In the last hundred years or so before the founding of the PRC, regions in western China inhabited by various ethnic groups saw a steady influx of Western explorers, journalists, officials, missionaries, etc. They left behind a wealth of expedition reports, travelogues, and other accounts documenting local customs along with their observations.

Impressions: coexistence and integration

"The fixed population of Lha-Ssa consists of Thibetians, Pebouns, Katchis and Chinese (Han)," wrote French missionary Évariste Régis Huc when he entered Lhasa in 1846. In his travelogue, he described the diverse ethnic composition of Lhasa's residents and the bustling trade and religious activities within the city, which attracted a large number of visitors.

In her book The Call of China's Great North-West or Kansu and Beyond, British missionary Miss Mary Geraldine Guinness recorded, from a Christian perspective, the coexistence and interdependence of various ethnic groups such as Han, Hui, Tu, Sala, Tibetan, and Mongolian within the same geographical space. She described the close interactions between the Tibetan and Sala people, trade relations between Hui and other ethnic groups, and the proximity of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and Islamic mosques. She noted that "(the region is) still largely populated by Tibetans mingled with Moslems of various sects and races. Mongolians too are found in numbers along that Tibetan borderland."

During his travels, the British diplomat and scholar Reginald Fleming Johnston traversed the Tibetan-Yi Corridor (located between the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau), the Nanling Corridor (located at the junction of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces) and the Miaojiang Corridor (situated in the southwest of China, crossing Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guangxi).

His travelogue repeatedly mentions the peaceful relationships between different ethnic groups. In his book From Peking to Mandalay, for example, Johnston wrote, "The great majority of the inhabitants (in the town of Li-chiang) are of mixed race, the predominating types being Mo-so, Li-so, Lolo and Min-chia. There is also a pure Chinese (Han) element, which is gradually tending to increase." (The town of Li-chiang is present-day Lijiang, Yunnan Province.)

In his book Yunnan: The Link Between India and the Yangtze River, Englishman Henry Rodolph Davies documented that approximately one-third of the residents of the towns of Husa and Lasa, primarily inhabited by the Achang ethnic group, had Han or mixed Han ancestry. In his description, the chiefs in both places came from Han families whose ancestors had come from Chongqing Prefecture in eastern Sichuan about 400-500 years earlier; Han farming, handicrafts, and metallurgical techniques had also influenced the lifestyle of other ethnic groups: every inch of land was used for cultivation, and all irrigable land was used for growing rice; and most men worked as carpenters or blacksmiths during the winter and spring seasons.

The travelogue Kashgar, written by Russian military officer Chokan Valikhanov, documents the coexistence and integration of multiple ethnic groups in Kashgar, including Han, Uygur, Mongolian, Manchu, Xibe, Ewenki, Daur, and Hui. The book states that Manchus were either officials or soldiers, while some officials, merchants, and craftsmen came from the Han ethnic group, all of them originating in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. China's Muslims mostly came from Shaanxi, Gansu, or Sichuan, and they ran restaurants or traded in tea.

Western travelers also observed the interethnic language use in the ethnic regions of western China. Some languages had well-established writing systems, while others had not. Additionally, some ethnic groups spoke Chinese as their mother tongue. Reginald Fleming Johnston mentioned a guide in Tachienlu (now Kangding in Sichuan province) who was fluent in both Chinese and Tibetan languages. The guide's father was Han, and his mother was Tibetan. Johnston discovered that the Yi people in the Ganzi region exhibited many Tibetan characteristics. He was particularly sensitive to language and noted during his journey from Lijiang to Yongning that "most of the eastern Mo-so speak Chinese as well as their own language, which bears various resemblances to Lolo."

Some travelers also noted that the physical appearances of people from different ethnic groups, as well as their languages, were similar to those in the Central Plains, making it difficult to determine which ethnic group they belonged to. British journalist Edwin John Dingle, who hiked across China and documented his journey Across China on Foot, discovered in Yi villages that "there is little difference between the Han ren (Han people) and the tribesman."

Observations: shared heritage and mutual reliance

In the travelogues of Western visitors to China, cities like Lanzhou, Xining, Lhasa, Pu'er, and Dali are described as scenes of vibrant trade and commercial interactions between various ethnic groups.

For example, Johnston noted that as a significant town along the Ancient Tea Horse Road, Tachienlu witnessed trade between Han and Tibetan merchants. He also observed in Lijiang that "to a casual observer, the streets are not very unlike those of an ordinary town in China: the shops have much the same outward appearance, and the same charactered signboards hang above their doors."

Indian writer Sarat Chandra Das published a travelogue called Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet. According to him, "On both sides of the streets in Lhasa are shops run by local people and Han. Silk, porcelain, and brick tea are all displayed for sale."

French traveler Count De Lesdain recorded in his writings that Xining Prefecture, despite having a small population, was a melting pot of various ethnic groups. He noted that they crowded together, the naked shoulder of a Tibetan against the blue cloth of the Han, they discuss for an interminable time the price of a box of European matches.

Despite the invasion of foreign forces and the weakening of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) in the late 19th century, the western borderlands of China still appeared to be generally united. For example, the system of Resident Ministers in Xizang appointed by the central government was a political institution that all Westerners who were able to enter Xizang during those times would mention.

Indian writer Sarat Chandra Das also gained in-depth knowledge of the information transmission system between Lhasa and Beijing and wrote that "the route between Lhasa and Peking is divided into a hundred and twenty gya-tsug, or postal stages, of about 80 to 90 lebor each. This distance of nearly 10,000 lebor must be traversed in seventy-two days. Couriers are generally allowed a delay of up to five days, but if they exceed that they are punished. On occasions of very great importance and urgency, the time to Peking is a mere thirty-six days." This highlights the close connection between the central government and the local administration at that time.

Finnish explorer Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, after conducting research in Xinjiang, believed that the governance system of the Qing Dynasty preserved the previous political structure and took into consideration the political and social structures as well as religious beliefs of the ethnic groups. This approach was replicated in the governance of regions such as Xizang, Mongolia, and other areas.

From Western travel accounts, it can be observed that the ethnic groups in China showed a strong determination to resist imperialist aggression. In 1910, the so-called "Zhaotong Uprising" in Yunnan was essentially a patriotic movement led by multi-ethnic people against imperialism. At that time, British journalist Edwin J. Dingle recorded that "this additional tax was supposed to have been caused by the Europeans."

American journalist Edgar Snow, in his book Red Star Over China, observed, "Their (the CPC's) program had a distinct attraction, and (they had a) careful policy of respecting Moslem institutions..." He interviewed Hui Muslim soldiers who said, "The Han and the Moslems are brothers; we Moslems also have Han blood in us; we all belong to Ta Chung Kuo (China)."

Although there are cultural differences among China's various ethnic groups, there is a greater sense of commonality and interdependence. Johnston believed that Chinese Buddhism, in its own evolutionary process, absorbed many elements from Confucianism and Taoism. He noted, for example, in the P'u Hsien Pagoda of Mount Omei, "On the left side of the hall is an image of one of the favorite personages in the Chinese theogony - Ts'ai Shên, the 'God of Wealth.' This god is so popular in China that Buddhism could not afford to neglect him... The same may be said of Kuan Ti, the God of War, Lung Wang the Dragon Raja or Naga-king, and the San Kuan."

French missionary Évariste Régis Huc spent three months living in Ta'er Monastery in Qinghai Province. He noticed during the Butter Lamp Festival that the butter sculptures depicted figures from numerous Chinese ethnic groups. The festival attracted Tibetan, Mongolian, and Han participants.

Russian explorer Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, in his book Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto, wrote that he encountered followers from different ethnic groups freely practicing their religions at Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province. American explorer Joseph Rock documented the equal and closely connected relationships between Bai, Tibetan, and Naxi people. British missionary Miss Mary Geraldine Guinness noted a local saying, "The Hui people are relatives of the Han, and the Tibetans are uncles of the Sala," reflecting the integration and mutual recognition between different ethnic groups in China.

Inevitable stereotypes

These Western travelers, constrained by their restricted access and limited interactions with local ethnic groups, as well as language barriers, often recorded descriptions of physical appearances and character traits. Their accounts tend to exhibit individualization, novelty-seeking, and bias. Certain aspects of their narratives, whether overt or subtle, reflect cultural biases rooted in a Western-centric worldview.

French missionary Évariste Régis Huc had limited encounters with Tibetan people during his travels, and he found it difficult to comprehend the custom Tibetan women had at that time of applying black grease to their faces. However, he also recorded, "generosity and frankness enter largely into their character; brave in war, they face death fearlessly."

French writer Henri d'Orléans provided detailed descriptions of the clothing, hairstyles, and group dances of the Yi ethnic group. However, he consistently portrayed himself as a civilized person, while referring to the southwestern ethnicities as "less civilized." This attitude was a common stance among Westerners when encountering the "other" during that time.

Finnish explorer Mannerheim, in his travelogue Across Asia from West to East in 1906-1908, described the simple living conditions of the Uygur people. Russian explorer Chokan Valikhanov, on the other hand, had a general impression of the Uygur people as being cheerful and hospitable, but also adhering to numerous formalities and rituals.

The author is Han Xiaomei, professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Qinghai Minzu University.

Li Yilin /Editor    Zhang Rong /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Ren Qiang /Coordinator

Zhang Ying /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

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