'Guest people' become hosts
The Hakka are a subgroup of the Han, who live predominantly in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian. Their ancestors are thought to have arrived from northern or central China centuries ago.
After conquering the six kingdoms and founding the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Emperor Ying Zheng, or the First Emperor, sent a million soldiers to claim territories in South China.
His empire was short-lived so instead of returning home the soldiers settled in the south. In the following centuries the soldiers' offspring, together with migrants from central China, formed their own culture. This group of Han people was called "Hakka", which literally means "guest people".
Today, there are 50 million Hakka living in southern China.
Due to their agrarian lifestyle, the Hakka have a unique architecture based on defense and communal living, and a hearty cuisine.
China Daily
(China Daily 01/10/2008 page19)
