Tulou 土楼
An earthen structure with a unique Hakka developed architectural design, is a traditional communal residence set up as a large fortress to prevent attack.
What is Hakka?
The Hakkas are a subgroup of Han Chinese with their own culture, language and distinct cuisine. Hakkas are thought to have originated from the central plains. Based on genetic studies, Hakka people are largely descended from North Han Chinese. In a series of migrations since the third century, the Hakkas moved and settled in their present areas in South China and from there, substantial numbers migrated overseas to various countries throughout the world.
The Chinese characters for Hakka (客家) directly translate to "guest families". Unlike other Chinese subgroups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region, e.g. a province, county or city, in China. The word Hakka or "guest families" is Cantonese in origin and originally refers to the Northern Chinese migrants fleeing social unrest, upheaval and invasions in northern parts of China (such as Gansu and Henan) during the Qing dynasty who then sought sanctuary in the Cantonese provinces such as Guangdong and Guangxi, thus the original meaning of the word implies that they are guests living in the Cantonese provinces.
Sdcheung, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hakka Culture
Hakka culture (客家文化) encompasses a shared language, food culture, various art forms, folklore and traditional customs. Hakka culture stems from the culture of Ancient Han Chinese, who migrated from China's central plain to Southern China. It has also been influenced by the cultures of surrounding Han Chinese groups, such as the Cantonese and the Hokkien or Hoklo. Having historically lived in the mountains of Southern China and being minority groups in many of the surrounding Chinese provinces, the Hakka have developed a culture characterized by reservedness, stability, and frugality.
Hakka culture has been shaped by the many migrations from central to southern regions of China. On the second major migration around 900 AD, the end of the Tang Dynasty, great numbers of Hakka migrated to modern day Jiangxi province with many going even further south to coastal Fujian province. For nearly four centuries, the Hakka lived in relative isolation, allowing their culture to mature. By 1000-1200 AD, the designation "Hakka" became more than a label applied to them as outsiders and grew to become a term of self-identification.
Is Hakka a language?
Hakka ngin or people have a spoken and written language called Hakka wa or language 客家話 . With it’s long and diverse migration throughout several centuries, Hakka language has developed numerous varieties. It is mutually unintelligible with other Chinese languages and Hakka itself contains a few mutually unintelligible varieties.
Hakka language is spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China, Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities around the world.
Hakka Cuisine
To explain and describe Hakka cuisine concisely in a brief paragraph would not do it justice and inappropriately fall short of a cuisine that has survived massive migrations over several centuries. Hakka food or choi 客家菜 is best described as Chinese soul food*. Hakka food is “honest, earthy, and rustic - the simple comforting soul food of the peasant” by Lau.
Notable classic Hakka dishes are kiu nyuk 扣肉 or pork belly which there are two versions: preserved mustard greens (thick slices of pork belly, with a layer of preserved mustard greens between each slice, are cooked and served in a dark sauce made up of soy sauce and sugar) and yam/ taro version (yam and pork are shallow fried until browned before being steamed with five-spice powder, red fermented beancurd and yellow rice wine). The other is the nyiong tiu fu or stuffed tofu: minced meat (usually pork), salted fish and herbs, stuffed into tofu cubes and then fried until it produces a golden brown colour, or it can be braised.
*Lau Anusasananan, Linda (2012). The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from Around the World.