Ryukyu people belong to Ryukyu family. Ryukyu people are mainly distributed in Ryukyu Islands (including today's Okinawa Prefecture and Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture), and some people live in mainland Japan, Taiwan Province Province and other overseas areas.
Whether Ryukyu people are a nation is controversial in East Asian countries. The Japanese and some Ryukyu people recognize Ryukyu, but regard Ryukyu as a branch of Yamato. But other Ryukyu people think they are not Japanese.
Ryukyu language
The native language of Ryukyu people is Ryukyu, but now most Ryukyu people can't speak Ryukyu. Now Ryukyu people speak Japanese or Okinawa (Okinawa Japanese).
The native language of Ryukyu people is Ryukyu language, which has a certain approximate relationship with Japanese and is influenced by China Min dialect, especially Fuzhou dialect. Moreover, the official language of Ryukyu is Chinese characters, and Chinese is used. The language system of Ryukyu language is controversial, and most scholars believe that it belongs to Altai language family, and construct a "Japanese family" to include it; However, there is another view in linguistics that Ryukyu language is closer to Austronesian language family. Ryukyu language is divided into many dialects. Based on the central Okinawa dialect, there are great differences between dialects, and the differences between them will affect interoperability.
At present, Ryukyu people generally use Japanese in formal occasions, and many people in Okinawa also use Japanese with a strong Okinawa accent. At present, there are only about 1 million people using Ryukyu, and most of them are elderly people. Therefore, Ryukyu has a tendency to decline, while the use of less Bazhongshan dialect and Huna dialect is in great danger of disappearing.
origin
There are different opinions on the origin of Ryukyu nationality, and there is no conclusion in academic circles at present. According to archaeological research results, the ancestors of Ryukyu Islands residents migrated from southern Kyushu.
China scholars say that Ryukyu people are descendants of Baiyue. In Yuejueshu, Baiyue is divided into "internal Yue" and "external Yue". After the Qin Dynasty perished in the Six Kingdoms, it became increasingly dissatisfied and took refuge in the sea by boat. Qin Shihuang had to send sinners from all over the world to the East China Sea to guard against Vietnam. Due to the extremely strict precautions of the Qin dynasty, foreign Vietnam can only go to sea to make a living. Some scholars in China believe that some overseas Chinese in the East China Sea may reach Taiwan Province Province, Ryukyu and southern Kyushu Island, and become the ancestors of Ryukyu and Yamato, the aborigines of Taiwan Province Province.
Western scholars put forward a view that the ancient Ryukyu people are of the same origin as the aborigines in Indonesia or Australia and belong to the Malay branch. Japanese scholars believe that Ryukyu people and Ainu people are homologous.
There is also a saying that Ryukyu people moved in from the Japanese archipelago and became a branch of the Japanese. This statement is called "Japan Ryukyu Homology". The Story of Ryukyu in Zhenxi written by Japanese monks and another Japanese novel with a Bow written by Qu Qin both mentioned the story that Nishihara fled to Ryukyu and went to North Korea after the Baoyuan Rebellion. Sun Yat-sen's World Guide, compiled by Prince Regent Xiang Xian of Ryukyu, also claims that King Shuntian of Ryukyu is the son of Yuan Chao born in Ryukyu. Since then, Zhongshan Genealogy has been translated from Zhongshan Shi Jian, which has been used ever since. Due to the positioning of Sun Yat-sen as an official history book, the theory of Japan and Ryukyu ancestors was accepted by many Japanese and some Ryukyu people. Some famous Ryukyu people, such as Xiang Xiangxian, Xiang Youheng and Yi Popo. They are all supporters of the same ancestor theory of Japan and Ryukyu. However, the story of Japan's Baoyuan did not mention that Ryukyu originated in Korea, and when Shi Jian in Zhongshan was compiled, Ryukyu had become a vassal state of Satsuma in Japan, so some people thought it was a fabrication. Tao, a Chinese scholar, is also a famous opponent of the same clan theory between Japan and Ryukyu, calling it "really hateful" that Ryukyu raped a fairy and forged the Japanese as the father of King Shuntian.
In the Edo period, it was said that "Japan and Ryukyu are the same clan", and Ryukyu people were also one of the "Japanese" mentioned in China's ancient books. This statement was put forward by Noi Baishi in 17 19. In the preface of Nan Dao Chronicle, it is considered that Nanwo mentioned in Shan Hai Jing and Overseas Stories is Ryukyu, and it is proved by some Ryukyu ballads and old sayings. In 178 1, Fujimori believes that Tian Sunyue (now Wu Yiping Island クマーー Cave) on Ye Huiping Island in Ryukyu is the "land where Tian Sunlai came" in Japanese mythology, and Emperor Jimmu set out from this island for an eastward expedition. This statement was immediately questioned by other scholars after its birth. This giant director refuted this statement in his book The Clamp Madman (1785).