China's Dagur Minority - Sino-Platonic Papers

IntroductionThe Dagur (Dawoer) are one of China's ethnic minorities. They number 94,000'today and are found primarily in Morin Dawaa and Ewenki Autonomous Banners ofInner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and in the suburbs of Qiqihaer [Qiqihar],Heilongjiang Province. They live with Han, Ewenki, Oroqen, Mongols and otherminority groups. Because of transliteration differences, Dagur has been writtenvariousIy as Dahuer, Daguer [Dahaner, Dawuer, Daur], and so on. Dawoer has beenconsistently used since the beginning of the People's Republic of China in 1949?1.1 PopulationDagur are not numerous. Before establishment of the People's Republic of China, theDagur population was decentralized and population growth was slow. In 1982, a Statecensus indicated a population of 94,014 Dagur, an increase of 42,O 14 (18 %) over the24 years from the 52,000 reported in the 1958 census, and a further growth of46,000 (96%) over 29 years from the 48,000 reported in a 1953 census. In 1888 (the13th year of Guang Xu's reign), based on Heilongjiang, a book by the CommercialSection of the Middle East Railroad Bureau, the Dagur population, including thoseliving in Xinjiang, was 31,000. There obviously has been dramatic populationgrowth, that is, a growth of 50% between 1888 and 1953, and especially after thefoundation of the PRC.1.2 Population DistributionAccording to a 1982 State census (Table 1. I), the Dagur mainly live in InnerMongolia (58,61 I), Heilongjiang (30,192), and Xinjiang (4,369). That comprises93,172, excluding the remaining population (842) scattered in 21 other administrativeregions. They are primarily local government officials and workers of city andtownship enterprises and their families.l[In 1990, the Dagur poulation "was a little more than 121,00, most of whom arefound in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province, witha small number settled in Tacheng Prefecture in ~injiang:"(Zhan~ and Zeng1993 : 37) .]'[Note the use of "Daur " in hvo officially sanctioned English publications devotedto China's minority populations: Ma Yin (1989) and Zheng and Zeng (1993).]