Introduction
The ethnic Kinh (京族) in Vietnam is called Ging (Cantonese) or Jing (Mandarin) in China. They are one of the smallest ethnic minority in China.Homeland
The ancestors of the Jing tribe originated from Đồ Sơn (塗山) district in Hải Phòng city in North Vietnam. They came to the three uninhabited islands around 1511 AD when the islands were still controlled by Vietnam. |
| Migration path |
Territorial history
It is not known when Vietnam started to administer the islands but during the Ming and early Qing dynasties, the three islands were known to be under Vietnam’s rule. In 1885 AD, China's Li Hong Zhang (李鴻章) got back the islands from French ruled Vietnam through the Treaty of Tientsin. |
| Li Hong Zhang with French officials |
Origin of Ha festival
Besides celebrating the Lunar New Year i.e. Tet like their counterparts Kinh in Vietnam, Jing also celebrate the Ha festival. The festival begins on the ninth day of the sixth month in the lunar calendar which has many activities including receiving the sea god and singing.
The legend of the Jing people stated that there was a giant centipede who lived in the sea who would frequently come out to devour their fishermen. One day, the giant centipede tried to gnaw through the boat of a fishermen family but the children threw a boiling hot pumpkin into the sea as food. The giant centipede was scalded to death after eating the pumpkin and its body was broken up into three pieces which became the three islands today.
This legend is symbolic of their ancestors' migration to the three islands. The 'giant centipede' would be the giant waves which capsized their ancestors' ships when they went fishing near the islands. After their boats capsized, they settled on the islands there.
 |
| Receiving the sea god |
The legend of the Jing people stated that there was a giant centipede who lived in the sea who would frequently come out to devour their fishermen. One day, the giant centipede tried to gnaw through the boat of a fishermen family but the children threw a boiling hot pumpkin into the sea as food. The giant centipede was scalded to death after eating the pumpkin and its body was broken up into three pieces which became the three islands today.
 |
| Playing the traditional instrument at a beach during Ha festival |
This legend is symbolic of their ancestors' migration to the three islands. The 'giant centipede' would be the giant waves which capsized their ancestors' ships when they went fishing near the islands. After their boats capsized, they settled on the islands there.
Video on origin of Jing people
From island to peninsular
Traditionally, most Jing are fishermen, both freshwater fishing on inland rivers and saltwater fishing on the coast. They have developed a unique method of fishing using high walking stilts. |
| Fishing on high stilts |
Due to the land reclamation of the sea by China during the 20th century, the islands have become a peninsular connecting to the Chinese mainland. These extra lands provide the ethnic Jing with a farming livelihood in addition to their traditional fishing livelihood. The details are narrated in the video below.
Annamese Chinese language
The Jing in China used to speak a Chinese language that is different from both Cantonese and Vietnamese language. Some linguists group it as belonging to Yue Chinese language subfamily. However, the current generation tend to speak in both Mandarin and Vietnamese.This original language seems to be the Annamese Chinese language that was originally spoken by the Kinh in Vietnam before it merged with the Austroasiatic proto-Muong language to form the modern Vietnamese language today. Because the three Jing islands were still under Vietnam's rule until 1885 AD, their language was influenced by the standard Vietnamese language.
Most of the vocabulary in Annamese Chinese is still preserved in the Sino-Vietnamese words of modern Vietnamese language.
Moreover, Jing still use the traditional Chinese characters that their ancestors used to write in Vietnam before the Kinh in Vietnam changed their writing system to Latin characters after the First World War.
 |
| Traditional Chinese characters at a Jing temple |
Conclusion
The Jing people can be seen as ancient Kinh before Vietnam underwent changes in their original language and writing system. This is due to the isolated location of their islands far from the cultural centers of both Kinh in Vietnam and Han Chinese in Guangdong and Guangxi.
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2017/07/origin-of-vietnamese-language.html
https://kknews.cc/travel/ov2vl5m.html
http://www.ifuun.com/a20173261477734/
Last updated: 15 June 2020
Copyright © eastasiaorigin.blogspot 2018. All rights reserved.
Related links
Origin of Vietnamese languagehttp://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2017/07/origin-of-vietnamese-language.html
Sources
An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China By James Stuart Olsonhttps://kknews.cc/travel/ov2vl5m.html
http://www.ifuun.com/a20173261477734/
Last updated: 15 June 2020
Copyright © eastasiaorigin.blogspot 2018. All rights reserved.
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