Abstract:
This paper examines Miao identity and Miao ethnic relations through the biography of Han Jie (韩杰), a native missionary who was instrumental in setting up educational institutions for the Miao minority during the period of the Republic of China. Han Jie belonged to the Flower Miao, a sub-group of the Miao in southwest China. Flower Miao identity arose through a history of migrations whereby the Miao fled from oppression and problematic relations with their feudal overlords. When foreign missionaries began to evangelize among the Miao in the early twentieth century, they emphasized education and set up numerous schools to teach literacy. Learning literacy was not just an educational achievement, it allowed the Miao to imagine that they could have a better future and be more than just poor farmers. Han Jie belonged to the first generation of graduates of Miao Christian schools, and he went on to set up more schools in remote areas, thus spreading literacy among poor Miao. Han Jie’s insight was that the Miao people needed an independent, self-reliant church. Accordingly he poured his energy into increasing the sense of autonomy among the Flower Miao through evangelization and education. I argue that the history of religious proselytization transformed the Miao, their relations with their church ultimately determining their relations with the Chinese state as well. Thus Christian evangelization played a pivotal role in shaping Miao identity under the Nationalist regime of the Republic of China.