Ethnology General Theory

Author: Chief Editor: Lin Yaohua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Excerpt: The wonder of the human race as a biological phenomenon lies not in the differences among them, but in their consistency. Throughout the history of life on Earth, humans are the only species with a global distribution that has not undergone internal speciation. The reason for this phenomenon is only one: humans possess culture. Relying on culture, humans have spread from the equator to near the Arctic and Antarctic circles, living in vastly different environments while maintaining species consistency. This is something no other higher organism can achieve. In summary, since the emergence of modern Homo sapiens, the species has remained unified. All members of this species are identical in fundamental characteristics such as bipedalism, advanced brains, the ability to create cultural artifacts, and the capacity to reproduce healthy offspring through sexual reproduction. The fact that every racial type in the world has its own syllabic language and that mixed ethnic types are found across the globe serves as evidence. This is also the scientific basis for our consistent advocacy of equal treatment for all races.
Section 3: Race and Ethnicity
The discussion above clearly shows that race, as a biological phenomenon, is entirely the result of human adaptation to the natural world in a biological sense, and it inherently does not and should not include any sociocultural meaning. Given this, why do we explore the relationship between race and ethnicity? In other words, what is the connection between these two concepts? From a purely scientific perspective, they are indeed unrelated and distinct. Race pertains to the adaptive relationship between human populations and natural ecological environments, primarily the subject of natural sciences, especially biology. Ethnicity, on the other hand, involves the interactive relationship between sociocultural groups (ethnic groups, or simply ethnicities) and ecological environments (including both natural and cultural ecosystems), primarily the focus of social sciences, especially behavioral sciences. We can also view race and ethnicity as two classification systems that divide the human continuum according to different criteria: the former primarily considers biological factors without cultural factors, while the latter primarily considers cultural factors without biological factors. Therefore, theoretically, it is normal, even unavoidable, for one race or racial type to contain several ethnicities, or for one ethnicity to include members of several races or racial types. Although the former phenomenon is far more common in daily life than the latter.
However, from a practical research standpoint, due to the complex interrelationships between objective phenomena and the varying ways humans perceive them, the concepts of race and ethnicity are often intertwined in practice. First, although we strictly distinguish between race and ethnicity, in the complex real world, their scopes can overlap. For example, in today’s United States, Native Americans are not only a racial type but also an ethnic community comprising many subgroups, each often referred to as an ethnicity. Similarly, African Americans in the U.S. are not only part of the tropical race but also clearly a minority ethnic group in the country. The discrimination they face stems from both racial and cultural reasons. In such cases, it is understandable, though not entirely scientific, to interchange the terms "race" and "ethnicity."
Postscript: Preface to the Postscript This book was collectively written by colleagues from the Central University for Nationalities (formerly the Central Institute for Nationalities) who have long been engaged in teaching and research related to the subject. The specific contributions are as follows: Lin Yaohua, Preface; Zhu Kongshao, Chapters 1 and 2 (draft); Zhang Haiyang, Chapter 2 (final version); Wang Qingren, Chapters 3 and 4; Jin Tianming, Sections 3 and 4 of Chapter 5, Sections 7 of Chapter 7; Chen Kejin, Section 2 of Chapter 5, Section 2 of Chapter 9, Chapters 12 and 13; Qi Qingfu, Chapters 6 and 8, Sections 3 and 4 of Chapter 9, Chapters 10 and 11; Ilich, Chapter 16; Bai Zhensheng, Section 2 of Chapter 7, Chapters 17, 18, and 20; Chen Changping, Chapter 19. The entire book was structured by Lin Yaohua and its content reviewed by Chen Kejin, who also standardized the format and edited the text.
Like any other discipline, ethnology has been continuously developing, with its research fields and specific content becoming increasingly broad and rich. Although this book strives to explain the fundamental issues of ethnology using the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, combined with the actual surveys and research of Chinese ethnologists, to reflect the characteristics of Chinese ethnology, shortcomings are inevitable. These will be revised and supplemented in future editions.