The nature of ethnic policy in the PRC during the Period of destruction (1957-1978)

This article observes the essence of ethnic policy in the PRC in 1957-1978. As this period is considered to be an integral part of evolution process in ethnic policy, it is important for understanding certain peculiarities of ethnic policy in the PRC. The period of 1957-1978 is often defined by sinologists as the Period of destruction. It is the time of fundamental changes in the ethnic policy line, which caused a wide range of destructive processes. The new line of ethnic policy was in rejecting the basic principles, which had been determining the governmental course of policy towards ethnic minorities in China since 1949 - these principles include autonomy and socioeconomic development of the ethnic territories and the non- the Han people there. It was the long-termed political, socio-economic and ideological crisis in China, including such notorious stages of Chinese history as the Great Leap Forward (1956-1958) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) that became its background. The system of relations with the ethnic periphery, which had been developing in China since 1949, was greatly damaged by irrational policy of the authorities and the radicals from the CCP. In fact, autonomy of ethnic territories was cancelled, so that they were fully submitted to the central authorities. The past importance of both ethnic question and ethnic policy for the country was pulled down by the wrong "proletarian" ideas of what ethnic relations and ethnic policy in China should be. In this situation social stratification, class struggle, religion and traditional way of life of the non-Han people were proclaimed to be the main reasons of both ethnic contradictions and ethnic question. According to certain theories, which established the "proletarian" view on ethnic policy at that time, these elements of their life were persecuted by the authorities. For the non-Han people it definitely meant both slow assimilation and total extinction of their ethnic identity. Thus, an author concludes, this kind of policy couldn't make ethnic relations milder indeed. On the contrary, at that time as absurd social and economic experiments failed, this circumstance just stimulated historically tense relations between the non-Han people and the Chinese people, so that there accumulated anti-Han tensions and there appeared more reasons for periodical escalations of the situation in the Chinese borderlands in future. Thus, after the crisis period of 1957-1978 stopped, in order to prevent a further deterioration of the situation, which might cause obviously considerable consequences for China, the new generation of Chinese politicians returned to the basic principles of ethnic policy, laid down during the Period of establishment (1949-1957).

Keywords

Authors

References