Hakka
The Hakka (Chinese: 客家), also referred to as Hakka Chinese or Hakka-speaking Chinese, are a Han Chinese sub-ethnic group whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China and who speak a language that is closely related to Gan, a Chinese language spoken in Jiangxi province. They are differentiated from other southern Han Chinese by their dispersed nature and tendency to occupy marginal lands and remote hilly areas. The Chinese characters for Hakka (客家) literally mean "guest families".
The Hakka have settled throughout China and their presence is especially prominent in the landlocked border regions of Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi.
Lo Hsiang-lin, the pioneering and renowned researcher in Hakka language and culture, argued that the Hakka mainly comprise descendants of Central Plains Chinese refugees fleeing social unrest, upheaval, and invasions. However, the Hakka were different in being late arrivals, moving from Central China into Southern China when the earlier groups of Han Chinese settlers in the south had already developed distinctive local identities and languages. Their migration path was also different, and they entered Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian via Jiangxi province, instead of traversing Hunan or moving along the Fujian coast.
Substantial numbers of Hakka Chinese have migrated overseas to various countries throughout the world. Primarily, Hakka Chinese migrated to Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Others went further still to North and South America, the Caribbean, and India. Indeed, Kolkata, Toronto, and Jamaica have a strong Hakka presence today and many maintain Hakka organizations.
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