| In order to assess migrant and ethnic integration in minority regions of China, a survey was undertaken in rural Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, 1985. Containing three types of economy: agriculture, semi-agriculture and semi-animal husbandry, and animal husbandry, Chifeng is representative of many areas in the frontier minority regions of China. Based on the Goldlust and Richmond model for migrant adaptation, on economic theory, and on "pull-push" theory of internal migration, several causal models were designed to examine the adjustment of migrants and their integration with natives in four dimensions: (a) satisfaction with present residence, (b) income improvement by migration, (c) friendship patterns, and (d) neighborhood patterns. The socioeconomic differentials between migrants and natives are also examined. In the context of ethnic integration, Gordon's theory of ethnic assimilation and the "formal-factual equality" theory of Marxism are used for the basic theoretical framework. Causal models were designed to assess the factors affecting socioeconomic differentials, social networks (friendship and neighborhood patterns), language use, and intermarriage between Han and Mongolians, the two major ethnic groups in Chifeng. School and residential segregation patterns are also examined.; The analyses, based on the information from 2,089 interviewed households in the sample area, suggests, among other findings, that pursuit of higher income has been the most important motivation for migration since liberation.; As the first survey on migrant and ethnic integration ever undertaken in Inner Mongolia, this study provides some insights into the basic situation of rural communities with respect to migrant-native and Han-Mongolian relationships, as well as the educational level, occupational structure, income level, and housing, and changes during 1980-1985. This research also serves as a case study to see how western theories of migration and ethnicity can be applied to China, and can be seen as an attempt to combine these theories with Marxist theories in ethnicity in studying the ethnic relationships in today's China. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)... |
