On the Reconstruction and Identification of Ethnic Groups from "Han Assimilation" to "She Assimilation": A Case Study of the She People in Southern Jiangxi Province

Abstract

On the basis of related literature and the author's field research in Jiangxi province, the present article discusses the process of ethnic group reconstruction and identification of the She people with the family names of Lan, Lei, and Zhong in the Gannan region of Jiangxi province, who were restored as members of the She ethnic group from their original Han ethnic group after ethnic policies were carried out in 1985. The author puts forward his personal opinions on the factors of ethnic identity and the two schools of theory on ethnic identification, namely primordialism and circumstantialism.