han people are treated as non‐Chinese others and even referred to as “foreigners.” But in the 2003 version, non‐Han people are incorporated into the Chinese historical self in a new narrative claiming that they had always been Chinese (Baranovitch). In other words, “Han perspectives on non‐Han people were paradoxically both oppositional and incorporative as the latter came to be partially constitutive of what was seen as the Chinese people” (Schein 71).…”