Abstract
M.Tech. (Architecture)
‘Race’, according to Robert Anemone, is the ‘classification of humans into groups based on physical
traits, ancestry, genetics, or social relations, or the relations between them.’ (Anemone, 2011:1).
Genetic data from several sources have shown that humans are genetically homogeneous, and that
gene variation is very often shared commonly among different populations. Genetic variation is
geographically structured, due to the relative isolation of human populations throughout early human
history. However, because the earliest definitions of race were associated with geography, it is not
completely accurate to say that race is biologically meaningless. On the other hand, because human
populations have only ever been partially isolated, and are seldom demarcated by precise genetic
boundaries, substantial overlap does indeed occur between populations, invalidating the concept that
populations (or races) are distinct types. (Jorde, 2004: 36). Even though there is a broad scientific
agreement that essentialist and typological conceptualisations of race are unsound, scientists around
the world continue to conceptualise race in widely differing ways, some of which have essentialist
implications (Fuentes et.al, 2004: 907-921). In spite of the scientific evidence to the contrary, following
Smedley, I would argue that ‘few notions have as contentious a history as the term “race”’ (Smedley,
1999:27)
In South Africa, when the first Asian migrants settled in the Cape and the Witwatersrand to trade
and work in the gold mines, their ‘race’ classification by government, and their cultural practices; have
been through a series of evolutions. Chinese migrants were first classified as ‘Coloured’ during early
apartheid rule (1940s) up until the 1970s, when trade relations between Taiwan, Korea and China
strengthened. Migrants from these countries were then re-classified as ‘honorary whites’, for political,
diplomatic and economic reasons. However, this did not apply to the first generation of Cantonesespeaking
indentured labourers in South Africa, who continued to be classified as ‘Coloured.’
Chinese cultures have a rich and complex relationship to ancient mythology that dates back nearly
4,000 years. Throughout Chinese history, myth, reality and history have always been entangled.
Historical figures have been worshipped as deities, and folklore has often been treated as true event.
As a tradition which is often passed on through generations orally and pictorially, interpretations of
the myths sometimes evolve based on region and cultural grouping. Because of this, the specificities of
the myths are often inherently linked to the identities and geographies of different regions.