Ethnicity, nationalism and race relations: The chinese treatment of the solon tribes in Heilongjiang frontier society, 1900 – 1931

Abstract

The Solon tribes, including the Oroqen, the Ewenk and the Daur, have lived in Heilongjiang (North Manchuria) for millennia. For centuries, the Solon led a hunting life in the mountains and along the rivers. Their constant migration earned them a reputation as nomads. Russian penetration into the region in the late nineteenth century Russified many of the Solon, which alarmed the Chinese government into action. The Chinese persistently embraced every opportunity to win them over. The principal policy adopted by both the Qing dynasty and the Chinese Republic was to turn Solon nomads into sedentary farmers. The government erected villages for the Solon, helped them to adapt to new life, and educated them to be Chinese citizens. These paternalistic yet preferential measures, however, rapidly Sinicized the Solon in just three decades.