The area now inhabited by the Linghua speakers was once solely the domain of tribal, non-Han Chinese people. As the Han expanded and multiplied, Han migrants started to enter the area several hundred years ago and found themselves a minority among a diverse collection of ethnic groups. Languages like Linghua are the result of fusion between the Han and minorities.
Linghua is an entirely linguistic classification. It is not known what ethnic name the speakers of this language call themselves. Hua means "speech" in China; Linghua is therefore a linguistic term. Linghua is not the same as Pinghua, a language spoken by approximately two million people in other parts of Guangxi, although the origins of the two languages may be similar. Even though their speech displays many influences from Miao, the Linghua have almost certainly been officially counted as members of the Han Chinese nationality.
Living in mountains that contain a bulging population, there is little spare land available for the Linghua to cultivate rice and other crops. Many Linghua villages have water fed to them through bamboo pipes leading from the nearest river or stream.
The main religious adherence of the Linghua is ancestor worship. People in China who worship their ancestors do not consider it a religion, but it does dominate their spiritual thinking and requires a measure of devotion to the rituals and ceremonies associated with it.
There are no known Christians among the 20,000 Linghua. Prior to 1949 Guangxi was one of the provinces in China most neglected by missionaries. Its lack of roads and infrastructure, and its diverse number of languages and tribal peoples made ministry and evangelistic progress in Guangxi difficult. The Linghua can be adequately reached through the use of Chinese materials.
Without the guidance of Christ, these people are like sheep without a shepherd. They need the good shepherd in their families and communities.
Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side.
Pray for loving workers.
Pray for their hearts to be drawn to the Lord of lords.
Pray for a church planting movement to thrive in their communities.
Scripture Prayers for the Linghua in China.
Operation China, Asia Harvest, Copyrighted © Used with permission
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
