RESEARCH ON THE FORMATION OF HAKKA IDENTITY AMONG MODERN HAKKA PUBLIC FIGURES

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Review of the life history of so called "Hakka" heroes in martial or political scene of early Modern China such as Sun Yat-sen, Chen Mingshu, and Chen Qiongming suggests that their identification as Hakka was merely a result of speculation made by some Hakka ideologues of later days rather than derived directly from their own articulation in their lifetime. Through the analysis of the formative process of discourse on their "Hakkaness", I found two patterns of association that were frequently followed by Hakka ideologues in their efforts to prove the Hakka origin of these heroes. One is the association based on the native place or the name of the prefecture where these heroes were born. Once they were identified as originated from a region containing some speakers of Hakka dialect, they were immediately classified as Hakka. Another pattern is the association based on the genealogical investigations which trace back their ancesty. If there found any slight possibility of genealogical connection to a Hakka family line, they were automatically treated as Hakka descendants. In both cases, it does not a matter how these persons identified themselves and used their ethnic label in their course of life. Native place and patrilineal descent were very essential attributes of a person in late imperial China. We can see that Hakka ideologues who aimed at praising and enhancing the ethnic "superiority" of Hakka invoked these traditional patterns very skillfully in making the "Hakkaness" of these public figures socio-culturally acceptable for other people.