China is a unified, multi-national country with 55 ethnic minorities besides the Han nationality, the largest of them all. The population of the 55 ethnic minority groups combined is 67.23 million, 6.7 percent of the national total. Since remote times, each of these nationalities have been making their own priceless contributions to the history and culture of China and the development of interracial brotherhood, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges. For a variety of reasons, however, the social-economy in the areas inhabited by the ethnic minorities has been generally backward. Until recent decades feudal land-ownership prevailed in most of these areas; in some areas feudal serfdom was dominant, while in a few areas vestiges of primitive communes remained. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the oppression of all nationalities was brought to an end, a system of regional national autonomy put into practice and social reform carried out in a nationwide-move to develop China's economy and culture and to improve the living standards of her minority nationalities. Building on a foundation of mutual interest, all of China's 56 nationalities have established' a new pattern of relations based on the principles of equality, unity and mutual aid.
The background material for China's Minority Nationalities was provided by nationwide surveys of the ethnic minorities conducted by China's foremost social scientists. This monumental work takes the reader through a systematic introduction to the population, distribution, origins, geography, languages, religious practices, cultural traditions, habits and customs of China's ethnic minorities and includes a valuable collection of facts and figures. It both illustrates the historical development of minorities and the evolution of their social patterns, and details how state policies have affected the different nationalities of China, giving a fresh insight into the changed look of ethnic minority areas today, less than forty years after the founding of the People's Republic. A highly informative book, it is of immerse value to anyone with an interest in ethnology or history. The Chinese edition of this book was published by the People's Publishing House in May 1981. Where appropriate, revisions have been made and the most recent materials included. Now it is accessible to an international readership in English translation.