The She people (;

She Chinese She or Shehua (, ''Shēhuà'', meaning 'She speech') is an unclassified Sinitic language spoken by the She people of Southeastern China. It is also called Shanha, San-hak () or Shanhahua (). She speakers are located mainly in Fujian and Zhejia ...

: ;

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

: ,

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

: ) are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. According to th
2021 China Statistical Yearbook
the total population of the She was 746,385, including 403,516 males and 342,869 females. The She are the largest ethnic minority in

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, and Jiangxi Provinces. They are also present in the provinces of

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

and

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. Some descendants of the She also exist amongst the Hakka minority in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Languages

Today, over 400,000 She people of

, and Jiangxi provinces speak

, an unclassified Chinese variety that has been heavily influenced by Hakka Chinese. There are approximately 1,200 She people in

province who speak a Hmong–Mien language called She, also called ''Ho Ne'' meaning " mountain people" (). Some said they were descendants of Dongyi, Nanman or Yue peoples. ''

'' () should not be confused with (), also known as Ho Ne, which is a Hmong-Mien language spoken in east-central

. She and Sheyu speakers have separate histories and identities, although both are officially classified by the Chinese government as She people. The Dongjia of Majiang County,

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

are also officially classified as She people, but speak a Western Hmongic language closely related to Chong'anjiang Miao ().

History

Some scholars believe that the birthplace of the She ethnic group may be Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山) in the north of Chao'an District, Chaozhou. The She people are some of the earliest known settlers of

; they are thought to have originally settled along the shallow shore for easier

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

access during the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

era. Eventually, after an influx of Yuet people moved south during the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

, serious competition between the two peoples for resources developed. From the time of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

on, waves of migrants from northern China have had a serious impact on the She people. Because they possessed superior tools and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, these migrants were able to displace the She and occupy the better land for farming. As a result of this, some of the She were forced to relocate into the hilly areas of the Jiangxi and

provinces. Following this relocation, the She people became hillside farmers. Their methods of farming included burning grasses on the slope, casting rice seeds on those embers and then harvesting the produce following the growth season. Some of the She people also participated in the production and trade of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, obtained from the

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

of local pools of salt water. Many conflicts took place between the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

and She peoples. For example, in one incident, She salt producers on Lantau Island in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

attacked the city of Canton in a revolt during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. During the Ming-Qing dynasties they moved into and settled Zhejiang's southern region and mountain districts in the Lower Yangtze region, after they left their homeland in Northern Fujian. It is theorized that the She were pushed out of their land by the Hakka, which caused them to move into Zhejiang.

PRC Autonomous Counties and Ethnic Townships

Zhejiang

Hangzhou

* Eshan She Ethnic Township () in Tonglu County

Quzhou

* Muchen She Ethnic Township () in Longyou County

Jinhua

* Shuiting She Ethnic Township () in Lanxi City * Liucheng She Ethnic Town () in Wuyi County

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

* Qingjie She Ethnic Township () in Pingyang County * Xikeng She Ethnic Town () in Wencheng County * Zhoushan She Ethnic Township () in Wencheng County * Fengyang She Ethnic Township () in Cangnan County * Dailing She Ethnic Township () in Cangnan County * Siqian She Ethnic Town () in Taishun County * Zhuli She Ethnic Township () in Taishun County

Lishui

* Jingning She Autonomous County () * Laozhu She Ethnic Town () in Liandu District * Lixin She Ethnic Township () in Liandu District * Wuxi She Ethnic Township () in Yunhe County * Anxi She Ethnic Township () in Yunhe County * Zhuyang She Ethnic Township () in Longquan City * Sanren She Ethnic Township () in Suichang County * Banqiao She Ethnic Township () in Songyang County

Anhui

Xuancheng

* Yunti She Ethnic Township () in Ningguo City

Fujian

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

* Xiaocang She Ethnic Township () in Lianjiang County * Huoko She Ethnic Township () in Luoyuan County

Ningde

* Muyun She Ethnic Township () in Fu'an City * Kangcuo She Ethnic Township () in Fu'an City * Banzhong She Ethnic Township () in Fu'an City * Xiamen She Ethnic Township () in Fuding City * Yantian She Ethnic Township () in Xiapu County * Shuimen She Ethnic Township () in Xiapu County * Chongru She Ethnic Township () in Xiapu County

Zhangzhou

* Longjiao She Ethnic Township () in Longhai City * Huxi She Ethnic Township () in Zhangpu County * Chiling She Ethnic Township () in Zhangpu County

Nanping

ShunChang County

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

Dehua County

Longyan

* Gongzhuang She Ethnic Township () in Shanghang County * Lufeng She Ethnic Township () in Shanghang County

Jiangxi

Shangrao

* Taiyuan She Ethnic Township () in Yanshan County * Huangbi She Ethnic Township () in Yanshan County

Yingtan

* Zhangping She Ethnic Township () in Guixi City

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

* Jinzhu She Ethnic Township () in Le'an County

Ganzhou

* Chitu She Ethnic Township () in Nankang City

Ji'an

* Donggu She Ethnic Township () in Qingyuan District * Longgang She Ethnic Township () in Yongfeng County * Jinping Ethnic Township () in Xiajiang County

Guangdong

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

* Zengcheng District

Heyuan

* Zhangxi She Ethnic Township () in Dongyuan County

Distribution of She people in China

The roughly 45,000 She living in Guizhou Province form a separate subgroup, the Dongjia (), who differ notably in culture from the She in other areas.

Provincial level

In a 2000 census, 709,592 She have been counted in China. ;Distribution of She people in China

District level

;Distribution of She people by district (as of 2000) Only values of 0.5% and greater have been considered.

Notes and references

* * www.zgshezu.com/

External links

Official Website of Jingning She Autonomous County

畲族网
{{authority control Ethnic groups in Fujian Zhejiang * Ethnic groups in Guizhou