"Rude tribes and wild frontiers": treatment of ethnicity in Chinese children’s literature

This study investigates the treatment of ethnicity in Chinese children’s literature focusing on the portrayal of ethnic minorities. It considers the construction of subaltern identity in Chinese children’s books in various historical contexts, its linguistic implication, and in the environment of recent economic development. It argues that the treatment of ethnic representation in Chinese children’s literature reflects an overriding Han Chinese ethnocentricity in terms of national unity, harmony, and ethnic exoticism. It also attempts to demonstrate the persistence of traditional stereotypes concerning ethnic images in China.