Chenglong Gao
Yanbian University

Received July 21, 2021; Revised version received December 30, 2021; Accepted February 10, 2022

Abstract

The proverb “Three feet of ice is not the result of one cold day” is the most appropriate expression to reflect the history of development of ethnic groups in the Yanbian region. Within the historical developmental orbit of ethnic solidarity, China’s ethnic solidarity has consistently maintained its development in an upward spiral. The Yanbian region’s ethnic solidarity has also gone through this kind of developmental process. The history of Yanbian’s ethnic solidarity can be divided into eight phases, the first of which occurred during the late Qing period when migrants from the Korean peninsula and Han Chinese inside China migrated to the northeastern region and formed relations with the native peoples who lived there. The various ethnic groups who lived in the Yanbian region at this time had adhered to their own cultures in their own ethnic enclaves, so there had not been an opportunity for different ethnic groups to form relations. After that period, however, following the rapid changes in the state of affairs inside and outside of the northeastern region of China, and the merges and collisions between ethnic and regional social communities, a transformation began to emerge in the relations between ethnic groups. The prominent social events of the era included the rallying of the Han Chinese during the period of the Republic of China (ROC), the decline of the Manchus, and the formation of an ethnic Korean society in Yanbian and the northeastern part of China. Moreover, as Japan spread its forces out over the northeastern region, the country used ethnic Koreans to expand its power. This created disharmony in the development of relations between the Han Chinese and ethnic Koreans, leading to the emergence of friction and misunderstanding between the two ethnic groups. After the September 18 Incident of 1931 (also known as the Mukden Incident), as class contradictions (division of nations/ethnicities) shifted to become ethnic contradictions (confrontation between the capitalist class and labor class in capitalist society), a national struggle against the Japanese began. Within this struggle, the various ethnic groups of the Yanbian region organized a united national front against the Japanese under the correct leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and, for 14 years, conducted a desperate and trial-laden struggle that brought down Japanese imperialism. Following this, the CCP conducted a war of liberation that defeated the reactionary Kuomintang clique, established a people’s democratic republic, and rose to become the master of the nation. The establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its socialist system created a new opportunity for friendship and solidarity between various ethnic groups, put on display the massive centripetal force and cohesiveness of the Chinese nation, and embodied its infinite sense of confidence and self-esteem. The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, which was established under the PRC’s Regional Ethnic Autonomy System, brought leadership to the various ethnic groups in the Yanbian region and transformed the region into a pleasant place to live while settling the conflict and misunderstandings that had been formed between different ethnic groups due to historical issues. It further created firm relations among the ethnic groups through socialism’s new style of ethnic equality, solidarity, and prosperity. After the establishment of the PRC, the various ethnic groups in the Yanbian region developed their economy and culture under the support and interest of the CCP and government to build Yanbian into a beautiful cradle for life. Over the past 70 or so years, the various ethnic groups of China have held up the great values of national unity under the correct leadership of the PRC and struggled in unity with one another to overcome difficulties, live together in harmony, and bring about harmonious development. In this process, the various ethnic groups in China have come together to push forward the sacred tasks of building socialism and reforms and opening, writing the grand historical narrative of the ceaseless self-improvement of the Chinese people and the promotion of solidarity and progress. The characteristic feature of this grand historical narrative is that various ethnic groups consistently came together, shoulder-to-shoulder as one, to fight. Today’s ideology of “The Han Chinese people cannot be apart from ethnic minorities, and ethnic minorities cannot be apart from the Han Chinese people” has already become a firm perception shared by the various ethnic groups in the country. In short, the theme of joint solidarity and struggle and joint prosperity and development have already become the common pursuit of the various ethnic groups in China and the Chinese nation is the source of the power that can move forward ceaseless efforts for self-improvement.

Key Words : ethnic Koreans in Yanbian, Han Chinese people,