"Do Chinese Really Reject Homo Sapiens Ancestry?" Topic

This was absolutely new to me:

YouTube link

Is that controversial theory really officially taught and as generally accepted in that part of the world, as claimed in that show?

Does anyone know?

Thanks,

Dan
PS. If so, someone should start sculpting some h. erectus minis!!!

It was… The communist party tried to "educate" people in China that they had different ancestors than the africans to explain that the chinese are of a "better" origin. But recent research show that even the chinese are decendants from the african Homo erectus.

I grew up in Hong Kong, not exactly China, but it does scream of propaganda designed to to justify racist policies.

Oh, its the Alice Roberts documentary!

I saw this when it was on TV. The theory was quite strongly promoted in China by the 'old style' Communist Party apparently.

They did DNA tests and stuff which disproved it, much to the disappointment of some Chinese academics!

Not that anyone could accuse American academia of sucking up to political interests or even having a political agenda. I think your find Chinese xenophobia predates the Chinese Communist Party by a few thousand years.

I think it has been conclusively proven that humanity has evolved on a whole wide basis , which would involve local variation at least since the time of Neanderthals. I also consider the evidence for this happening earlier, as over whelming. It can be shown with mathematical models that evolutionary changes can spread through out a world wide population with out the necessity for populations to be replaced or without individuals needing to move round the globe.

I don't think the Chinese are claiming to some separate branch of humanity- you only have to look at the Turkic peoples who live in the western part of the Chinese state to see a gradual change in features.

As the out of Africa supporters are yet to find a 35,000 year old bicycle in Australia, its that theory that has a whole lot more holes in it. I've noticed a creep up from the 50000 years ago date- with 100,000 years sometimes used now.

Homoerectos is an ancestor(not 'their ancestor' as the presenter said)- not their only ancestor. I expect this is down to the poor film making and wanting to poorly present the contesting view points.

ps- on part 11- I'd rather have a decent stone tool for cutting down my bamboo- what cooblers.

The Han are like that.Just ask the Miao.

Yes, the Chinese are fans of the Multiregional hypothesis, rather than the Out of Africa hypothesis. Both had their western supporters in decades past, but genetics and new fossils have given the Multi-regional hypothesis a kicking in recent years. In summary:

OUT OF AFRICA
1. Homo erectus evolves in Africa.
2. Homo erectus spreads across Europe and Asia.
3. Homo sapiens evolves in Africa.
4. Homo sapiens spreads across the world.
5. Local populations of Homo sapiens develop regional characteristics, leading to today's racial differences in skull structure, etc.

MULTI-REGIONAL
1. Homo erectus evolves in Africa.
2. Homo erectus spreads across Europe and Asia.
3. Local populations of Homo erectus develop regional characteristics and differences.
4. Those regional differences lead to today's racial differences, as all the erectus groups simultaneously evolve into Homo sapiens without any new input from Africa.

I've no idea how the Multi-regionalists explain the neanderthals, Homo heidelbergensis and other species that leaft Africa after erectus but before sapiens was around.

Hmmmmmmm

me thinks if they are xenophobic…that would make them lesser
race…..of sub humans

more primative……too bad

just another hurtle to global unity….and brotherly love

This thread is also on the Plus Board I have posted a Chinese "defense " there. Basically it has nothing to do with the Communist party but rather Chinese culture particularly Confucianism and Taoism .

A Turk or other minority can be a Chinese citizen as part of the modern term Chinese nation (Zhonghua Minzu) is now used to describe a notion of a Chinese nationality that transcends ethnic divisions. What we call Chinese are the Han who would call themselves Zhōngguóren ( people of the Central Kingdom)

TMP link

Interestingly enough the human genome project has put to bed a lot of "questions"(though who took them seriously) about the existance of sub-races in the human race. As it turns out there are none. There are no dividing lines between people of different color like there is between people and, say, gibbons. I read that many scientists were stating emphatically in the 20-30's that the notion of race was on shakey scientific ground just as Hitler and his crew tried to pose their own racial science views. Heck, Himmler went to great lengths to "research" mankind's ancestry and got several scientists to go along with it.

The whole concept of race is a crock, always has been and always will be. We didn't start discussing race until colonialism started. Like what was written above, the purpose was to pave the way for racial discrimination.

There are interesting things that fallout from this. Some parties, deeply interested in minority and race issues and normally considered strongly supporting science are suddenly left with the fact that their "racial minority" concept has no scientific backing. I'm just stating a fact and not trying to start a political discussion. I've always believed that we should keep things as logical and scientific as possible.

Saying the Chinese reject H. sapiens ancestry is misleading. Attributing the belief to xenophobia or racial superiority theories is disingenuous. Regardless of sensationalistic headlines, Chinese researchers still publish in peer reviewed journals, with some supporting this theory (multi-regional), and some not.

" Chinese researchers still publish in peer reviewed journals, with some supporting this theory (multi-regional), and some not."

Momoiro, that is exactly what I neede to know. Thanks so much.

Dan