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Contents 1 The multitude of peoples in China 2 Minority Peoples of China 2.1 The Achang People 2.2 The Bai People 2.3 The Buyi People 2.4 The Daur People 2.5 The Dong People 2.6 The Dongxiang People 2.7 The Ge People 2.8 The Hani People 2.9 The Hui People 2.10 The Jingpo People 2.11 The Kawa People 2.12 The Kazakh People 2.13 The Ladakhi People 2.14 The Li People 2.15 The Miao People 2.16 The Mongol People 2.17 The Mosuo People 2.18 The Naxi People 2.19 The Nosu People 2.20 The Pumi People 2.21 The Salar People 2.22 The Sani People 2.23 The Tibetan People 2.24 The Tu People 2.25 The Tujia People 2.26 The Uyghur People 2.27 The Wa People 2.28 The Yao People 2.29 The Yi People 2.30 The Zhuang People 3 See Also

[edit] The multitude of peoples in China

Throughout history, the territory which today is China has hosted a multitude of peoples. Chinese history is at the same time a history of vast migratory movements and of decline, genesis and fusion of diverse peoples. The Han Chinese themselves were the product of the intermixing of many tribes. But the Han, who were tillers of the soil, were even in those early times contemptuous of the peoples around them, the hunters and gatherers or nomads. For the Han, distinguishing among these peoples amounted solely to the differences in where beyond the horizon they lived, their distance from the center of the world (i.e., where the emperor had his seat), and the degree of their subjugation. The peoples were simply classified as the Di (north), the Yi (east), the Rong (west), and the Man barbarians (south).

Over the centuries, the non-Han peoples who inhabited Central China in ancient times were nevertheless pushed progressively into the borderlands by the Han. Confucianism, the ideology of the state throughout all the Chinese dynasties, despised these so-called "barbarians," but called for a policy of nonviolent assimilation through the imposition of Han-Chinese values rather than through a policy of extermination. These Confucian ideas run consistently throughout the history of nationality relations in China.

For at least five thousand years, from the dawn of Han civilisation, waves of invaders swept down from the highlands of Tibet and Qinghai, out of the steppes of Mongolia and across the frigid plains of Manchuria to plunder the fabulous riches of China. The Huns came; so did waves of Turkic tribesmen from Central Asia; so did the Devil's Horsemen, the dreaded Mongols of the Great Khan. They came, they admired, they stayed. All left behind a racial legacy which today helps to make up the complex anthropological patchwork map of China's minority nationalities.

But there is a second major historical theme in the racial mix of modern China. As barbarians swept across the Great Wall and into the Han heartland, the Chinese people themselves were on the move. From their native lands inside the huge curl of the Yellow River, over the centuries the Han moved inexorably south. They were propelled by a growing population that needed living space, raw materials for its growing industries and land to till for its increasingly sophisticated agriculture.

As the Han moved south, they came in contact with a bewildering variety of peoples. Many of the tribes and nations moved away ahead of the rising Chinese tide. Others, like numerous branches of the widespread Miao, stayed to live alongside but separate from the newcomers. Others did both; the majority of one group trekked south and west to settle on the fertile plains and become the Thai nation while those who remained are today the colourful 2.5 million Bouyei of the Guizhou mountains.

Relations between the Han and minority tribes were often turbulent and bloody. But the overpowering civilization of the Han tamed the wild nomad horsemen who came bursting over the Wall and awed the simpler tribesmen of the south. It happened time and again over the millennia: invaders brandishing swords would swagger into the marble halls of imperial capitals and within a generation, a mere blink of an eye in China's vast sweep of history, their descendants would be truly integrated into the Han culture. It happened when the Mongols ascended the Dragon Throne and proclaimed their dynasty the Yuan. It happened again when the rude Manchus formed the Qing dynasty; they swiftly became more culturally Chinese than the Han themselves. Invaders could come and invaders could go, but the mighty heritage of Han art, culture, cuisine, language, medicine and agriculture absorbed them all.

Anyone wanting to understand the ethnic situation in the PRC must begin with definitions. Officially about 6% and 8% of the PRC's population belong to ethnic minorities. The statistic is convenient to the PRC for several reasons - not all of which will be discussed here. But few people accept the statistic without at least minor concerns as to its credibility - concerns based in part on the trustworthiness of the Government of the PRC in providing population figures and in part upon the academic integrity of the official categories themselves. Nonetheless, for the purposes of an initial overview such as this; the official categories have been accepted and used - the alternative is to start from scratch with almost a quarter of the earth's population.

China, like the former USSR followed a communist model of ethnic relations which required that everyone have a clearly defined ethnic identity. To this end, the minzu (usually translated as "nationality") were established in the 1950's - 55 including the majority Han nationality. In the late 1970's one final minzu was recognised.

[edit] Minority Peoples of China

• 100 million people in 464 ethnic groups. 368 peoples are less than 1% Christian. 25m people in these ethnic groups are Muslims: Uighur, Kazak, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Tatar, Hui. Islam is a sensitive issue because of a past history of revolts and unrest. Few Chinese believers feel adequately prepared for outreach. May the gospel reach these peoples.

Nationality	Population (1990 Census)		Nationality	Population (1990 Census)
Achang	27,708		Maonan	71,968
Bai	1,594,827		Miao	7,398,035
Blang	82,280		Monba	7,475
Bonan	12,212		Mongolian	4,806,849
Bouyei	2,545,059		Mulam	159,328
Dai	1,025,128		Naxi	278,009
Daur	121,357		Nu	27,123
Dong	2,514,014		Oroqen	6,965
Dongxiang	514,000		Primi	29,657
Deang	15,462		Qiang	198,252
Drung	5,816		Russian	13,504
Ewenki	26,315		Salar	87,697
Gaoshan	2,909		She	630,378
Gelo	437,997		Shui	345,993
Hani	1,253,952		Tajik	33,538
Hezhen	4,425		Tatar	4,873
Hui	8,602,978		Tibetan	4,593,330
Jing	18,915		Tu	191,624
Jingpo	19,209		Tujia	5,704,223 (1990 sensus)
Jino	18,021		Uyghur	7,214,431
Kazak	1,111,718		Uzbek	14,502
Korean	1,920,597		Va	351,974
Kyrgyz	141,549		Xibe	172,847
Lahu	411,476		Yao	2,134,013
Lhoba	2,312		Yi	2,312
Li	1,110,900		Yugur	12,297
Lisu	574,856		Zhuang	15,489,630
Manchu	9,821,180		Han	1,042,482,187

It can be tempting to think of the minority minzu as presenting a complete picture of the PRC's non Han ethnic make up, but this would be misleading. Three points should be noted, First, over 400 applications for minzu status were lodged in the early days of the PRC - most were rejected. Second in the political thaw after the cultural revolution many groups re applied for recognition - over 80 groups representing 900,000 people in Guizhou province alone. If all the applications had been accepted, it would have meant a change of status for 1 out of every 30 people in Guizhou. Despite this, only one new minzu has been recognised since the 1950's. Third, over 700,000 people in the 1990 census were not assigned a minzu because they did not fit any of the established categories.

Many smaller groups remain unrecognised: the Sherpas, Khmu, Tuvin, etc And many of the minzu could be usefully broken down into finer official designations. Two obvious examples which stand out are the Miao and the Zhuang. The Miao live in discrete communities scattered across several provinces - Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong and Sichuan. The various subgroups of Miao have no love for each other and the Chinese have in the past been able to get some Miao groups to serve as mercenaries against other Miao groups. The term "Zhuang" seems to be a cover term, officially including any and all Tai speakers who live in Guangxi and eastern Yunnan.

Analysing China's national minorities as a single entity is virtually impossible. Great cultural, regional, and developmental differences exist between them. Thus, the unified set of national minority policies espoused by the government are intended to be implemented flexibly so as to take account of the unique situation of each national minority. China's national minorities, referred to as little brothers (xiongdi) by the Han majority, can be differentiated according to a number of criteria. These include:

• population size
• the nature of the identification of the group
• the size, location and terrain of the region they occupy
• the proportion of members of the minority group that inhabit an autonomous province, prefecture, or county
• their proximity to and relations with other nationalities, including the Han
• whether the neighbouring Han were migrants or indigenous residents of the region
• whether the nationalities are rural or urban groups, agricultural or pastoral groups, border or inland groups, concentrated or dispersed groups
• having a strong religious tradition or none
• having a written or spoken language or both
• having members of their nationality also living across the Chinese border in other countries, either as national minorities or as the major nationality
• and, finally, whether they have had a separate tradition of foreign relations with peoples of another region of the world.

So how many nationalities are there in China? Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, recognized China in the 1920's merely as a "republic of five nationalities." Later the Guomindang government simply denied the existence of ethnic minorities, regarding them rather as "branches of the Han," which made ethnic identification and classification impossible.

Since no one knew exactly how many different nationalities lived in China, in the early fifties the new government began to investigate. Four-hundred ethnic groups responded to an initial call for registration of national minorities. However, the studies showed that a large number of those who claimed to be separate nationalities were actually members of the same group, that other different groups belonged to the same nationality but used different names, and still others were Han who for historical reasons had no clear identity of their origins.

Detailed studies and field research were initiated in 1953. By 1957, fifty four ethnic groups were recognized as independent nationalities (the Jino were recognized in 1979, making fifty five). The official recognition was granted to the nationalities by the Chinese State Council.

In identifying a nationality in China, two basic determinations had to be made: (1) whether the group was a national minority or a part of the Han nationality; and (2) if an ethnic minority, did it constitute an independent nationality or only part of such a nationality.

Language is an important measure in ethnic identification, but not the only one. And even apparent similarities or differences between two languages cannot determine whether they belong to the same family. Classification of languages should be based mainly on historical analysis. Unfortunately this is an area where Chinese scholarship is rather weak, particularly with respect to minority languages.

The task of ethnic identification has still not been completed. A major reason for this is that since the late fifties the work has been dealt with rather dilatorily, and was even totally abandoned during the Cultural Revolution. In the late seventies, however, representatives of some ethnic groups called attention to this still unresolved problem, and the work was subsequently resumed. Encouraged by the political thaw, many groups whose recognition as independent nationalities had been rejected in the fifties re-petitioned for recognition; eighty groups totalling over 900,000 persons petitioned in the province of Guizhou alone, including the Chuanqing.

The population census discovered numerous new groups in other regions; in other cases, persons who had previously been classified as Han or another nationality applied for recognition as an ethnic minority.

Not all groups applied for recognition as nationalities by the time of the census in 1982. The Tuvin, for example, live in the Ili autonomous prefecture of the Kazak (Xinjiang autonomous region) in the Altai mountains on the former Soviet border. In 1979, there were 166,000 Tuvin living in the former Soviet Union. One hundred years ago, however, the members of this nationality living in China officially declared themselves Mongolians to avoid oppression by the then-ruling Qing dynasty, and to enjoy the favored status of the Mongolians, who were allies of the Manchurian court. In the 1982 population census the 2,600 Tuvins living in China were designated Mongolian and were so registered. At the time, scholars took note of the fact that this group spoke Mongolian with outsiders and had adopted many of the manners and customs of the surrounding Mongolian tribes, but spoke their own Turkic language among themselves.

Chinese nationality policy in recent years has been more flexible with regard to naming minorities. Although discriminatory appellations for minorities (e.g., Luoluo with the pictograph "dog," or "pig" for the Yi) were permanently abolished by legislative decree in 1951, most of the current names were fixed by the Han, and in many cases were adopted Han terms (the Yi call themselves Nosu, but are called the Yi by the Han Chinese).

In recent years the minorities have been permitted more and more to determine the official names they go by. For example, the Benglong (a group of about 13,000 persons in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan) since 1985 are no longer known as "Benglong" but rather as "Deang," their term for themselves.

The general liberalization that has ensued in the wake of reform is also reflected in the more flexible approach to granting the status of a minority. It is hoped that the discussion on this question will not be cut short, but will instead lead to a redefinition of the term that can then be further debated.

[edit] The Achang People

The Achang are a people to be commended for their ability to overcome adversity. Their history in Yunnan province is one of laboring as farmers for Han and Dai landlords. Under this feudal system, the Achang's natural social structure was destroyed, as they were reorganized according to which landlords ruled them. Exorbitant taxes and fees drained the Achang of all resources and comforts until they were so poor they could not even afford to purchase rice for their meals. The 1950's brought about liberation for the Achang, and a new way of life where they were able to live and prosper in freedom. Today the Achang are famous for their ability to produce consistent and rich rice harvests. Education has become a priority for the Achang, with most children receiving schooling. In addition, the Achang have developed flourishing local industries, and have established clinics and trained medical workers in order to improve overall health and eliminate epidemics.

Today the Achang number more than 30,000. They have a cherished tradition of oral ballads, stories, and folk tales. Whether to while away the time in the evening, or to woo a young woman, music - both oral and instrumental - occupies a large role in society. Because the Achang frequently intermarry with the Dai nationality, most Achang can speak the Dai language, in addition to their own. Many are fluent in five or six languages, having picked up the mother tongues of the other people groups who live around them. The Achang predominantly practice ancestor worship and Buddhism. There are some Christians among them, they have the NT in their mother tongue.

It is hoped that Christians from the other ethnic groups living among the Achang will be compelled to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their neighbours.

More information on the Achang Joshua Project

[edit] The Bai People

China's 2,3 million Bai are most heavily concentrated around the city of Dali in Yunnan Province. The famous Three Pagodas in this area are a good representation of the Bai peoples' exceptional building skills. Aside from their carpentry, the Bai are also well-known for their marble and their "roasted tea". Nearly all of them are Buddhist, also follow ethnic rites, about 17% call themselves Atheis. Evangelical only a tiny 2,8%. There are Gospel recordings in their language. There is no bible in their native tongue Pai.

Bai funeral customs are elaborate. After death, the body of the deceased is laid out in the home for several days, while friends and relatives hold a memorial service, sing, dance, feast, and offer sacrifices to usher the spirit of the dead into the afterlife.

Every unbelieving Bai needs to hear the Gospel and put his or her trust in Jesus in order they are released from the power of darkness.

May the Lord burden the hearts of Christians around the world for the Bai people, and call them out to work among this minority group.

More information on the Bai Joshua Project

[edit] The Buyi People

The Buyi are found primarily in the southern provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan, the more than 3.1 million Buyi are well-known for their wax-printed batiks and weaving, as well as their rich literature, folk songs, and oral story-telling. The Buyi primarily engage in ancestor worship, believe in ghosts, and are involved in practices such as witchcraft and fortune telling. The Cattle King Festival, one of the major Buyi celebrations, involves offering steamed glutinous rice to cattle and ancestral spirits.

It is reported that there are some Christians among the Buyi people, however there are currently no Scriptures available in any of the Buyi dialects. This makes Bible translation one of the most urgent needs pertaining to the spread of the gospel among this people group.

May the Buyi Christians will be faithful to share Bible stories with their families and communities and that these stories will be cherished and passed down from generation to generation, bringing instruction and understanding to others.

May every unbelieving Buyi hear the Gospel and respond with life-changing faith.

There are strongholds of fear and superstition that keep the Buyi in captivity.

May the Lord call and equip people to translate the Bible into several of the Buyi dialects.

[edit] The Daur People

Who are the Daur?

The Daur are perhaps most well-known for their excellent skill at the sport of hockey. It is widely speculated that they invented the popular pastime. At the very least, they have been playing it for centuries. The Daur have produced many great hockey players for China. Out of 72 Daur who have been a part of China's team in recent years, a large number have traveled abroad to take part in matches. The Inner Mongolia hockey team has been national champion a number of times since 1978, mainly due to the skill of its Daur team members.

Interestingly, the more than 180,000 Daur are found in two geographical locations on complete opposite sides of China. Most make their homes in Inner Mongolia and the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Daur were called into military service, and one assignment took a group of soldiers clear across the country to north-western Xinjiang Province. Rather than undergo the two year trek back home at the end of their service, many soldiers simply decided to settle in Xinjiang. Despite the distance between them, the two groups have for the most part managed to retain a uniform language and culture.

From their beginnings, the Daur have been polytheists. Their gods include animals and the forces of nature, particularly a group of "gods of the sky." Shamanism is practiced in every home and village. Each family group has its own shaman (witchdoctor) to cure sickness, birth babies, and settle family problems. About one third of the Daur have adopted Lamistic Buddhism. They believe in reincarnation.

There are presently around 1,000 Christians among the Daur in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, the fruit of missionary work in the early 1990's. Since that time, the Daur church has faced persecution, but has remained steadfast in her faith. There are no known Christians among the Daur in Xinjiang, and their Christian brothers and sisters in the north-east have a heavy burden to share with them the way of salvation.

We give thanks to God for the faithfulness of the north-east Daur. Ask the Lord to give them wisdom as they take the gospel to their tribesmen in the north-west.

More information on the Daur: Joshua Project

[edit] The Dong People

The Dong are famous for their carpentry skills, and there are two structures unique to Dong society: the Drum Tower and Wind and Rain Bridges. The Drum Tower is the highest and most cherished building in the village, functioning as a place for public meetings as well as the center of social activity. The covered Wind and Rain Bridge also serves as a meeting place, a rest area for weary travelers, and a shelter from bad weather.

There are two groups: Northern Dong and Southern Dong.

The Dong are polytheists, believing that everything in nature has some sort of spiritual significance. To neglect the spirits of trees, rocks, rivers, wells, etc. would destroy the spiritual balance and result in sure disaster. The most revered deity in Dong culture is the goddess Sasui, the Creator of Villages. Out of 3.7 million Dong people, a mere 300 profess Christianity. Despite missionary efforts among the Dong in the early 1900's and reports of eager responses to the Gospel, Christianity has never taken hold among the Dong. There is currently very little Scripture available in the Dong language, and all of this contributes to the Dong being one of the most Gospel-neglected minority groups in China. There is a need the Word of God will be made available in an understandable format to all Dong, and that it will be fruitful and accomplish the purposes God has for it. There is no material in the language of the Northern Dong, a little material is there for the Southern Dong.

More information on the Dong:Joshua Project

[edit] The Dongxiang People

• The Dongxiang people is the 4th largest of China’s 10 Muslim peoples. Literally, Dongxiang means “eastern villages” hinting that the Dongxiang came from further west, from Central Asia. Their religion: Sunni Muslims. They formed their own unwritten language which is related to the Mongol language. Government statistics show that the Dongxiang are among the poorest and least literate of China’s 56 ethnic minorities. Many of them have only had slightly over one year of schooling. A Dongxiang - Chinese dictionary was recently produced which is proving to be a great help. There are possibly 200 Christians among the Dongxiang, however most of them are not organised in house groups or churches.

[edit] The Ge People

Who are the Ge?

The Ge observe traditional life and produce beautiful handicrafts. The Ge live in the eastern Guizhou Province, they are a member of the of the large Miao cluster. Their history, dress, and language are all completely different from those of the Miao however, and the Ge insist that they are a distinct people group. It is likely that the more than 125,000 Ge people of today are the remnants of the Miao who originally lived in eastern Guizhou.

Before 1949 there was only one known missionary to the Ge. M.H. Hutton worked among this people group for nine years before seeing the first Ge come to Christ in 1935. A couple of years later there was a small church, but upon Hutton's expulsion from China after 1949 the Ge seemed to abandon their faith. Today there are only about 100 known Christians among the Ge.

See more details of the Ge: Joshua Project

[edit] The Hani People

Clustered at the foot of a mountain in southern Yunnan Province, one may spot the "mushroom houses" of the Hani people. So named because of their resemblance to the fungus, Hani houses are made of wood and earth and roofed with grass. Most of them live near to the border with Vietnam. The popualkation is about 690 000. These farm people are known for their hospitality and kindness toward outsiders. A guest who shows up for dinner or requests to spend the night is never turned away by the family. In fact, he is treated with the utmost honour and respect by every family member. The hospitality of the Hani people is definitely exceptional.

The most popular work of literature within the Hani culture is the folk epic "Aosemise", which relates the story of the creation of the universe. The Hani's centuries-old religious practices center around polytheism, animalism, ancestor worship, and the tradition of employing witchcraft and herbal medicines to treat the sick. There are no Scriptures available to the Hani in their own language, and no Christian churches or evangelists in their area to share the Good News with them. Only 0,3% of them are Christians. Beside of cassettes there are no other Christian media in their language.

May the One True God reveal Himself to the Hani, resulting in thousands of people bowing before Him with reverence and awe.

May the Hani would be freed from their bondage to false religion and fruitless practices.

There is a need for a quick translation of the Word of God into the main dialect of the Hani. May also Scripture cassette tapes be made available to the people, since most of the Hani are illiterate.

See more details of the Hani: Joshua Project

[edit] The Hui People

There is perhaps no ethnic minority group in China as influential or as widespread as the Hui. In the 7 th century, Arab and Persian artists, tradesmen, scholars, and religious leaders came to China along the famed Silk Road. Many married Han Chinese women and settled down in the northwest of China. The 13 th century found the Mongol people trying to conquer Central Asia. As they swept southward, they mobilized everyone in their path, expecting them to settle in various locations around China and maintain "combat readiness". These were the ancestors of today's Hui, who can now be found in 2,310 of the 2,369 municipalities and counties in China.

Unlike most other Muslim minorities in China, the Hui have assimilated themselves into Han culture by adopting their language, style of dress, and surnames. This has facilitated their development as an industrious and educated people. Hui merchants, scholars, scientists, artists, and politicians have all positively impacted China and her relationship with other countries. The Hui have some special rights other religious groups do not have, they can have their own school for their children, they do not keep the one child rule and they can be buried in Islamic grave yards.

The more than 10 million Hui found in China have traditionally been resistant to the gospel. Although they are one of the least radical Muslim groups in the world, they still face persecution after professing faith in Christ. To be Hui is to be Muslim, and many Hui feel they will lose their entire cultural identity and their entire way of life if they convert to Christianity.

For Hui who find themselves away from home in order to attend university or do business. Muslims are often much more receptive to Christianity when they are away from the influence of their communities. May they hear of Christ while they are away.

May the Lord call people to commit to pray for and work among the Hui in order to bring them to salvation.

See more details of the Hui: Joshua Project

[edit] The Jingpo People

Who are the Jingpo? Inhabiting the mountains of Yunnan Province in southwest China, the Jingpo people cluster into villages of anywhere from two or three to over a hundred separate households. Although there were 119,209 people in China counted under the Jingpo nationality in the 1990 census, the official Chinese classification includes members of the Zaiwa, Maru, Lashi, and Bela people groups, in addition to Jingpo proper, their population is about. Neighbours in the community are extremely helpful when it comes to rebuilding a Jingpo bamboo house, which must be done every three or four years. The whole village chips in with building materials and labour, and often the new home can be erected in just one day. The family's move is completed with the transfer of the fire with a torch from the old house to the new. It is believed that an unbroken fire will allow the family lineage to continue for eternity.

The Jingpo are Animists, believing everything has a spirit and holding to many taboos and superstitions. One such superstition involves the sitting position of women. It is considered bad luck for a woman to sit with her legs crossed or with her hands under her chin. Religious worship ceremonies are supervised by a wizard, who also acts as the village medicine man.

May every unbelieving Jingpo come into the family of God, entering into the unbroken and eternal lineage of Christ.

May the Jingpo people to be released from the bondage of fear and legalism which result from their superstitious beliefs.

See more details of the Jingpo: Joshua Project

[edit] The Kawa People

• Who are the Kawa?

The more than 85,000 Kawa of China are a subgroup of the larger Wa minority group. Although the other Wa subgroups boast large numbers of Christians, there are only a handful of believers among the Kawa.

There are several reasons why this particular minority group still remains largely unreached. The Kawa live in the rugged mountains of Yunnan Province, which makes simply reaching them difficult. Gaining access to their remote villages is another matter, as they strongly defend their settlements against outsiders. As a result of this isolation, the Kawa cling to their customs and traditions, and are very resistant to change. Their religious beliefs, an intense mixture of black magic, animism, and Buddhism, keep them in constant fear and drive them to practice frightening rituals in order to appease their gods. In recent years, however, there have been several accounts of the Lord mercifully and wonderfully revealing Himself to the Kawa people, 0,2% of this people have turned to Christ. In their Wa language there is a NT, also other literature, also videos and radio programs.

We hope, that the Kawa will be welcoming to those who come to their villages for the purpose of sharing Christ.

More information: Joshua Project

[edit] The Kazakh People

The name "Kazakh" means "runways" or "refugees" and is an appropriate title for this people group who have spent much of their history in transit. The Kazakhs are of Turkic descent. The Kazakhs migrated to China in the early 20th century in order to escape forced military participation in Russia and the Russian Civil War of the 1920's and 1930's, approximately half of their population was killed. For a time, they were able to live in peace as migrant livestock herders in China's Xinjiang Province. Then, in the early 1950's, the Communist government forbade them to practice their nomadic lifestyle and forced them to move to communes. This prompted 60,000 Kazakhs, more than one-tenth of the Kazakh population in China, to flee back across the border in order to return to Russia.

Despite being scattered and constantly uprooted, the Kazakh people have been able to retain their language and culture. They are proud of their heritage and staunchly resist assimilation into the Chinese culture. The Kazakhs, along with other Muslim people groups in the region, have fought for centuries to establish their own homeland in northwest China, but the Communist government continues to powerfully assert it's control and sovereignty there. As a result, the Muslims of Xinjiang have a deep-rooted hatred for the Han Chinese.

The Kazakhs became Muslim during the 16th century and still identify themselves as a Muslim people group today. In reality, however, they can be described as "Islamic animists", who practice Islam mixed with traditional folk rituals such as ancestor worship and black magic. The Kazakh's strong sense of family means that an individual's religious belief can affect everyone in his household. Only a handful of Kazakhs, however, have embraced Christianity. There are more Kazak Christians in their homeland Kazakhstan.

May the few Kazakh Christians will boldly share the gospel among their own people. There are some outsiders, who try to bring the Gospel to them. There are some ministry tools in their language.

May the Lord will soften the hearts of the Kazakhs to accept the gospel from Han Christians as well.

We pray for the salvation of the more than 1.1 million Kazakhs in China.

More information see: Joshua Project

[edit] The Ladakhi People

• Who are the Ladakhi?

It used to be that all Ladakhi lived in India, in the Aksai Chin area of the Himalayan Mountains. In 1949 however, China annexed over 38,000 square kilometers of the territory. The area was so remote that the Indian government didn't even realize the Chinese had built a road there until two years later. Now about 3,200 Ladakhi officially live in Tibet, China, although national boundaries mean very little to them. Their homeland of thousands of years is so cut off from the rest of the world that their lives are not affected by whether they officially live in China or India.

Winter temperatures in the Himalayas can dip down as low as -30 degrees Celsius, and so it is no surprise that the Ladakhis believe hell is a miserably cold place. Like their Tibetan neighbours, the Ladakhis practice Buddhism, mixed with dark images of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. The Ladakhi cling to a hopeless belief in a never-ending cycle of life and death. Moravian missionaries began working among the Ladakhi in India in 1856 and had about 150 converts by 1922. The only Scriptures in the Ladakhi language are portions of the Gospels translated by the Moravians in 1904. Today there are about 120 Ladakhi Christians in three churches in India. There are no known Christians among the isolated Ladakhi of Tibet.

There are Scriptures, cassettes and other media in their language, but this all has not reached these peoples. May the few Christians on the Indian side get an burden to bring the Word of life to them.

More information: Joshua Project

[edit] The Li People

The more than 1 million Li have made their homes on Hainan Island off the southern coast of China since their first migration from the mainland 3,000 years ago. They are divided into several clans and tribes, each using a different dialect. Their history records numerous rebellions against Chinese rule, although during World War II the Li cooperated with Communist guerillas to rebel against Japanese invasion of their island. Today the Li seem to be integrating themselves more and more into mainstream Chinese society, forsaking their traditional dress and some other customs. The Li are in danger of being influenced by the materialism and recent history of corruption present on Hainan Island. The Li are primarily polytheistic, worshipping the spirits of both their ancestors and of nature. Witchcraft is used to cure illness, and fortune telling is practised using items such as chicken bones and eggs. A small number of the Li people profess Christianity, and it is reported that there are a few Li Christian churches. However, with no Scriptures available in their own language, the majority of Li people are lost in a world without any knowledge of Jesus Christ. Points of Prayer:

There is a need that the Li churches would be strengthened and protected from false teachings. Ask the Lord to equip them to spread the Gospel to their own people.

We hope, that many Li will give their lives to Christ, before their hearts are captivated by the spirit of greed and deceit present on the island.

We pray that God will raise up and equip people to translate the Scriptures into the Li's language and their dialects.

More information on the Li: Joshua Project

[edit] The Miao People

The 8 million Miao spread across southern China have a turbulent history of persecution and suffering. Epic poems and genealogies exist as oral records preserving the history of numerous campaigns to eliminate the Miao from China. The worst ethnic war took place in the mid-1800's, leaving less than 10% of the Miao in the region alive when it was over.

The Miao people adhere to Animism, believing in a wide array of spirits who can either harm or help them. Ritual and sacrifices are used to ensure protection from demons, who are believed to have free reign over the people if they are not appeased. When a baby is born, friends and relatives will often loudly proclaim how ugly he or she is, in an effort to trick the demons into thinking the baby is not worth harming.

The Miao people group is actually made up of as many as 100 separate language groups. Christian materials have been translated into four Miao languages, but there are still about 7 million Miao in China who have never heard the name of Christ, and only one language group that is able to understand the "Jesus" film.

There is a nedd for Christian material to soon be available to every Miao in his or her mother tongue.

May the Lord to reveal Himself to the Miao as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Sovereign God of the Universe.

May Christian workers wbe willing to do whatever it takes to find culturally relevant ways to share the Gospel with the Miao.

May God be glorified as multitudes of Miao give their lives to Him.

More information on the Miao, Hua: Joshua Project

[edit] The Mongol People

Roughly 7 million Mongols live in Inner Mongolia and China's northern provinces. For centuries they have been raising their livestock, racing their horses, and enduring bleak winters in their yurts-round tent-houses made out of a thick felt. The round shape keeps the tent from blowing away in the fierce winter winds.

The Mongolian people are traditionally Shaamanist, although the younger generations adhere to atheism. An encounter between Marco Polo and the then-Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan in the 13 th century gives startling insight into the demonic powers that still hold Mongolia in their clutches today. Kublai boasted to the explorer of his powerful sorcerers who were able to make objects move on their own and whose idols spoke to them and gave them predictions. He followed his boasts with a challenge for Polo to send a hundred Christians to his kingdom. If they were able to prove the supreme power of Christ, he promised, he would become a Christian, and would be baptized along with his entire kingdom. The western world failed to respond to this incredible opportunity to bring Christianity to Asia. Today less than 0.04% of Mongols in China are Christians, and more than 90% have never heard about Jesus. The New Testament has been translated into a Mongolian script which is now obsolete, and work on preparing a Scripture translation that can be understood by the Mongols of today is still in progress.

More information on the Mongol: Joshua Project

[edit] The Mosuo People

Who are the Mosuo?

Settled around an isolated mountain lake on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, the 52,000 Mosuo people are very much cut off from the outside world. A road to the lake didn't even exist until 1982, and it has only been recently that the Mosuo have begun to see tourism in their area. But the tourists are coming, attracted by the unconventional matriarchal customs of the Mosuo people. Traditional marriage as we know it in the west is practiced by only about 30% of the population. The remainder practice "serial monogamy", with men living at home with their mothers, and visiting their lovers at night.

The white stone altars found throughout the villages are evidence of the strong influence that Lamaism has over the Mosuo people. Worshippers walk around these altars in a clockwise direction, expecting to receive good luck and happiness. In addition, most homes contain altars to Buddha, ancestral spirits, and the god of fire. At one time there were around 10 Mosuo who professed Christianity. But unfortunately, there has been no follow up for these believers, and most have returned to their pagan beliefs. It is clear that the majority of the Mosuo people remain unreached, with no Scripture available in their heart language, and never having heard of Jesus Christ. There are cassettes in their language.

May the thousands of lost Mosuo soon hear about Jesus and joyfully surrender their lives to Him.

May God sends workers to spread the good news among the Mosuo and disciple the few believers among this people group.

May God show the Mosuo how to obey Him without losing their Mosuo identity.

May the Bible soon be made available to the Mosuo in their own language.

More information on the Mosuo: Joshua Project

[edit] The Naxi People

Who are the Naxi? Upon entering a Naxi village, you might notice the wooden fish hanging from the ridge tips of the roofs. These good-luck charms are just one of the interesting practices that make the Naxi of Yunnan Province such a fascinating minority group. The Naxi are a traditionally matriarchal society, where the women inherit the property and are allowed to freely choose who they will marry.

The religious history of the Naxi is one of transition and change. Originally polytheistic, some Naxi converted to Lamaism when it was introduced to their culture in the 14 th century. Many more adhered to the Dongba religion, which was a mixture of Lamaism, Buddhism, and Taoism. A small Naxi Christian church was operating in the first half of the 20th century, but it disappeared as a result of persecution from the Communist government. Today most Naxi, especially the young, claim no religion.

Thanks to the faithfulness of Christian workers to distribute Christian literature and cassette tapes among the Naxi in the 1990's, there are now dozens of known believers (0,07% Evangelicals) among this small people group of 300,000. There is no NT in their language - Naxi.

The few Naxi Christians need encouragement and strengthening. Ask God to provide Bible-based instruction and evangelistic training for them.

May the Lord send many more Christian workers to share Christ with the Naxi, who are quickly losing their ethnic identity,

before their hearts are captivated by materialism and greed.

More information on the Naxi: Joshua Project

[edit] The Nosu People

Who are the Nosu?

"God sent a messenger to [three] sons to warn them of [a] flood. The oldest wanted to kill the messenger. The second son bound the messenger and asked him questions. The third politely asked him why the flood was coming..The youngest son, named Dum, built a boat out of wood in 20 days. Twenty days later the rains came. It rained seven days and nights and flooded the whole earth. The two older sons died. The boat landed in the snowy mountains of Tibet. Dum had three sons who populated the whole earth." (from "The History and Culture of the Nosu Yi people of the Liang Shan")

Despite the similarities between this traditional story and the Biblical account of Noah and the flood, the three million Nosu people of the Big and Little Cold Mountains, along the border of Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, are virtually untouched by the gospel. There are 44 Nosu subgroups with different self designations and dialects and languages. Their religious practices center around sorcery, divination, and the worship of many gods. Every village has a shaman who mediates between the local people and the spirit world. Early missionaries found the Nosu unswervingly dedicated to their traditional religion, and although there are some Nosu Christians today, the vast majority remain blinded by spiritual darkness.

Throughout history the Nosu have been regarded as ruthless and fierce, a people to be feared. But they also place high value on loyalty, friendship, and being a good host. This is reflected in their willingness to listen to the message of salvation through Christ when it is presented to them. However Christianity remains a mystery in the hearts and minds of most Nosu, since very few Christian materials are available to them in their heart languages.

The Nosu need to be set free from the spiritual strongholds that keep them in bondage.

We hope that every Nosu would soon be able to hear the gospel clearly presented in his or her mother tongue, Nuosu or Yi, Guizhou.

More information on the Nosu cluster: Joshua Project

[edit] The Pumi People

The Pumi, numbering only around 45,000, is the smallest of China's ethnic minority groups. More than 37,000 members of them inhabit the mountains of northern part of the Yunnan Province. They live in approximately 500 villages, some of which are located 3,200 meters above sea level. They are also one of the poorest, and a history of sickness, struggle, and assimilation into other tribes has kept their numbers low throughout their 2,000-year history as a people. Despite their many hardships, the Pumi are friendly and welcoming. One of their biggest festivals is the celebration of the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. All Pumi, young and old, take a holiday and participate in horse racing, shooting contests, and feasting. The Pumi also mark the holiday by making sacrifices to "the kitchen god", who is believed to observe the family before ascending to heaven to report on the condition of the household. Several reasons are given for the Pumi's choice to live high in the mountains. In the past, the forests covering the mountainsides were a good place to hide from enemies. Today the Pumi find that the mountains are a good place to raise livestock. Traditional folk stories also teach that valleys and other areas of low elevation are inhabited by demons - not a desirable place to settle for a people who live in fear of the spirit world. Traditionally the Pumi practiced Tibetan Buddhism, although in actuality they have retained many of their non-Buddhist rituals and superstitions. All Pumi worship the mountain god Suoguonaba, as well as their ancestors. They also believe that spirits inhabit the wooden center posts of their homes. It is reported that there are only a handful of new Christians, about 0,08% Evangelicals, living in a few Pumi villages, but they are experiencing intense persecution. The Word of God is not available in the Pumi language. The only media in their language are cassettes. This creates a huge obstacle to evangelism, since only 37% of the Pumi are able to read and understand Mandarin Chinese.

The small number of known Pumi believers will have the strength to endure persecution and share Christ with others.

There is a need that the Bible, Christian radio broadcasts, evangelical literature, and the Jesus film will all be made available to the Pumi in their mother tongue.

More information on the Pumi: Joshua Project

[edit] The Salar People

Who are the Salar?

In the 11 th century, persecution drove a tribe of people known as the Salar to leave their homeland, now modern-day Uzbekistan, and travel east. Not knowing where they were headed, the devout Muslims strapped a copy of the Koran to a camel's head and asked Allah to guide them. After months of dangerous travel through the mountains of Central Asia, one of the leaders had a vivid dream about a beautiful waterfall. When the travellers encountered the same waterfall the very next day, the camel dropped down to drink and turned into a white stone. The travellers made their home there, and some of their descendants can still be found in that same location along the banks of the Yellow River.

Today the Salar can be found in Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang Provinces. The above story gives testimony to the rich folklore of their culture. The Salar live in two-story adobe houses surrounded by walled courtyards, and it is common for the entire extended family to live together in one house. For this reason, marriages are often viewed as a union between two families rather than a personal decision made by a man and a woman in love.

The Salar converted to Islam in 1750 and are said to be the most zealous Muslims in China. One source (Operation China , p. 464) reports only 20 Salar Christians out of a people group of more than 135,000. The Salar have no access to the Word of God oe any ministry tools in their own language, and few Christians are targeting them for evangelism. The younger Salar people are finding themselves not as strictly devoted to Islam as their ancestors, but they have nothing else with which to replace their traditional beliefs.

More information on the Salar: Joshua Project

[edit] The Sani People

About 120 km from the city of Kunming, in Yunnan Province, lies the Stone Forest, an impressive collection of towering natural limestone pillars. It is here where the Sani of China make their homes. Legend has it that the gods created the Stone Forest to give young lovers a place of privacy. Today the Stone Forest attracts masses of Chinese and foreign tourists, providing the Sani with abundant opportunities to sell their traditional handicrafts. It is for this reason that the Sani are believed to be China's wealthiest minority group.

Single Sani girls traditionally wear a turban containing all the colours of the rainbow. This has come to symbolize faithful love, and has its roots in an ancient story about a young girl's devotion to her dead lover. Overcome by grief at his funeral she threw herself into the fire, out of which two colourful clouds rose to form a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

There is a large Catholic population among the about 125,000 Sani. Today there are Catholic believers in 22 of the 124 Sani villages in Shilin County. There are only 0,15% evangelical Christians. The Sani are polytheists. They believe the earth, sky, water, fire, mountains, stones, etc., have their own spirits. They also worship their ancestors. Many unbelieving Sani eagerly accept Christian literature offered to them by tourists and Christian workers, however, unless they have a good command of Mandarin Chinese, they are unable to completely understand it. The Sani still wait for the Scriptures to be made available to them in their own language. Beside of cassettes there is no other Christian media in their language. As they adapt themselves to the Han culture around them, and continue in their profitable souvenir industry, they are further becoming disinterested in spiritual matters.

May the Sani not confuse financial wealth with spiritual fulfillment.

May every Sani unbeliever come to know the faithful love of Jesus.

May the Scriptures would soon be translated into the Sani language, and that gifted and equipped workers would be sent to evangelize this people group.

More information on the Sani: Joshua Project

[edit] The Tibetan People

Tibet is a barren place. A plateau roughly the size of western Europe, its arid weather and freezing cold winters have contributed to making the Tibetans an extremely hardy people, evidenced in their nomadic lifestyle and their resistance to the attempts of others to wipe out their unique culture.

Although the Tibetans both in Tibet and scattered throughout four of China's southern provinces number a total of 4.6 million, there are only an estimated 600 Christians among them. Christian churches established earlier in the 20th century seem not to have survived the Cultural Revolution. Thankfully, Tibetans do have the Bible in their language (although it differs greatly from the common spoken Tibetan, and there a number of Tibetan languages and dialects), and Gospel radio broadcasts out of India are beginning to provoke requests for more information. The majority of Tibetans, however, remain firmly in the grasp of Lamaism and are blinded to fully view the oppression from occultism, spirit appeasement, and blood covenants with powers of the darkness and they need to see the power of Heaven, which can set the people free from their demonic holds. Tibetans are extremely superstitious people. Some examples: They believe, for example, that a newlywed couple will experience misfortune if snow falls during their wedding ceremony, or if an owl is seen perching on their rooftop. Conversely, they believe that good luck is in store for anyone who sees a source of running water or encounters a funeral procession.

There is a need for faithful prayer against the powerful spiritual strongholds that have sway over the Tibetan people.

There is a need for more Christian workers who are working to learn the language and form relationships with Tibetans.

More details about the Tibetans: Joshua Project

[edit] The Tu People

In 1227 the Mongolian army swept down into northwest China on an invasion. Some of the soldiers stayed there and intermarried with local villagers. Their offspring became the ancestors of the Tu. Although the Chinese government today recognizes them as a distinct people group, the Tu still closely identify themselves with the people of Mongolia, sometimes even referring to themselves as "White Mongols".

The Tu are known for their hospitality and their good relations with other ethnic groups in Qinghai Province, the area in which they live. Besides being home to over 230,000 Tu, Tibetans, Hui, Mongols, Salar, Han, and other ethnic groups are also found in Qinghai. There is deep-rooted ethnic tension among most of these groups, however the Tu have peaceful and cooperative relationships with all of them. Some Christians speculate that the Tu are in an excellent position to receive the gospel, perhaps from the Han, and then pass it on to the other people groups in there area, all of whom are seriously in need of Christ. There are only 0,01% Christians among them.

Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaistic Buddhism) mixed with animism keep the Tu in spiritual bondage. Their religious leaders ( shamans ) fall into two categories: White shamans cure the sick or the injured, while black shamans bring vengeance and curses. One annual Tu festival focuses around a medium who allows himself to be possessed by one of their many gods. There are at present a few hundred known Tu Christians, although they are mostly concentrated in one area. Beside of cassettes, there are no Christian materials available in their heart language.

May the Lord call people who are willing to plant their lives among the Tu in order to share Christ with them.

May God provide qualified linguists to translate the Bible and other Christian literature into Mongour, the mother tongue of the Tu. Pray that the Tu will then have easy access to these resources.

We hope that the Tu will one day soon be sending Christian missionaries to the other lost peoples around them.

More details about the Tus: Joshua Project

[edit] The Tujia People

Who are the Tujia?

The 9 million Tujia people in China live primarily in the provinces of Hunan and Hubei. As a result of being situated in a fertile area near many rivers, the Tujia are skilled in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry. They have also been well-known for centuries for producing beautiful brocade.

The Tujia embrace a variety of traditional religions: Polytheism, ancestor worship, Taoism, Buddhism, about 20% non-religious, 0,3 % Evangelicals, there are a handfull of Catholics. While you are visiting the Tujia market, you may notice the Swinging Hands Hall, where ancestor worship is practised. Inside the hall are figures of some of the Tujia's earliest ancestors. One of them carries an ox horn, symbolizing his position as a wizard, and the other holds a baby to represent the high value the Tujia put on having children. During Spring Festival, the village people dance before the hall to entertain the spirits and ask for good fortune for the new year.

They have the Bible in their language, on radio are messages in their language, also there are cassettes and other media. But only few people are aware of this.

More information on the Tujia: Joshua Project

[edit] The Uyghur People

"To be a Uyghur is to be a Muslim." This phrase adequately sums up th