She people


The She people are an ethnic group native to southern China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
According to the 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, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces. They are also present in the provinces of Anhui and Guangdong. Some descendants of the She also exist amongst the Hakka minority in Taiwan.

Languages

Today, over 400,000 She people of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces speak She Chinese, an unclassified Chinese variety that has been heavily influenced by Hakka Chinese.
There are approximately 1,200 She people in Guangdong province who speak a Hmong–Mien language called She, which is also called Ho Ne meaning "mountain people". Some say they are descendants of the Dongyi, Nanman, or Yue peoples.
She Chinese should not be confused with She. She Chinese and Ho Ne speakers have separate histories and identities, although both are officially classified by the Chinese government as She people. The Dongjia of Majiang County, Guizhou 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 in the north of Chao'an District, Chaozhou. The She people are some of the earliest known settlers of Guangdong; they are thought to have originally settled along the shallow shore for easier fishing access during the Neolithic era. Eventually, after an influx of Yue people moved south during the Warring States period, serious competition between the two peoples for resources developed.
From the time of the Qin dynasty on, waves of migrants from northern China have had a serious impact on the She people. Because they possessed superior tools and technology, 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 Fujian 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, obtained from the evaporation of local pools of salt water.
Many conflicts took place between the Han Chinese and She peoples. For example, in one incident, She salt producers on Lantau Island in Hong Kong attacked the city of Canton in a revolt during the Song dynasty.
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.

Autonomous counties and ethnic townships in China

Zhejiang

[Hangzhou]

[Xuancheng]

[Fuzhou]

[Shangrao]

[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
Administrative divisionNumber of ShePercentage of all She in China
Fujian375,19352.87%
Zhejiang170,99324.1%
Jiangxi77,65010.94%
Guizhou44,9266.33%
Guangdong28,0533.95%
Hunan2,8910.41%
Hubei2,5230.36%
Anhui1,5630.22%
Other Provinces5,8000.82%

District level

;Distribution of She people by district
Only values of 0.5% and greater have been considered.
ProvincePrefecture-level divisionCounty-level divisionNumber of SheRelative percentage of all She in China
FujianNingdeFu'an59,9318.45%
GuizhouQiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous PrefectureMajiang County35,4224.99%
FujianNingdeXiapu County35,0714.94%
FujianLongyanShanghang County30,7354.33%
FujianNingdeFuding28,2073.98%
FujianNingdeJiaocheng District22,0543.11%
FujianNingdeXiapu CountyXXXXXX%
FujianZhangzhouZhangpu County20,7292.92%
ZhejiangLishuiLiandu District19,4552.74%
FujianFuzhouLuoyuan County18,4952.61%
ZhejiangLishuiJingning She Autonomous County16,1442.28%
ZhejiangWenzhouCangnan County16,1332.27%
ZhejiangWenzhouTaishun County13,8621.95%
ZhejiangLishuiSuichang13,6581.92%
FujianFuzhouLianjiang County11,9181.68%
FujianZhangzhouZhao'an11,0481.56%
FujianZhangzhouLonghai9,5831.35%
ZhejiangWenzhouWencheng County9,2871.31%
ZhejiangWenzhouPingyang County9,1371.29%
ZhejiangQuzhouLongyou County8,9341.26%
JiangxiGanzhouNankang8,8881.25%
ZhejiangLishuiYunhe County8,8841.25%
FujianQuanzhouAnxi County8,6731.22%
FujianNingdeGutian County7,7081.09%
ZhejiangLishuiLongquan7,4861.05%
ZhejiangJinhuaWuyi County7,2181.02%
FujianSanmingNinghua County7,0030.99%
JiangxiGanzhouXinfeng County6,4620.91%
FujianNanpingShunchang County6,2460.88%
JiangxiGanzhouXingguo County5,7770.81%
FujianQuanzhouQuangang District5,5210.78%
JiangxiGanzhouDayu County5,3800.76%
FujianFuzhouFuqing5,2610.74%
FujianQuanzhouNan'an5,2180.74%
FujianSanmingYong'an4,6370.65%
GuangdongHeyuanDongyuan County4,6210.65%
ZhejiangHangzhouTonglu County4,5360.64%
ZhejiangLishuiSongyang County4,5260.64%
GuangdongShaoguanNanxiong4,4300.62%
FujianZhangzhouXiangcheng District4,3320.61%
FujianNanpingJianyang4,3270.61%
FujianFuzhouYongtai County4,2310.6%
GuizhouQiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous PrefectureFuquan4,0220.57%
FujianXiamenHuli District4,0170.57%
ZhejiangQuzhouQujiang District4,0140.57%
FujianFuzhouJin'an District3,8670.54%
JiangxiGanzhouHuichang County3,6320.51%
JiangxiGanzhouYudu County3,6300.51%
ZhejiangHangzhouLin'an3,6160.51%
Rest of China161,62622.78%