The concept of Zhongguoren and the political identities of ethnic minority people in contemporary China.

摘要

This dissertation, based on data collected in three cities in China, analyzes the political identities of the ethnic minorities in contemporary China. The author argues that the urbanized ethnic people strongly identified themselves with the state sponsored identity of Zhongguoren, which is a concept only newly emerged in China as a response to the Western and Japanese invasions since the late 19th century. The nature of this Zhongguoren identity is then further analyzed along both historical and statistical lines. Zhongguoren identity turns out to be an open, inclusive and multicultural one. This dissertation also locates education, urbanization, ethnic culture maintenance as prominent factors that helps the building of this Zhongguoren identity among ethnic minorities.