Evaluate Chinese Ethnic Minorities Through the Eyes of Han People: Representations of Ethnicity in Empresses in the Palace

Abstract

Culture, idendities, and positions...Many studies have anthropologically discussed ethnic minorities since they are deeply and especially influenced in the progress of globalization. However, fewer of them focus on representations of the same groups. In order to fill the research gap and better understand the politics beyond the representations of Chinese ethnic minorities in popular culture, this study examines the representations of relationships among Chinese ethnic majorities and minorities in one of the most popular Chinese historical palace dramas, Empress in the Palace. By applying the model of multiple triangulation, I found that the Han people are the main reference point in the representation, evaluating the other ethnic minorities even in the TV series telling stories in Qing Dynasty, which is ruled by Manchu, one of the ethnic minorities in China. However, in this palace drama, Manchus are in some way completely absent, underrepresented, simplistically represented, or negatively represented. At the same time, their representations are valued more and used to measure other ethnic minorities such as Mongolian people. This study also reveals the relations of ethnicity representations in Chinese palace drama and proves that the multiple triangulation is also suitable for analyzing such issues.