There have been many headlines and views on former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s recent visit to mainland China. One aspect of his trip has received relatively little attention, even though it generated some buzz among Chinese netizens: Ma’s way of speaking Chinese. Jin Luo explains.

Ex Taiwan President and former Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (马英九) made headlines earlier this month after he ended his historic 12-day visit to mainland China.

One aspect of his trip that was discussed by netizens and reported by Chinese online media was Ma’s use of “Hunan dialect” (湖南方言). Many were amazed by how well he could speak it, how he interacted with locals in the Hunan dialect, and how he delivered his words with a genuine emotional connection while paying respect to his grandfather.

The official language used on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is Mandarin, although there are some variations in terms of accents and vocabulary. However, Ma did not speak standard Mandarin during his speech and visit to Hunan.

So what language did he use during his 10-minute speech at Hunan University and while he was paying respects at the graves of his ancestors?

Xiang: One of the Many Varieties of Chinese

The question “Do you speak Chinese?” is often understood without confusion because “Chinese” is generally interpreted as referring to Mandarin, which has the largest number of native speakers in the world at nearly 1 billion.

However, from a linguistic standpoint, “Chinese” is a collective term that encompasses hundreds of varieties, categorized into seven or ten groups, with the most well-known being Mandarin and Cantonese.

It is not always easy to determine whether the different varieties should be considered dialects or distinct languages. For instance, if you only speak Mandarin, you might not understand anything if you walk on the streets of Hong Kong, where Cantonese is spoken. Nevertheless, you would be able to read all the street signs since the written language and grammar are similar.

The degree of similarity or difference between various varieties of Chinese can vary widely. People from vast Mandarin-speaking regions can generally understand each other, while in the southern parts of China, people may face difficulties communicating with those in neighboring villages after crossing a mountain.

Map of sinitic languages. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

During his visit to Hunan, Ma Ying-jeou visited Xiangtan and spoke in the local variety called “Xiang” (湘), also known as “Hunanese” or “Changshanese,” which are sometimes used interchangeably. Hunan is located in South Central China. The main river in its east is called Xiang Jiang (湘江), and it passes through Hunan’s capital Changsha. Xiang is spoken by over 36 million people in China, with the most spoken variety being the Changsha dialect.

While Xiang may not be as well-known as other Chinese dialects outside of China, some of its speakers are very famous. Mao Zedong is perhaps China’s most well-known Xiang speaker. The popular North American-Chinese dish, General Tso’s chicken, is named after Zuo Zongtang, another prominent Xiang speaker. Zhu Rongji, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, is originally from Changsha, a city in the Hunan province where Xiang is widely spoken. And Ma Ying-jeou is one of the most well-known contemporary politicians who speaks Xiang.

What is especially noteworthy about Ma speaking Xiang is the fact that he was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Taiwan, and studied in the US. His March-April 2023 China trip was his very first visit to mainland China or Hunan. How come he speaks Xiang at all?

“Outside Province People”

Ma Ying-jeou’s parents were both from Hunan and were Kuomintang members. Before Ma Ying-jeou was born, they already had three daughters who were born in different locations. Ma Ying-jeou himself was born in Hong Kong in 1950, and two years later the entire family moved to Taipei.

Individuals such as Ma, who relocated with their families to Taiwan from the mainland after 1945, are known as Waishengren (外省人, literally: people from outside the province). They came from various regions of China, primarily the southern part. They generally speak Mandarin but still use their hometown dialect within their families. (The Han Chinese people who were already in Taiwan before 1945 are referred to as Benshengren 本省人, literally: native province people.)

While the Waishengren are predominantly Han Chinese, which is the ethnic majority in both Taiwan (95-97%) and mainland China (~92%), they are actually considered a minority group in Taiwan now.

In 1990, Waishengren accounted for approximately 13% of the population, but since then, the official identification of this group has been discontinued. However, surveys on self-identity conducted in the 21st century have consistently indicated that the Waishengren make up around 10%-12% of Taiwan’s population.

Most Han Chinese in Taiwan can trace their ancestry back to mainland China, whether their ancestors arrived 60 or 600 years ago. Many Han Chinese in Taiwan have genealogy records that detail the towns their ancestors came from and moved to. Ma Ying-jeou is one such person, and one of the main purposes of his visit to mainland China was to pay respect to his ancestors in Hunan.

Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots

In the Chinese context, one’s jiguan (can roughly be translated as ‘ancestral home’) refers to the birthplace of one’s father. This was once a compulsory item to fill in official documents in most of the Greater China area. For example, former NBA star Yao Ming was born in Shanghai, but his jiguan is the nearby city of Suzhou because that is where his father was born.

Similarly, Ma Ying-jeou’s jiguan is Xiangtan County in Hunan, even though he had never been there until recently. This is because his grandfather was also born in Xiangtan County, and died there when Ma Ying-jeou’s father was 7 years old. His grandfather was buried there, and as such, Xiangtan County is considered to be Ma Ying-jeou’s ancestral home.

Lineage holds great cultural significance in southern China and among overseas Chinese, many of whom originated from southern China. Lineage is often traced through ancestral villages, genealogy books, lineage associations, and sometimes even a unique dialect. Ancestors are revered as deities or, in non-religious settings, a spiritual connection to the supreme power of heaven. In Confucianism, paying respect to one’s ancestors is a demonstration of filial piety, one of the most important virtues.

The Qingming Festival, held every year around April 4-6, is dedicated to visiting ancestors’ tombs. For those who have moved away from their ancestral hometown, it is important to visit when they get older or be buried in the same place as their ancestors. This is expressed in Chinese as luoyeguigen (落叶归根), which means “fallen leaves return to their roots.”

Visiting one’s ancestral hometown for the first time is often a deeply emotional experience, and this was certainly the case for Ma Ying-jeou and his four sisters when they visited Xiangtan four days before the Qingming Festival.

Ma was filmed while giving a speech in front of his grandfather’s tomb, speaking in Xiang. He spoke in detail about the family’s journey since 1927 and talked about how the family has been prospering, with 38 people in his generation. He also discussed his achievements as a politician and how he contributed to the peace of the mainland-Taiwan relationship.

Ma Ying-jeou reading out his speech for his ancestors, screenshot, video via Weibo.

In the end, Ma expressed how emotional he felt being able to visit his grandfather’s tomb for the first time and how grateful he is that the family’s virtues have been passed down through the generations. He wished that his grandfather’s soul would forever bless the Ma family to continue contributing to humanity. As he finished his speech, it was clear that he was in tears.

“Boy from Xiangtan”

Visiting the mainland at this particular time certainly carries political implications, particularly given that current Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was visiting the US at the same time. The visits by the Taiwanese politicians to China and the US have generated a range of reactions from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, with some expressing praise and others voicing criticism.

While Ma’s visit to mainland China was significant, it is notable that the focus of his trip was not on politics, but on emphasizing cultural identity – language being an important part of it. Ma’s apparent deep emotional connection to his ancestral roots in China is a highly valued cultural trait that resonates with many Chinese people.

During his Xiangtan visit, local residents warmly welcomed him with the phrase “Welcome home.” In response, Ma spoke in the Xiang dialect and said that “the boy from Xiangtan has returned” (“湘潭伢子回来了”). This simple yet powerful message reiterated Ma’s sense of belonging, and its impact was felt not only in what he said but also how he said it.

Ma’s ability to speak the language of his ancestral hometown immediately connected him with the local Hunan people. He engaged in lengthy discussions in Xiang with students at Hunan University, caused traffic jams by strolling through a night market in Changsha, and even sang a song on a Hunan TV program. As a result of his visit to Hunan, Ma became somehwat of a wanghong, an online hit.

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of Global Times, also posted about it on Weibo and expressed surprised at how well Ma speaks the Hunan dialect. The Hunan provincial party secretary, who is not a native speaker of Xiang, also expressed his admiration for Ma’s proficiency and said he felt pressured and inspired to learn from him.

Despite its political timing, Ma’s visit has been reported as a “private visit,” and the former President also did not have any official meetings in Beijing. Rather than engaging in political rhetoric, Ma seemingly sought to connect with the Chinese people on a personal and cultural level.

In addition to paying respects to his ancestors, he also visited museums, met with locals, and did some sightseeing. At times, he appeared as an ambassador and peace negotiator, while at others, he resembled an excited tourist exploring new sights for the first time.

Meanwhile, he also appeared simply as a 73-year-old retiree, finding comfort in speaking his hometown dialect that few people in Taiwan can speak with him. In Hunan, he will now mostly be remembered as ‘the boy from Xiangtan.’

Read more Chinese language-related articles here.

By Jin Luo 

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