|
Han Chinese |
| People Group: |
Han Chinese
Cantonese |
 |
 |
| Location: |
Cambodia |
| Population: |
152,000 |
| Religion: |
Ethnic Religion |
| % Christian: |
1.0% |
| % Evangelical: |
0.40% |
| Ministry
Resources: |
Groups of Churches,
Bible, Audio New Testament |
|
|
Total People Group
Population: |
73,448,000 |
Other countries People
Group Linked to: |
Laos,
Vietnam |
____________________________________________________________ |
|
Additional Information:
Identity
 Although
the Cantonese today proudly consider themselves part of the Han Chinese
race, one ethnohistorian has concluded, "The ethnic origins of the
ancient Yue people ... may have been Tai, but with a sizable Miao-Yao
minority in the hills. The ancient Yue language was definitely not
Sinitic. It is estimated that the population of Guangdong was less than
30 percent Sinitic in 1080."
Language
The more than 30 Han Chinese language groups described in this book are
considered by linguists to be mutually unintelligible languages. They
are not merely dialects of the same language. Cantonese contains up to
nine tones - compared to the national language, Mandarin, which has only
four. Although they speak different languages and dialects, all Chinese
people in China use the same written script.
History
The large southern city of Guangzhou -
which has been continually inhabited for 2,200 years - has always been
the center of Cantonese civilization. In the 33rd year of the reign of
Emperor Qin Shihuang (214 BC), the Nanhai Prefecture was established in
today's Guangzhou. Large numbers of Han flooded into the area. Guangzhou
became home to large numbers of foreign merchants in the ninth century
until the T'ang emperors lost control of it in AD 878. An Arab traveler
reported that "a hundred and twenty thousand Muslims, Jews, Christians
and Zoroastrians were slaughtered [in Guangzhou]."
Customs
The Chinese have a saying that to be happy in this life one must be born
in Suzhou, live in Guangzhou, and die at Suzhou, "for in the first are
the handsomest people, in the second the richest luxuries, and in the
third the best coffins."
Religion
Throughout the Communist era the Cantonese have continued to be the most
openly religious of all Chinese. Most homes in Guangdong Province have
spirit altars. The Cantonese also zealously observe Daoist and Buddhist
festivals.
Christianity
In September 1807 Robert Morrison landed in Guangzhou. A new era of
Protestant missions began in China. Seven years later he baptized his
first convert, "At a stream of water issuing from the foot of a lofty
hill, far away from human observation. May he be the first-fruits of a
great harvest." Today there are at least 1.2 million Cantonese
Christians in China. Guangdong contains at least 200,000 Protestants and
110,000 Catholics, while heavily evangelized Hong Kong numbers 552,000
Protestants and 312,000
Catholics.
Back to People
Group Listing
|
