Waxiang Chinese in China

The Waxiang Chinese have only been reported in China
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Qing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644-1911): The Manchus in the northeast took advantage of the peasant unrest throughout China and seized control of Beijing. Yet again, the Han Chinese majority were ruled by a neighboring minority tribe. It took a further four decades for the Manchu to take control of southern China. Today's Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang were all conquered and subdued, leading to ethnic unrest which persists to this day. The Manchu period witnessed the entrance of foreign powers into China and the seizing of key ports and regions. Hong Kong was taken by the British, Macau by the Portuguese, while the Dutch, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Russians all laid claim to parts of China. The Chinese consider the Manchu Dynasty one of the most humiliating of their long history.

Although officially considered part of the Han Chinese nationality, Waxiang may not even be a Chinese language. Little study has been conducted into Waxiang, but one scholar notes, "Some view it as a special variety of Chinese, others as a minority language, perhaps related to Miao." It is possible that the Waxiang are a mixture of Miao and Chinese people who developed their own distinct characteristics after centuries of mutual contact.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Many of the customs of the more rural Waxiang are similar to those of the neighboring Ghao-Xong.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The majority of Waxiang practice animistic rituals. They appease spirits and ghosts who they believe dwell in their villages and influence their lives for good or for evil.

There are few Christians among the Waxiang. The region has historically given a cold reception to those few missionaries who ventured into the Wuling Mountains. American Catholic priests, from the Blessed Gabriel Monastery in Massachusetts, USA, commenced work along the Hunan-Guizhou border in the 1920s. One early missionary reported, "The good work is moving but very slowly. The people are as hard as steel. They are eaten up both soul and body by the world, and do not seem to feel that there can be reality in anything beyond sense. To them our doctrine is foolishness, our talk jargon. We discuss and beat them in argument. We reason them into silence and shame; but the whole effort falls upon them like showers upon a sandy desert."


What Are Their Needs?

Without the guidance of Christ, these people will be lost in this life and the life to come. They need someone to go to them as Christ-bearers.


Prayer Points

Pray for the spiritual blindness and bondage to the evil one to be removed so they can understand and respond to Christ.

Pray for the Lord to provide for their physical and spiritual needs as a testimony of his power and love.

Pray that the Waxiang people will have a spiritual hunger that will open their hearts to the King of kings.

Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.


Scripture Prayers for the Han Chinese, Waxiang in China.


References

Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Han Chinese, Waxiang
People Name in Country Han Chinese, Waxiang
Natural Name Waxiang Chinese
Pronunciation wa-shee-UNG
Alternate Names Waxianghua; Wogang; Xianghua
Population this Country 372,000
Population all Countries 372,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 4  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 7
PeopleID3 18483
ROP3 Code 114091
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Approximately 320,000 speakers of the Waxiang language live scattered throughout an area of more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,340 sq. mi.) in western Hunan Province. The majority are located in the Wuling Mountains, including parts of Yuanling, Chunxi, Jishou, Guzhang, and Dayong counties.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 19  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Approximately 320,000 speakers of the Waxiang language live scattered throughout an area of more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,340 sq. mi.) in western Hunan Province. The majority are located in the Wuling Mountains, including parts of Yuanling, Chunxi, Jishou, Guzhang, and Dayong counties..   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Map of Han Chinese, Waxiang in China Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
1.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.22 %)
0.30 %
Ethnic Religions
70.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
28.70 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Waxianghua (372,000 speakers)
Language Code wxa   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Unknown
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Waxianghua (372,000 speakers)
Language Code wxa   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Waxianghua

Primary Language:  Waxianghua

Bible Translation Status:  Translation Needed

Resource Type Resource Name Source
None reported  
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Operation China, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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