Related News
Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Music, pickled food part of identity
Print Edition
The famous folk song “Arirang” can be heard not only in Korea, but also in northeastern China as well, since groups of people crossed the border hundreds of years ago and formed an ethnic group in China.
The Chaoxian ethnic group in China, also known as the Korean ethnic group, has a population of 1,830,929, according to the census taken in 2010. They live mainly in northeast Chinese areas such as Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, but are also found in areas like the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, Beijing and Xi’an.
The Chaoxian people living in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province speak and write in Korean while those living in other parts of China use Chinese more often. Most Chaoxian people in China can speak both Korean and Chinese.
The origin of the Korean ethnic group in China can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), according to the national census in 1982. Since Korea borders China, some Korean peasants fled from oppressive feudal landlords to China from time to time. Especially following a severe famine in the northern part of Korea in 1869, they settled in large numbers in the Yanbian area in China. Another wave of migration happened in the early 20th century when Japan annexed Korea and drove many peasants off the land. Many of them settled in China. The immigrants gradually developing their own customs and evolving into a Chinese ethnic group.
As a group, they do not follow a particular religion. Some are atheists, while others believe in Buddhism or Christianity.
Ethnic Koreans are often known as the “people in white” because of their preference of that color for their traditional dresses. Men traditionally wear short jackets fastened on the right, silk waistcoats and baggy trousers fastened at the ankles, as well as high-crowned black hats when out in public. Women’s traditional dress includes voluminous skirts and a tight jacket that reaches below the armpits with loose sleeves. The skirts are usually of bright colors.
Rice is the group’s staple food, while they are also fond of beef, chicken, seafood and dog meat.
Kimchi — spiced pickled vegetables — plays a crucially important role in ethnic Koreans’ food culture. They are indispensable to almost every meal for most of them. Many people of Korean ethnicity start making kimchi every winter when cabbage — the most common ingredient — matures, and the pickled vegetables will be eaten at almost every meal.
They believe that the pickled vegetables not only provide nutrition but also acts as a tonic. Kimchi is said to improve digestion, dissolve fat and relieve hangovers.
Dagao (sticky rice cakes) made of glutinous rice or millet is one of the Chaoxian people’s favorite traditional foods. The sticky rice has to be washed and soaked thoroughly before being cooked in a steamer. Then, the cooked rice should be put on a flagstone and pounded thoroughly with wooden hammers. Cakes made with this rice can be dipping into soybean flour and sugar when eaten to add the final, flavorful touch.
Other foods like sponge cake, cold noodles and capsicum are also very popular.
The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is called the “home of singing and dancing” because of the ethnic Koreans’ musical tradition. Korean songs are usually sweet, cheerful and forthright, though the best known, “Arirang,” considered an unofficial anthem, is a tragic song of separation and lost love. Dances like the “happy farmer dance,” “dance with fans in hands” and “long drum dance” are among the best-known traditional dances of the group.
The long drum is a traditional musical instrument of ethnic Koreans, with the two ends having different pitches. The dancer beats the high-pitched side with a long whip, and beats the low-pitched side with the other hand while dancing. Beautiful movements and postures also are part of the dance.
Ethnic Korean men take pride in being good at wrestling and football, while women are fond of the springboard and swing. There are even swing competitions. The woman who most often touches a bell, fixed at a high place, with her toes while swinging wins the game.
The Chaoxian people consider the Spring, Lantern, Cold Food, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn festivals as their most important celebrations. They are on the same days as those in Han culture, but they have their own characteristics. They eat sticky rice cakes and drink a wine similar to Chinese tusu wine on the New Year, drink “ear sharpening wine” and eat “herb meals” on the Lantern Festival, hold swing and ethnic dance contests for Dragon Boat Festival, and pay respects to ancestors on Mid-Autumn Festival.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
