ABSTRACT
The People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) is a highly multicultural state with fifty-six “nationalities” with distinctive cultures and languages. Even the Han majority (91 percent) is culturally diverse, with at least eight distinctive language groups (Gladney, 2003, p. 11.) This notwithstanding, many scholars and media perceive and represent China as a monolithic (that is monolingual and monocultural) state. Although the 8-9 percent minority share of the population may seem inconsequential, these indigenous and minority groups lay historical claim to as much as 60 percent of the existing territories of the P.R.C., much of that being in the western and northern regions of Tibet and Xinjiang (Uygur territory). Furthermore, of the fifty-five non-Han “minorities,” the Tibetans and Uygurs are two of the most populous indigenous groups, who are also behind the most significant independence and selfdetermination movements.
