Associate Prof. Dr. BUI XUAN DINH
Ethnologist
The Hoa (Chinese), which belongs to the Sino and Tibeto-Burman language group, is the 7th largest ethnic minority group in Vietnam with a population of 862,000.
The Hoa consists of many groups with different names, languages, customs and times of immigration into Vietnam. The largest of all is Hoa, who speaks Pac Va (a language spoken in Guangdong province of China) and lives on farming in northern Vietnam. Those living in urban areas call themselves Han (Sino).
Other groups include Khach (Khach gia), which immigrated from Guangdong to Vietnam in mid 19th century, Ngai, which came from Fangcheng district (Guangdong) to northern mountainous provinces, and Liem Chau, Dan and Xin.
Hoa people immigrated into Vietnam in different times for several reasons. A segment was Hoa mandarins (and their descendants) who came to Vietnam under invasion policies of China’s feudal regime. A majority of them were farmers, artisans and merchants who migrated into Vietnam to earn a living. Others were Hoa mandarins or rebels who opposed their ruling regimes and absconded to avoid revenge.
The Hoa often immigrated into Vietnam in groups which came from the same locality in China (such as Guangdong, Fujian and Guizhou). Since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the Hoa came to Vietnam, setting up their own villages, which were called Ming Huong. Those setting up such villages were called Ming Huong ancient sages.
Each Hoa community founded a bang (colony) such as Guangdong, Fujian and Guizhou. Each bang, which had a head to deal with Vietnam’s feudal government, had a book to record its households.
Hoa people were originally rice growers, but did different jobs when moving to Vietnam.
A segment, mostly in northern mountainous provinces, lived on farming in combination with handicraft making (such as pottery in Quang Ninh province). Some in coastal and island areas lived on fishing, salt-making or seafood processing. Hoa people in urban centers run businesses and did handicraft.
In big cities, Hoa people often live in separate areas, particularly main streets. Hoa-owned shops have their own style with red-lacquered and gold-trimmed signs and cellophane lanterns hung outside.
Hoa society saw a wide gap. Under the French and Vietnamese puppet military regimes, a segment of Hoa people who lived in big cities (Sai Gon, Hanoi and Hai Phong) became industrial and commercial bourgeois, owning hotels and big firms. Some held monopoly to trade in cereals, motorbike parts and forest products. They became compradors whose benefits were closely linked with the colonial regime, using money for political purposes and gaining socio-political powers to get rich against benefits of their poor compatriots.
The Hoa lives in small patriarchal families with two generations. Before 1954, there were big families with four generations living together, which were regarded happy and good families. Deeply influenced by Confucianism, Hoa families were highly patriarchal where relations between husbands and wives and between parents and children are highly tyrannic. Men were highly valued as a result of gender discrimination. The oldest son in a family often received more inheritance while daughters got nothing.
Hoa people have family names like the Viet. Each family line is a blood community under the nine-generation regime where members of five consecutive generations are not allowed to marry one another.
With a strong sense of nationality, Hoa people still preserve their original cultural traits which can be seen their culinary which attaches importance to food seasoning. Fried rice, porridge, won tou and dumpling are typical Hoa food. Their drinks of tea are not only for refreshing but also for treating diseases.
Clubhouses with sophisticated architecture, another typical cultural trait of the Hoa, are for social gatherings and rituals of the Hoa in each locality. They also have pagodas, communal houses and temples to worship different deities.
Hoa people attach importance to worshiping ancestors, the god of earth and different spirits and deities as they believe that every thing and creature has a soul.
Deeply influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, Hoa people worship the gods of these religions. They also worship other spirits such as Tu vi Thanh nuong (a queen and her three daughters in the Tong dynasty who were believed to die at sea when absconding to the south and become gods), Thien Hau (god of water), Quan Cong (who symbolized manliness) and Than tai (deity of prosperity).
Hoa people are also known for their stage performances, lantern festival, lion dances and other festivals (lunar new year and the 15th of the first lunar month). A popular folklore performance is sang co (nightingale singing), a kind of responsive singing between boys and girls to praise life, labor and love. Words of these songs were recorded in books passed from one generation to another. During festivals and weddings, young people sing sang co throughout the night.
The Hoa, together with the Viet and other ethnic minority groups, reclaimed land and fought to protect the fatherland of Vietnam. A segment of Hoa people became Vietnamese in terms of lifestyle and culture. Some were honored for their contributions to the country such as Mac Cuu, who reclaimed the land of Ha Tien in the late 17th century, Trinh Hoai Duc, the author of Gia Dinh thanh thong chi (chronicle of Gia Dinh city, a book on the southern region written with the author’s pride for being Vietnamese and love for the country), and Si Nhiep, who was regarded the forefather of learning of Vietnam.-