Description of Ethnic Minorities in Chinese Middle School History Textbooks

Abstract

Chinese middle school history textbooks, which were written on the unified multi-racial nation theory, are closely connected with ethnic minorities problems and territory problems. Chinese history textbooks emphasize that regions where ethnic minorities live have been their territories since ancient times.BR Chinese textbooks generally describe that there were more peaceful exchanges between the Han people and other surrounding states rather than staging wars. Thus, they do not describe the fierce wars staged between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty.BR However, it is doubtful that in the pre-modern traditional period, the central government of Chinese Empire and ethnic minorities made cultural exchanges in friendly relations. It is also doubtful that it could bring true peace and stability to emphasize only friendly exchanges in education of history, without describing wars and conflicts between states in the traditional times. Rather, it is necessary to educate the hitherto historical course of forming relations amid the conflicts and wars between peoples, and mutual exchanges and cooperation.BR Modern China, in the process of reconstructing the past history from its current position, led to the past history and cultural characteristics of ethnic minorities disapparing from Chinese textbooks. In Chinese textbooks, ethnic minorities are described as the target of enlightenment and civilization by the ethnic majority Han people.