Free In Precipitation: Identity And Change Of Urban Hui Perspective

The Hui Nationality is an ethnic minoriy with a biggest population of almost 10 millions in China, which formed the Hui communities in most cities in China in the past several centuries. These traditional communities are facing the same destiny and theme under the background of lash of urban modernization. Hui people can be an example and perspective to observe identity, adaptation and co-operation of ethnic minorities because of wide-spread population all over China mainly in cities and towns, active reaction with mainstream, typical religion and lifestyle different with the secular society.Beijing is the Capital and one of most important political and culture metropolises of China with the multi-culture of Chinese ethnic groups. Beijing is also a city with its residents of different 56 Chinese ethnic groups especially nearly 300,000 Hui people living all around the City. Comparing to Beijing, Lanzhou is still a developing city while it is a center of relatively poor and backward northwest China. Ethnicity and religions in northwest China is complicated and diverse. A lot of people here are affected with dominant Islam culture and a half of population of Hui people live in northwest China, in consequence, Lanzhou remains most typical culture of Hui-people and it has some sameness and difference with the Hui-people in Beijing.Identity and culture transfer are two important indexes in researching ethnic groups and identity of Hui people is extremely complicated because of the relationships among nation, religion and ethnic groups. Considering several viewpoint of identity for Hui people, evidence and psychological index for supporting it, identity will become more subjective and joint-point of multi-ethnicity society just like an invisible net in the trend of dispersion. Although the population of ethnic minorities has been becoming more and more in the past many years, Hui people always have more different communities than any other Chinese ethnic minorities, their identity is psychological index of unique Jammat which based on the education zone and community, Jammat has formed its net-work based on mobile lifestyle. Identity has decreased especially for young generation in modernization and urbanization and it has potential to transfer from relationship of inter-ethnicity to relationship of inter-communities. Identity confused by religion and ethnic groups has replaced by identity for ethnicity absolutely. It is possible that identity will change from ethnicity to community with a shock of multi-culture in urban area.Culture transfer is main method of re-shape residents. Urban Hui people is always adjusting and melting actively to the social life. Past thirty years which carry out Opening and Reforming policy is the fastest periods of the history of Chinese society, it is the fastest period of development of Hui culture than ever too. Loose of separate system of urban city and countryside, transformation of Planning Economy to Market Economy, progress of ideology results in changes in the living of Hui community. Some change has no difference with the other ethnic groups, some of it has effect of ethnic background, such as decrease, collapse and rebuilt of Jammat, weakening ethnic boundary of marriage, replacement of religious education by national education.Identity is different with culture transfer but has relationship with it, so they are not isolated with each other. Identity can make ethnic groups unite closely, meanwhile culture transfer also decrease it. If ethnic culture is destroying by an attack of dominant culture, it will affect feeling of ethnic group members and it also resulting of missing of belongings and disorder of culture transfer, so multi-culture is more and more important in urban cities in a globalization and need to be protected. Identity is just like a valve in the process of culture transfer. There is no any ossified and closed identity, so we should research the Hui people in a flexible way. Hui people have kept their traditional communities and participated in the social life actively according to philosophy of Islam, and adjust the social changes from time to time. Identity and culture transfer are in their balance. Even if the religious ideology of young generation are weaker, original business structure, honesty characteristic and harmony value which based on Jammat are all kept until now, Hui people also have special culture in different areas.Hui people in urban cities is a sample of urbanization of Chinese ethnic minorities, they keep their characteristic basically and interact frequently with the society mainstream as well as contribute with multi-culture in urban area. Urban Hui people adjust the environment quickly and have made mature and suitable brotherhood with Han people because of contacting each other for a long time. This is harmony in traditional Chinese and Islam culture to the real life. The relationship between individuals is more likely relationship between friends, colleagues and neighbors not inter-ethnicity. It is possible to transfer traditional culture to modern culture with an active reaction with society main-stream. The trend of development must be multi-culture.It is necessary to research adjustment of Hui people in order to solve the problem of melting with different ethnic groups in urban life, so study for mobility and adjustment of Hui people is very meaningful to deal with the issue of getting on well with different ethnic groups in common ways. The value of respecting differences and embracing diversity and the philosophy of harmony will become more and more important besides economics, culture and sociology part of research. The secret of Hui people is that melting and adjusting the surrounding flexible though a investment of author in Lanzhou and Beijing for more than two years, that is why identity and sub-society unit of Hui people do not missing. Hui people have insisted on organic livelihood and life style of always melting in society but keeping their tradition for over 1000 years and they will continue in the following future years. The organic system of harmony is combined with consolidation and has consanguinity and culture tie with the rest of society. In a sentence, Hui people is a nationality combined with Islam which originated with ancient Arab and Chinese culture in ancient China, Hui culture is one part of Chinese culture integrated with cultures of all ethnic groups in China. Hui community is always playing an active role in economic chain in countryside and urban cities and precedent sample of respecting difference and embracing diversity in reality.