Published by The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, and they established a way to distinguish which groups would qualify among the hundreds applying for national minority status (44). The groups qualified if they could meet the Stalinist criteria of the “four commons.” The “four commons” were: a common language, locality, economy, and cultural makeup (44). Despite the fact that the Hui did not meet any of the criteria, they were among the first minorities to be recognized.
According to most Chinese publications Hui ethnic identification is similar to those of the Manchu and She minorities. They have lived for a long time among the Han majority and have lost their own language and cultural distinctions. The publications say that they once spoke a common language different from the Han, and because they have some cultural distinction, they are considered to be minorities according to the Stalinist criteria.
It is evident that there are more than just the Stalinist criteria that are taken into account with the recognition of the Hui. The Muslim people in China have their own views of what it means to be there as a Muslim. Hui ethnic identity has direct bearing on the boundaries of the social world they live in (82). The Hui practice strict ethnic endogamy and their ethnic identity is expressed through it (82). Ethnic identity is also often preserved through mate selection. Gender in Hui Muslim villages is also strongly influenced by ethnic and religious identities (83). Hui Muslims are considered to be very pure and superior to other groups in China.
Being a Muslim differs from being a Han person in many ways. Hui people’s social world is smaller than the Han world and is normally bound by the confines of the village. They have different customs from each other. The Hui are considered to be superior to the Han partly because they refuse to receive Han gifts, but they occupy a socially inferior position in the socioeconomic and ethnic context of China (57). The Han eat pork while the Hui do not. The Hui almost always practice strict ethnic endogamy which is a marriage in a particular group in accordance to custom or law. A Beijing Hui intellectual stated, “There is a “Great Wall” separating us Hui from the Han; we do not eat pork and we do not give them our women” (82).
The Hui are considered to be more pure than the Han. When Han come to their homes, Hui offer them tea from a separate set of cups than what the family uses. The Han who live within the eight mainly Hui teams of Chang Ying Village are the only Han that the Hui will allow to use their eating utensils. They do not want them to “contaminate” their eating utensils (57). Han can not offer the Hui food, but the Hui are able to offer them prepared dishes of lamb and beef, which also helps to make the Hui superior to the Han.
The Hui Muslim woman’s world is smaller and larger than that of a Han woman’s social world (83). Hui women are more connected to their village and to the larger world. Hui women are able to do business work. They are able to travel outside of their homes and they do not have to wear their veils outside of the village (86). Some Hui women are not considered to be pure. It is said that their blood is not pure because they carry Han blood in them. Their ancestors intermarried with the Han and brought in Han women, and therefore the women are not allowed to participate in public rituals and leadership in the more conservative Muslim areas (89). On the rare occasion that Hui men do bring in Han women into their culture, the women must go through a ritual cleansing by drinking soda water or teas.
There are some Hui that live in the city and they live a fairly different life from the rest of the Hui. They are concerned with finding a spouse, testing into the right school, and obtaining employment (132). Some of the Hui in urbanized areas are strongly similar to the Han. They are more secularized, rarely wear Muslim dress, and sometimes eat pork (132). They have basically ignored their ancestry. The Hui are no longer apprehensive in stating their ethnic heritage. The Hui are growing in population. The Han are becoming more interested in marrying minorities.
As you can see there are different criteria when it comes to being a Muslim minority in China. There are two different views. There are the views of the Chinese state (The People’s Republic of China), and those of the people. Although the Han are the majority of the people, the Hui are considered to be superior and more pure. They do not eat meat and they do not share their women with the Han.
