Migration and ethnicity in Chinese history: Hakkas, Pengmin, and their neighbors / Sow-Theng Leong ; edited by Tim Wright, with an introduction and maps by G. William Skinner.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [203]-219) and index.

This book analyzes the emergence of ethnic consciousness among Hakka-speaking people in late imperial China in the context of their migrations in search of economic opportunities. It poses three central questions: What determined the temporal and geographic pattern of Hakka and Pengmin (a largely Hakka-speaking people) migration in this era? In what circumstances and over what issues did ethnic conflict emerge? How did the Chinese state react to the phenomena of migration and ethnic conflict?

The origins and historiography of the Hakkas -- Hakka migrations in Lingnan and the southeast coast -- The formation of the Hakka ethos in the nineteenth century -- Ethnicity and nationalism in the twentieth century -- The Pengmin and government policies toward migration -- Pengmin migration to the Gan Yangzi region -- Ethnic conflict in the Gan Yangzi -- Environmental degradation: tbe Pengmin in the Lower Yangzi -- Frontier society: the Pengmin in the Hanshui Basin.