The Gin or Jing people are an ethnic minority group that live in southeastern China, who are related and descended from ethnic Vietnamese. The native name of the Gin, Kinh, means Vietnamese people and the Chinese character for the ethnic group, 京, is the same as in Sino-Vietnamese. The Gin dialect is similar to Vietnamese, but not the same. They mainly live on three islands off the coast of Dongxing, Fangchenggang, in the Chinese autonomous region of Guangxi. These territories were originally Vietnamese but were ceded by the French to the Qing dynasty. The Gin population was estimated to be just over 28,000 as of 2010. This number does not include the 36,205 Vietnamese nationals studying or working in Mainland China recorded by the 2010 national population census.
History
The ancestors of the Gin people immigrated to southern China from Vietnam during the 16th century and established communities on the three originally uninhabited islands of Wutou, Wanwei and Shanxin.
Geography
The people of this very small ethnic minority have lived for about 500 years on the three islands of Wanwei, Wutou and Shanxin off the coast of Guangxi, China, about 8 km east of the border with Vietnam. In the 1960s, the islands were connected to the mainland by a land reclamation project. The islands are administered as part of Dongxing county within Fangchenggang prefecture. A minority also live in nearby counties and towns with predominately Han Chinese or Zhuang populations. The Gin live in a subtropical area with plenty of rainfall and rich mineral resources. The Gulf of Tonkin to its south is an ideal fishing ground. Of the more than 700 species of fish found there, over 200 are of great economic value and high yields. Pearls, sea horses and sea otters which grow in abundance are prized for their medicinal value. Seawater from the Gulf of Tonkin is good for salt making. The main crops there are rice, sweet potato, peanut, taro and millet, and sub-tropical fruits like papaya, banana, and longan are also plentiful. Mineral deposits include iron, monazite, titanium, magnetite and silica. The large tracts of mangroves growing in marshy land along the coast are a rich source of tannin, an essential raw material for the tanning industry.
Language
The language of the Gin people is a Yue dialect. Standard Cantonese is also spoken by many in the community as well as Mandarin Chinese. A survey in 1980 indicated that one third of Gin people had lost their native language and can only speak Cantonese or Mandarin, and another third who are bilingual in the Gin language and Han Chinese languages. The survey suggested a decline in the use of the Gin language, but in the 2000s, there appeared to be a revival in the use of the language. In addition to using Hanzi, the Gin have their unique Zinan script, referred to as Chu Nom in Vietnamese, which is similar to the Zhuang old script. Created on the basis of the script of the Han people towards the end of the 13th century, it is found in old song books and religious scriptures. Most Gin read and write in the Han script because they have lived with Hans for a long time.
Culture
Gin people like antiphonal songs which are melodious and lyrical. Their traditional instruments include the two-stringed fiddle, flute, drum, gong and the single-stringed fiddle, a unique musical instrument of the ethnic group. Folk stories and legends abound. Their favorite dances feature lanterns, fancy colored sticks, embroidery and dragons. Gin costume is simple and practical. Traditionally, women wear tight-fitting, collarless short blouses buttoned in front plus a diamond-shaped top apron and broad black or brown trousers. When going out, they would put on a light colored gown with narrow sleeves. They also like earrings. Men wear long jackets reaching down to the knees and girdles. Now most people dress themselves like their Han neighbors though a few elderly women retain their tradition and a few young women coil their hair and dye their teeth black. Many Gin are believers of Buddhism or Taoism, with a few followers of Catholicism. They also celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Pure Brightness Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival like the Han. Fish sauce is a favorite condiment of the Gin people for cooking, and a cake prepared with glutinous rice mixed with sesame is a great delicacy for them. There used to be some taboos, such as stepping over a fishing net placed on the beach.
