Research On The Construction Process Of National Identity Of The Hmong In Guizhou During The Republic Of China

In recent times,as the Chinese nation-state consciousness has gradually formed,the issue of national identity has become increasingly important.National identity is not only the psychological basis for the construction of a nation-state,but also an important condition for national unity and stability.Due to the complexity of China’s ethnic composition,the process of constructing national identity is also very difficult and faces challenges in many aspects.This paper takes Guizhou during the Republican period as the spatial and temporal background,and takes the process of national identity construction of the Guizhou Hmong as the object of study.It comprehensively examines the responses and identity choices of the Guizhou Hmong to the construction of the national state during the Republican period,and evaluates the process and results of the national identity of the Guizhou Hmong.The Qing government governed the Hmong frontier by a combination of grace and power,mainly in the early stage of appeasement,but later gradually turned to military repression,which forced the Hmong to move to the mountains and gradually isolated from the outside world.Since the late Qing Dynasty,especially after the defeat of China in the Sino-Japanese War,due to the deepening of the national crisis,the concept of nation-state spread rapidly in China,and the elites of the Hmong in Guizhou began to spread the new school and seek the way to save and survive,and the construction of the national identity of the Hmong in Guizhou began to start.in 1935,the Kuomintang entered Guizhou in the name of pursuing the Red Army,and Guizhou was gradually unified.Chiang Kai-shek found that the Hmong in Guizhou were large in number and could be used by the country,and asked for more efforts to cultivate the Hmong.After the outbreak of the Total War of Resistance,as Guizhou became the main rear of China’s war of resistance and its strategic position was elevated,the national government and the local government of Guizhou took a series of measures to speed up the process of constructing the national identity of the Hmong in Guizhou: in terms of economy,the national government improved the lives of the Hmong people by developing the economy of the Hmong region in order to construct the national identity of the Hmong;in terms of national education,the national government,by popularizing education,subconsciously In terms of national education,the national government,through popularization of education,subconsciously changed the mindset of the Hmong who only knew their families but did not know the country;in terms of war mobilization,through layers of war propaganda,the purpose of integrating the Chinese nation was achieved,and at the same time,the Hmong felt the authority of the state.After the end of the war,Yang Sen,the chairman of Guizhou provincial government,was so enthusiastic about promoting the integration of the nation that his transformation of the Hmong in Guizhou province was the most significant among the provinces at that time.Yang transformed the customs of the Hmong people for thousands of years,mainly by constructing the theory of "Cosmos Evolution",in order to promote the construction of the national identity of the Hmong people.The effect of the Nationalist government on the cultivation of Hmong national identity during the Republican period was not very satisfactory,and some policies and measures also harmed the economic interests and customs of the Hmong people,such as the economic development policy of the Hmong people during the war period was not fully implemented,and the material life of the Hmong people was improved to a rather limited extent,and the "Cosmos Evolution" policy implemented by Yang Sen after the war did not respect the Hmong customs and habits,which hurt the feelings of the Hmong people.A look at the historical process of national identity construction of the Hmong in Guizhou during the Republican period provides us with historical experience and lessons.Ethnic relations are an important factor affecting national identity.Harmonious relations between Hmong and Han depend on the establishment of an equal ethnic policy;recognizing and respecting the differences within ethnic minorities and groups can make the ethnic policy better advance and help construct a good national identity.To build a national identity,it is essential to improve the people’s livelihood,and the economic preferential policies for the Hmong region should be put into practice so that the Hmong people can truly experience the equal treatment by the state and the government.