The Hakka, Explained

The Hakka are an ethnic subgroup of the Han ethnicity — one of the largest and most prominent of such subgroups with some 50 million estimated in China, Taiwan and overseas. They have had a fascinating and rich history over the centuries that mirrors the story of the overall Han people. Here we are going to look at some of the cultural aspects and history of the Hakka people.

[zzz]

I'm a 5th generation Hakka myself in Malaysia, still able to speak Hakka fluently. Both my mom's and dad's side are Hakka. Just writing all this down while it's still fresh in my memory.

My great great grandfather was a Chinese doctor when he settled in KL in the 1800s, and he made quite a lot of dough back then bringing in more Chinese labourers to Malaya. He had 2 wives (1 in China, 1 in Malaysia) and a mistress to paint an image. So much that my great grandfather didn't work at all while my grandfather only worked in construction in his later years, where my dad also picked up the trade. My current house was built by my grandfather and father from the ground up when my dad was a child. My great grandfather was the son of my great great grandfather's first wife, while my grandfather and father are the eldest, so I guess that means we're the most legitimate in the lineage.

Sadly my great grandfather squandered away all the wealth, but my great great grandfather had so much that even my dad didn't go through any sort of poverty at all. He was able to get by doing odd jobs until he settled by doing house renovations.

We already cut ties with our relatives in China by my great great grandfather. Basically during the Japanese Occupation, he sent my grandfather back to China to have our relatives in Huizhou shelter him. But our relatives all refused to and he was forced to wander the streets. When my great great grandfather found out the rage surged from him as he had been sending vast sums of money back to them for decades and decided to cut all ties. But on my great great grandfather, great grandfather and grandfather's tomb stone still has the name of their ancestral city in China carved out.

I used to hear that our old Malaysian home in Kg Dato Harun was razed to the ground as it was gound zero for the 1969 riots. It used to be a house with a coffe shop in front manned by my grandma. My dad would tell me how he climbed up trees with my uncles and defended themselves with slingshots as the rioters tried to kill them. Luckily a relative with a car came in and managed to haul everyone to safety. The government resettled us to PJ where my grandma is staying now.

My grandma is from Ampang, and she on the other hand came from a family of tin and cement miners. She told me stories of when Japanese bombers flattened the cement factory they were working in.

My mom's side on the other hand came from a poverty stricken background like most Hakkas back then. Her parents generation manned the rubber plantations, her mom died young so she had to take care of all the younger siblings when her dad was working. No one looked after them other than occasional visits from relatives, and she used to share the many tries it took her to cook something decent for her siblings. And another incident where my uncle became involved with gangsters and was almost beaten to death by the police. My grandpa (her dad) went around begging for bail money to save him, hence why no other family member ever became involved with gangsters again.

My mom is the most respected in her side of the family because of her dad's legacy. He would always help out other family with no questions asked or strings attached, even to the point of starving himself where he spent the later half of his years paralysed from the waist down due to malnutrition. All I remember about him when I was born was that he was already wheelchair bound, and always gave us treats when we visited like any typical grandpa.

As for myself, just nothing special that really went through. My parents both did such an amazing job shielding me and my brother from all those hardships the previous generations of Hakkas faced. Both my parents worked shield us from any sense of poverty, my mom sacrificed all her free time after work to make sure we were caught up on school. Hence I'm like many Hakkas of the modern generation, just hearing stories of the great hardships and sacrifices our ancestors faced in admiration. All while enjoying a peaceful middle class life in Malaysia.

Also just wanna say Malaysia is the only home we've ever known a this point, after more than 150 years of my family's history here. And just forever grateful to stay in a peaceful, plentiful and diverse country.

[peterpenhk]

I'm a Hakka, according to my dad, we're the "guest" as we like moving around and therefore considered non-local wherever we are. i.e. the "guest".
We move to escape wars and conflicts, in most cases Hakka people ended up in rural areas that no one bothers us i.e. away from cities or fertile lands and hence poor as stated in the video.
We really are a group without root (or we take the concept of "hometown" lightly, you don't have to stay within close proximity of your family, unlike most other Chinese people), my great grandpa's brothers all moved to Malay, my grandpa's brothers all moved to Thailand, and finally my father (along with his siblings) moved from mainland China to Hong Kong. And myself studied in the UK and now working in Germany.
Big thumbs up for this video!

[kelshakes]

My grandfather was Hakka from Guangdong. His family fled from their village and started again in Myanmar where he met my grandmother. I'm born in South Africa and a mix of burmese, Ugandan and Chinese. It's amazing to learn more about my grandfather's history

[realmofthesenses]

My great-grandfather was Hakka from somewhere in South-China. He suffered a lot, and wanted a better life, so he left China to work on the plantation fields in a Dutch colony in South-America. After his contract was finished, he stayed and opened a shop from his house. He married a black woman, and the family took on the woman's European name (given to her family after the abolition of slavery). The family took on her name, because of racist colonial laws against Chinese at that time. A European name would help them get a better future. His descendents are called "black chinese". So, this Hakka Chinese man was the founding father of our post-slavery family. I, the third generation after him, carry a European last name, while the real family name is the Chinese name of my Hakka greatgrandfather. Sometimes I fantasize about adding our Chinese last name to our European last name. In our country such a sing is legally difficult and expensive.

[jingqiuwu]

My grandma is a Hakka. She is a very nice and gentle woman. Her father, Mr Lee Moh Tor, owned a shop making granite manual grinder in Shunde Guangdong, (Now it is under Foshan, Guangdong). When we were young, she washed our clothing and cooked our meals. She lived until the age of 76 years. We missed her dearly.

[XerosXIII]

I'm one of the lucky new generation of Hakka in Malaysia that had a decent upbringing, no worries of missing out the next meal.
Stories of parents and grandparents having to hustle everyday, eating nothing but porridge with salted fish or fermented tofu is very real
the language and culture is lost on me as I do not had much exposure to it, but I would say I'm in an interesting position to look at Hakka like an outsider despite a Hakka myself!

[lilylimtiaco]

My maternal grandmother was a Hakka. As a young child, I remembered her beautiful folk singing when she was hand sewing my clothes. She was thrifty and hardworking. I wished I learned her dialect.

[Rajj]

They were the most well known Chinese group in Kolkata, India. I grew up with them. They are very hard working people and industrious people.

[meiguimeiguiwoaini]

your explanation of hakka cuisine is spot on tbh... as a half hakka i grew up eating a lot of 梅菜 which is preserved, especially in dishes like 梅菜扣肉 (or khieu nyuk as we say it in hakka)... i chuckled a little at the "hakkas are known to be thrifty" stereotype because this is something i grew up hearing lol

[flow]

My grandparents are hakka, they migrated to Thailand. I had listen about china a lot in childhood from her. Wish i can go there in someday.

[Darjeelingla]

As an American Peace Corps volunteer in the 70’s, I lived among the Hakka in Malaysia.
Very generous, friendly group.

[LambentOrt]

There's quite a sizeable Hakka community centered around the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, where I was born and currently live. If you go into the Chinese communities here, a lot of folks proudly speak the Hakka dialect, alongside Mandarin and Cantonese. As for Hakka cuisine and culture, it's true that it is very simple. But we are also a very adaptable people, because we don't belong anywhere... and yet wherever we end up, that is home. And that is all that matters.

[MrLantean]

The Hakkas are descended from refugees who fled their home in Huang He region of Northern China and migrated south of the Yangtze River during periods of civil unrest. They settled primarily in rugged hilly regions as the flatlands are already settled by the time they arrived. The hard life make the Hakkas very resilient and strived to improve their standard of living. They are willing to leave their homes to seek their fortunes elsewhere even if they have to leave China to go abroad. In China, many political and military leaders are of Hakka descent. Also many successful Overseas Chinese political figures are of Hakka descent.

[fredtan]

It touches my heart everytime, reading about chinese diaspora. I can't imagine how hard life must have been in china for our great, great grandparents over a 100 years ago ( the 8 powers) and risk sending their dear loved ones overseas. It makes me read more about overseas chinese people and chinese history. My ancestors are from Xiamen.

[georgeli]

Thanks for putting this video together. Very informative. Am a Hakka too. Parents from Meixian, immigrated to Mauritius and I am now living in Melbourne, Australia. Had a chance to visit my Dad's hometown a few years back. Very emotional welcome from relatives still living there.

[quentinwong]

The Hakkas are amazing people who had a great impact on Chinese civilisation both domestically and abroad. In fact, the Hakkas set up the first ever Chinese republic in Borneo during the Qing dynasty which lasted for a hundred years before Dutch colonisers took them out. Other famous people of Hakka lineage include the Soong sisters, Lee Kwan Yew and Penny Wong.

[mystyk]

Im malaysian of indian ancestry. I love our local Hakka cuisines especially the Hakka noodles. We malaysians of indian ancestry love Chinese food in general. You can see an interestingly obvious pattern of diners in our local chinese restaurants in terms of timing due to cultural difference in the time each ethnicity eats their dinner. 6-8pm chinese having dinner, 8-10pm indians having dinner, 10-closing chinese having supper with our indian uncles drinking beer...lol

[luislau]

I am a Hakka, grew up in China and migrated to the USA as an adult. It is not rude to ask a person if he is Hakka. Once we socially engage with an stranger speaking a language other than Hakka, like Cantonese or Mandarin and we notice a Hakka accent or a particular way the individual is pronouncing a word, that give me a glimpse that he might be a Hakka, then I would ask, are you Hakka.

[ygus]

Popular Hakka food is Lui Cha, consist of a soup made of tea leaf and peanut, with many type of veggies toping. In SE Asia, it is added with dried Shrimp and Anchovy fish (ikan bilis/teri, dried small fish).

[pharmacist]

Hakka Chinese has preserved much of the ancient Tang sound from which Korean and Japanese derived their Chinese loanwords from. For example: Mandarin for Japan is Riben while the Japanese say: Nippon. In Hakka this is Ngit Poon (very close to Nippon). There are many examples of Korean and Japanese loanwords that does not resemble Mandarin pronunciation at all, but are strikingly the same when pronounced in Hakka Chinese giving proof Hakka Chinese is much closer to the ancient Tang language than Mandarin.