External and Internal Perceptions of the Hainanese Community and Identity, Past and Present

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine Hainanese identity through the lenses of both the outsiders (non-Hainanese and non-Chinese) and also through the power holders (community leaders and the various Hainanese associations) within the community itself. This thesis will demonstrate that Hainanese identity cannot be seen as an essentialised and unchanging entity and that Hainanese identity itself, is shaped by the historical forces that have affected the Hainanese community and that the essentialised image and identity of the Hainanese that has been shaped by the current power holders of the community is problematic and flawed. Lastly, through this thesis, I hope to be able to provide an alternative approach to examining other Chinese dialect groups and ethnic communities by studying them not through the institutions that lead the community, but through the voices of the ordinary members of the community and also through the external perception of others