Marital Assimilation between the Muslim Hui and the Han Majority in Contemporary Chinese Cities in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

This study discusses the marital assimilation of the ethnic Hui, the biggest Muslim minority group in China, with the Han majority in contemporary Chinese cities, using the 1% sample data of the 1990 Chinese Census. Unlike previous research which focus on demographical, social, and cultural characteristics of ethnic minority individuals on their marital choices, this study provides a community-level analysis scrutinizing local marriage market conditions on ethnic intermarriage rate in different geographical locations. Evidently, the Hui–Han intermarriage rate in different city units varies greatly, as high as over 80% while as low as less than 30%. Furthermore, the great variation in Hui–Han intermarriage rate has been found to be highly related to three aspects of local ethnically related structures, which are ethnic demographic compositions, ethnic stratification, and interethnic contact structure. This study adds to the understanding of the integration process of Muslim minorities in a host society of a different religion.