ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 shows a surprisingly low degree of intimacy between the Hui respondents and their neighbors. Chapter 3 identifies a deep social division between higher status Hui and their lower status coethnics as friendship patterns among the Hui are very much stratified by social status. Do these findings suggest that the Hui are “a lonely crowd” in a metropolis who are very much detached and isolated from one another?1 This suggestion goes against the existing portrayal of the Hui as a densely connected community best known for its hospitality, generosity, and the resulting high degree of network exchange.2 How true is this portrayal of the Hui? A good answer may come from a quantitative comparison of Hui network behavior with that of the Han.
