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By Xiyu Cao and Ye Zhang Pogue
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is the third-largest province in China. The Mongolian grassland is a land of wonders. Many Chinese poets have written beautiful verses about this region. Still, these poems may not do it justice. Many ethnic Mongolian people live a nomadic life, different from the ethnic Han people living in cities or villages.
Curiosity about another ethnic group
One of the authors (Xiyu Cao) spent her second year of high school living in Erenhot, a city at the border of Inner Mongolia of China, and the country of Mongolia. She interacted with ethnic Mongolian students a lot. It surprised her that the ethnic Mongolian students in primary school and kindergarten spoke Mandarin Chinese instead of their ethnic language after class, but it was not the case for students in middle schools and high schools. She began to wonder how this could happen and worked together with Ye Zhang Pogue (the second author) to explore this issue. We, both ethnic Han, the majority ethnicity of China, conducted a survey together and interpreted the results through the lens of common humanity.
Mandarin was not used a lot in Erenhot in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Its usage gradually increased through time. Today, students in primary schools and kindergartens have classes taught in Mandarin from the earliest point of their education. Many students who were already in middle school and high school were suddenly required to learn Mandarin without much preparation. This policy change had an impact on students' acceptance of Mandarin.
In order to investigate the specific impact of this phenomenon on ethnic Mongolian students, we found a Mongolian middle school in Erenhot to survey. The school was run by Mongolian people as well. Our survey used an open-ended questionnaire and was conducted by Xiyu. After she explained her intention, a school teacher offered to ask his students to be interviewed. In total, 29 students participated. The survey went well: All of the students answered all of the questions, regardless of their attitude toward learning Mandarin. We thought the ethnic relationship between Han and Mongolian students must be really strong.
Ethnic tension exists, but it is complicated
However, the survey results surprised us. Half of the students said they had either experienced or seen discrimination by Han people against Mongolian individuals. Regarding the acceptance of Mandarin education, more than half of the students expressed their thoughts that their culture would be erased eventually. Many students expressed concerns that classes taught in Mandarin could cause ethnic tension. A good portion of students held a negative attitude toward teaching Mandarin in general. However, when asked, "If schools do not mandate teaching in Mandarin, should students learn Mandarin?" all students except 2 answered that they should learn Mandarin. The other two said they had no particular attitude toward the issue. No students opposed learning Mandarin at all.
If we adopt a critical-theory framework to explain the findings, it would be a story of Han people oppressing Mongolians, and Mongolians internalizing oppression. We chose to not see things in that framework. Through the seemingly contradicting answers, we saw a picture of students lacking personal choice. These students wanted to learn another language, but they did not want to be forced, especially when their grades were attached to it. Some students said classes conducted in Mandarin were hard to follow, causing unnecessary hurdles. A critical lens would filter out these nuances, which hinders the ability to provide practical solutions to solve problems.
Analyzing and solving problems through the lens of common humanity
When invoking ethnic identities, as two ethnic Han persons, it seems that we had little to offer in this situation. However, when drawing on our common experiences as students or past experiences as students, we could see the Mongolian students as our peers who wanted a fulfilling and pleasant educational experience, with their preferences being respected. We wanted good grades, and so did they.
In this case, the solution to the current challenge would focus on improving the education experience, such as providing more tutoring, increasing the number of classes taught in Mongolian, inviting students and families to provide more input on how they want the classes to be taught, and having more conversations about these challenges. As two Han ethnic persons, we could offer our ideas drawing on common experiences, rather than as members of an antagonizing ethnic group.
Conducting this survey was a humbling experience. We used to see Mongolian people as an abstract concept, as if they lived a collective life, and have a collective perspective. In the survey, we saw these students’ thinking, likes, dislikes, as well as dreams, and fears. We are so similar. There is so much that needs to be done to improve Han and Mongolian relations, and we believe the understanding of common humanity is the start of it.
