中国的民族问题与20世纪50年代的“民族识别”

自1949年以来,中国参照苏联模式建成一个"多民族国家",在50年代开展了"民族识别"工作,政府组织专家学者深入各地调查,最后正式"识别"出56个"民族",这样一个民族格局构成了现今中国民族关系的基本框架和所有制度、政策设计实践的基础。为了更加深入地分析建国后60年中国在民族工作方面的实践,反思在民族工作中出现的经验和教训,重新思考并开展对50年代"民族识别"工作的口述史调查,分析当时的历史条件和社会背景,讨论这一格局对今天中国民族问题的影响是非常有必要的。本文讨论了中国民族问题的基本特点,民族问题研究者面对的几大难题,简略分析了"民族识别"工作的基本情况。半个世纪过去了,我们在思想和观念上得到解放,学术理论上也开阔了视野,对于20世纪50年代"民族识别"工作的再认识,理应成为今后中国族群问题一个重要研究的专题。

Ethnic Issues and the "Nationality Recognition"Campaign in China in the 1950s

Following the model of the Soviet Union,the Chinese government has established a "multi-nationality state" since 1949.A national campaign of "nationality recognition" was carried out across the nation,and finally 56 "nationalities" were officially recognized by the government.This framework became the base of all system and policy designing for minority groups and their regions in administration,education,legal system and financial affairs.In order to analyze the social consequences of the government policies in respect to minority nationalities in the past several decades,it is necessary to recall and rethink the historical process of the "nationality recognition" and the factors which affected the results of this campaign.Oral history study will be very helpful for people today to understand those events,and this subject might become a very important topic in the ethnic/nationality studies in China.