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113-562: Ancient Chinese may refer to: The people—particularly Han people —of ancient China Old Chinese or Archaic Chinese, the ancient form of spoken Chinese Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese, the form now known as "Ancient Chinese" in China Middle Chinese , the form employed by the Tang poets and often known as "Ancient Chinese" in older English texts Topics referred to by

226-612: A population genetic study, Singapore is "the country with the biggest proportion of Han Chinese" in Southeast Asia. Singapore is the only nation in the world where Overseas Chinese constitute a majority of the population and remain the country's cultural, economic and politically dominant arbiters vis-à-vis their non-Han minority counterparts. Up until the past few decades, overseas Han communities originated predominantly from areas in Eastern and Southeastern China (mainly from

339-446: A culturally, economically and politically dominant majority vis-à-vis the non-Han minorities throughout most of China's recorded history. Han Chinese are almost the majority in every Chinese province, municipality and autonomous region except for the autonomous regions of Xinjiang (38% or 40% in 2010) and Tibet Autonomous Region (8% in 2014), where Uighurs and Tibetans are the majority, respectively. Han Chinese also constitute

452-567: A different approach to quelling the conflict. The Yuan asserted that the Song, Liao and Jin were all legitimate; therefore all three dynasties were given their own history, as recognition of their legitimacy. Despite this, the Yuan racially segregated their people; dividing society into four categories: In addition, the Yuan also divided society into 10 castes, based on "desirability": The Yuan rulers were ethnic Mongols and were viewed as barbaric by

565-634: A diplomatic letter by referring to the Japanese ruler as the Son of Heaven , another title for the Chinese emperor (日出處天子致書日沒處天子無恙云云; "The Son of Heaven of where the sun rises is writing to the Son of Heaven of where the sun sets"). It was taken as an insult by the Chinese emperor of the time, Emperor Yang of Sui , since Heaven is only supposed to have one eldest Son. Confucianism was introduced into Japan about at

678-505: A resemblance to the areas they had left behind in China, regardless of whether they arrived in the north or south of Taiwan. Hoklo immigrants from Quanzhou settled in coastal regions and those from Zhangzhou tended to gather on inland plains, while the Hakka inhabited hilly areas. Clashes and tensions between the two groups over land, water, ethno-racial, and cultural differences led to

791-429: A rich history that spans thousands of years, with their historical roots dating back to the days of ancient China . Throughout Han history, China has been governed by dynasties , with periods during which it has seen cycles of expansion, contraction, unity, and fragmentation. Due to the overwhelming numerical and cultural dominance of Han culture in China, most of the written history of China can be read as "a history of

904-535: A time of war between Chinese states. He regarded people who did not respect the traditional value of li as "barbarians", as he believed the workings of a civilised state should be founded on ethical conduct, which he said must stem from li . Confucius argued that a state founded on the relatively cruel social codes of conquest and warlordism was barbaric in contrast to one founded on the principles of stately righteousness. In Analect 3.5, Confucius said, "The Yi and Di barbarian tribes with rulers are not as viable as

1017-648: Is complicated by the absence of contemporary records, the discovery of archaeological sites has enabled a succession of Neolithic cultures to be identified along the Yellow River. Along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were the Cishan culture ( c.  6500–5000 BCE ), the Yangshao culture ( c.  5000–3000 BCE ), the Longshan culture ( c.  3000–2000 BCE ) and

1130-596: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Han people The Han Chinese or the Han people , or simply the Chinese , are an East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China . With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the world's largest ethnic group , making up about 17.5% of the global population . The Han Chinese represent 92% of

1243-534: Is often cited as expressing the sentiments of the "non-xenophobic" Chinese position on the Hua–Yi distinction. In the essay, Chen wrote: "If one speaks in terms of geography, then there are Hua and Yi. But if one speaks in terms of education, then there can be no such difference. For the distinction between Hua and Yi rests in the heart and is determined by their different inclinations." A prominent Tang Confucian, Han Yu , wrote in his essay Yuan Dao , "When Confucius wrote

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1356-557: Is said to have sent several hundred thousand men and fifteen thousand women to form agricultural and military settlements in Lingnan (present day Guangxi and Guangdong), under the leadership of a general named Zhao Tuo. The famous Han emperor, Han Wu Di, ordered another two hundred thousand men to build ships to attack and colonialize the Lingnan region, thus adding to the population in Guangdong and Guangxi. The first urban conurbations in

1469-570: Is the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BCE), established by Yu the Great after Emperor Shun abdicated leadership to reward Yu's work in taming the Great Flood . Yu's son, Qi , managed to not only install himself as the next ruler, but also dictated his sons as heirs by default, making the Xia dynasty the first in recorded history where genealogical succession was the norm. The civilizational prosperity of

1582-747: Is traditionally credited to have united with the neighbouring Shennong tribes after defeating their leader, the Yan Emperor , at the Battle of Banquan . The newly merged Yanhuang tribes then combined forces to defeat their common enemy from the east, Chiyou of the Jiuli ( 九黎 ) tribes, at the Battle of Zhuolu and established their cultural dominance in the Central Plain region. To this day, modern Han Chinese refer themselves as " Descendants of Yan and Huang ". Although study of this period of history

1695-582: The An Lu Shan rebellion during the Tang dynasty (755–763 AD), and the Jingkang incident (1127 AD) and Jin-Song wars . These events caused widespread devastation, and even depopulated the north, resulting in the complete social and political breakdown and collapse of central authority in the Central Plains, triggering massive, sustained waves of Han Chinese migration into South China, leading to

1808-576: The Chunqiu , he said that if the feudal lords use the Yi ritual, then they should be called Yi. If they use Chinese rituals, then they should be called Chinese." Han Yu went on to lament that the Chinese of his time might all become Yi because the Tang court wanted to put Yi laws above the teachings of the former kings, creating the possibility that although insiders could lose their culture, outsiders could similarly gain insider culture. Arguments that excoriated

1921-718: The Erlitou culture ( c.  1900–1500 BCE ). These cultures are believed to be related to the origins of the Sino-Tibetan languages and later the Sinitic languages . They were the foundation for the formation of Old Chinese and the founding of the Shang dynasty , China's first confirmed dynasty. Early ancient Chinese history is largely legendary, consisting of mythical tales intertwined with sporadic annals written centuries to millennia later. Sima Qian's Records of

2034-635: The Huaxia that lived along the Guanzhong and Yellow River basins in Northern China. In addition, numerous ethnic groups were assimilated and absorbed by the Han Chinese at various points in China's history. Like many modern ethnic groups, the ethnogenesis of Han Chinese was a lengthy process that involved the expansion of the successive Chinese dynasties and their assimilation of various non-Han ethnic groups that became sinicised over

2147-616: The Hundred Schools of Thought ) and Confucianism , Taoism and Legalism are among the most important surviving philosophies from this era. The chaotic Warring States period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty came to an end with the unification of China by the western state of Qin after its conquest of all other rival states under King Ying Zheng . King Zheng then gave himself a new title " First Emperor of Qin " ( Chinese : 秦始皇帝 ; pinyin : Qín Shǐ Huángdì ), setting

2260-514: The Northern and Southern period and was inspired by the Han dynasty , which is considered to be one of the first golden ages in Chinese history . As a unified and cohesive empire that succeeded the short-lived Qin dynasty, Han China established itself as the center of the East Asian geopolitical order at the time, projecting its power and influence unto Asian neighbors. It was comparable with

2373-598: The Pearl River Delta . These mass migrations over the centuries inevitably led to the demographic expansion, economic prosperity, agricultural advancements, and cultural flourishing of Southern China, which remained relatively peaceful unlike its northern counterpart. The vast majority of Han Chinese – over 1.2 billion – live in the People's Republic of China (PRC), where they constitute about 90% of its overall population. Han Chinese in China have been

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2486-593: The Southern dynasties , who were all Han Chinese, portrayed the non-Han rulers as barbaric. Meanwhile, the "Five Barbarians", who founded several of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China and Sichuan, often had to cooperate with the local Han people to consolidate their rules. The first two of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Han-Zhao and Cheng-Han dynasties, adopted the Chinese ruling systems and customs, with

2599-453: The Tang dynasty , various ethnic groups including Koreans, Indians and Tibetans journeyed to Chang'an and other major Tang cities for business or study. These people brought their religions and customs: Buddhism , Islam , Zoroastrianism ( Xianjiao ), Manichaeism ( Monijiao ) and Syriac Christianity ( Jingjiao ), all of which flourished. This cosmopolitan policy caused controversy among

2712-639: The Uprising of the Five Barbarians ( 五胡 ) and ravaging of North China that occurred at the start of the 4th century, the Jin dynasty and other ethnic Han appealed to entrenched beliefs in the Hua–Yi distinction when calling for resistance to the Five Barbarians and the Yi they represented. The Jin was eventually driven out of the north and relocated south of the Yangtze River . The historians of

2825-548: The Uprising of the Five Barbarians triggered the first massive movement of Han Chinese dominated by civilians rather than soldiers to the south, being led principally by the aristocracy and the Jin elite. Thus, Jiangnan, comprising Hangzhou's coastal regions and the Yangtze valley were settled in the 4th century AD by families descended from Chinese nobility. Special " commanderies of immigrants" and "white registers" were created for

2938-613: The 1920s. Following the overthrow of the Qing, Sun Yat-sen allegedly went to the grave of Zhu Yuanzhang and told him that the Huaxia had been restored and the barbarians overthrown. However, after the Republic of China revolution, Sun also advocated that all ethnic groups in China were part of the Chinese family. The PRC did not abide by the concept of the Hua-Yi distinction and recognised

3051-535: The Central Plains by Han Wu Di, was now repopulated by Han Chinese settlers and colonists from the Chinese heartland. The "Eight Great Surnames" were eight noble families who migrated from the Central Plains to Fujian - these were the Hu, He, Qiu, Dan, Zheng, Huang, Chen and Lin clans, who remain there until this very day. In the wake of the An Lushan rebellion , a further wave of Han migrants from northern China headed

3164-486: The Chinese and their northern neighbours, ignoring many intergroup similarities. Nicola di Cosmo doubted the existence of a strong demarcation between the "Zhou Universe" and "a discrete, 'barbarian', non-Zhou universe" and claimed that Chinese historian Sima Qian popularised this concept, writing of the "chasm that had 'always' existed between China – the Hua-Hsia [Huaxia] people – and the various alien groups inhabiting

3277-444: The Chinese who believed themselves to be more refined and who had begun to build cities and live an urban life based on agriculture . It was in an attempt of how best to deal with this problem that the philosopher, Confucius (551–479 BCE) was prompted to formulate principles for relationships with the barbarians, briefly recorded in two of his Analects . Although China had been trading goods to and from Europeans for centuries, it

3390-598: The Dugu and Yuwen families. The Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties saw continuing emigration from the Central Plains to the south-eastern coast of what is now China proper, including the provinces of Fujian , Guangdong , and Hainan . This was especially true in the latter part of the Tang era and the Five Dynasties period that followed; the relative stability of the south coast made it an attractive destination for refugees fleeing continual warfare and turmoil in

3503-672: The Grand Historian recorded a period following the Battle of Zhuolu, during the reign of successive generations of confederate overlords ( Chinese : 共主 ) known as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (c. 2852–2070 BCE), who, allegedly, were elected to power among the tribes. This is a period for which scant reliable archaeological evidence exists – these sovereigns are largely regarded as cultural heroes . The first dynasty to be described in Chinese historical records

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3616-481: The Han Chinese and the non-Han was evident at times. The Han-Zhao first introduced separate governing bodies for the Chinese and non-Han tribes which was later adopted by some of the Sixteen Kingdoms, thus upholding the Hua–Yi distinction. Relations were especially tense in northern China under the Later Zhao dynasty , which culminated in racial violence during the final years of the empire. The Later Zhao dynasty

3729-471: The Han Chinese from Northern China to Southern China, leading to a further increase in the Han Chinese population across southern Chinese provinces. The formation of the Hainanese and Hakka people can be attributed to the chaos of this period. The Mongol conquest of China during the thirteenth century once again caused a surging influx of Northern Han Chinese refugees to move south to settle and develop

3842-487: The Han Chinese population in the south far outstripped that of the Bai Yue. Guangdong and Fujian both experienced a significant influx of Northern Han Chinese settlers, leading many Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew individuals to identify themselves as Tangren , which has served as a means to assert and acknowledge their ethnic and cultural origin and identity. The Jin–Song Wars caused yet another wave of mass migration of

3955-418: The Han Chinese," hinted and tinged with only passing references to its ethnic non-Han minority counterparts . The prehistory of the Han Chinese is closely intertwined with both archaeology, biology, historical textual records, and mythology. The ethnic stock to which the Han Chinese originally trace their ancestry from were confederations of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age agricultural tribes known as

4068-632: The Han dynasty, ancient Chinese scholars used the term Huaxia ( 華夏 ; 华夏 ; Huáxià ) in texts to describe China proper , while the Chinese populace were referred to as either the 'various Hua' ( 諸華 ; 诸华 ; Zhūhuá ) or 'various Xia' ( 诸夏 ; 諸夏 ; Zhūxià ). This gave rise to two term commonly used nowadays by Overseas Chinese as an ethnic identity for the Chinese diaspora – Huaren ( 華人 ; 华人 ; Huárén ; 'ethnic Chinese people') and Huaqiao ( 华侨 ; 華僑 ; Huáqiáo ; 'the Chinese immigrant'), meaning Overseas Chinese . It has also given rise to

4181-621: The Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Qing as legitimate dynasties. Initially, the Communist Party condemned all Chinese dynasties as "feudal." In ancient times Japan seems to have had a vassal relationship with China. In 57 Emperor Guangwu of Han sent an imperial seal which mentions "King of Japan" (漢委奴國王) and in 239 Emperor Ming of Cao Wei sent a seal for "pro-Wei King of Japan" (親魏倭王) to Japan. However, in 607 Prince Shōtoku of Japan stated its perspective of being independent and equal to China in

4294-468: The Manchus' adoption of Han Chinese culture, most Han Chinese (though not all) accepted the Manchus as the legitimate rulers. Historian Frank Dikötter says the Chinese "idea of 'race' ( zhong [種], "seed", "species", "race") started to dominate the intellectual scene" in the late 19th-century Qing dynasty and completed the "transition from cultural exclusiveness to racial exclusiveness in modern China" in

4407-759: The Mandate of Heaven to rule over China. In addition, one of his key advisors, Liu Ji , generally supported the idea that while the Chinese and the non-Chinese are different, they are actually equal. Liu was therefore arguing against the idea that Hua was and is superior to Yi. During the Miao Rebellions , Ming forces engaged in massive slaughter of the Hmong and other native ethnic groups in South China ; after castrating Hmong boys to use as eunuch slaves, Chinese soldiers took Hmong women as wives and colonised

4520-566: The People's Republic of China and once publicised by the Republic of China, was historicially used specifically to refer to the Han Chinese. In Article Observations on the Chinese ethnic groups in History , Liang Qichao , who coined the term Zhonghua minzu , wrote "the present-day Zhonghua minzu generally refers to what is commonly known as the Han Chinese." It was only after the founding of

4633-479: The Qing, the Qing destroyed writings that criticised the Liao, Jin and Yuan using the Hua–Yi distinction. Sun Yat-sen also used the Hua–Yi distinction to justify the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. However, the Qing adopted Confucian philosophy and Han Chinese institutions to show that the Manchu rulers had received the Mandate of Heaven, while at the same time trying to retain their own indigenous culture. Due to

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4746-556: The Society for the Great Unity of Zhonghua minzu of the Republic of China in 1912 that the term began to officially include ethnic minorities from all regions in China. Han Chinese can be divided into various subgroups based on the variety of Chinese that they speak. Waves of migration have occurred throughout China's long history and vast geographical expanse, engendering the emergence of Han Chinese subgroups found throughout

4859-456: The Song asserted that the Liao and Western Xia, and later the Jin , were barbarian states despite their control of large areas of traditional Han territory because they had not inherited any mandate from a legitimate, "Hua" dynasty. Concerns over legitimacy were not limited to the Song alone: states rose up again in the Yuan dynasty , as its rulers were non- Han . However, the Yuan dynasty adopted

4972-521: The Sui and Tang dynasties, led by the Han Chinese families of the Yang (杨) and Li (李) surnames respectively. Both the Sui and Tang dynasties are seen as high points of Han Chinese civilization. These dynasties both emphasized their aristocratic Han Chinese pedigree and enforced the restoration of Central Plains culture, even the founders of both dynasties had already intermarried with non-Han or partly-Han women from

5085-692: The Tang's lax attitude towards foreigners were strengthened by the Yi-led An Lushan Rebellion (755–763), which propelled the Tang into decline. An intellectual movement "to return to the pure... sources of orthodox thought and morality", including many of the concepts of the Classical Prose Movement , also targeted "foreign" religions, as exemplified by Han Yu's diatribe against Buddhism. Emperor Wenzong of Tang passed decrees in line with these views, especially restricting Iranian religions and Buddhism, but this policy

5198-579: The Tang, and posed legitimacy issues for Song rule. In response to rising concerns from citizenry and claims from Yi states such as the Western Xia, Song scholars stipulated that groups like the Shatuo (whom the Song largely succeeded and who largely continued the rule of the Tang) were not barbarian or "Yi" but Chinese or "Hua" and that the Song had only descended from ruling groups that were Hua. Secondly,

5311-557: The Wu and Min varieties of Chinese originate from the way Chinese was spoken during the Jin, while the Yue and Hakka from the way Chinese was spoken in the Tang and Song, about half-a-millenia later. The presence of Tai-Kradai substrates in these dialects may have been due to the assimilation of the remaining groups of Bai Yue, integrating these lands into the Sinosphere proper. The chaos of

5424-517: The Xia dynasty at this time is thought to have given rise to the name "Huaxia" ( simplified Chinese : 华夏 ; traditional Chinese : 華夏 ; pinyin : Huá Xià , "the magnificent Xia"), a term that was used ubiquitously throughout history to define the Chinese nation. Conclusive archaeological evidence predating the 16th century BCE is, however, rarely available. Recent efforts of the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project drew

5537-581: The author is shown to believe in the superiority of the Hua culture over that of the Yi . The prominent Shuowen Jiezi character dictionary (121 CE) defines yi as "level; peaceful" ( 平 ) or "people of eastern regions" ( 東方 之人 ) and does not attempt to marginalise them. This implies that the Hua-Yi distinction was not universally held. The Bamboo Annals record that the founder of Zhou, King Wu of Zhou "led

5650-418: The centres of Han Chinese culture and wealth moved from the Yellow River Basin to Jiangnan, and to a lesser extent also, to Fujian and Guangdong. At various points in Chinese history, collapses of central authority in the face of barbarian uprisings or invasions and the loss of control of the Chinese heartland triggered mass migratory waves which transformed the demographic composition and cultural identity of

5763-424: The centuries. During the Western Zhou and Han dynasties, Han Chinese writers established genealogical lineages by drawing from legendary materials originating from the Shang dynasty , while the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian places the reign of the Yellow Emperor , the legendary leader of Youxiong tribes ( 有熊氏 ), at the beginning of Chinese history. The Yellow Emperor

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5876-402: The confines of these agricultural settlements and military outposts. The genesis of the modern Han people and their subgroups cannot be understood apart from their historical migrations to the south, resulting in a depopulation of the Central Plains, a fission between those that remained and those that headed south, and their subsequent fusion with aboriginal tribes south of the Yangtze, even as

5989-468: The connection between the Erlitou culture and the Xia dynasty, but scholars could not reach a consensus regarding the reliability of such history. The Xia dynasty was overthrown after the Battle of Mingtiao , around 1600 BCE, by Cheng Tang , who established the Shang dynasty ( c.  1600 –1046 BCE). The earliest archaeological examples of Chinese writing date back to this period – from characters inscribed on oracle bones used for divination – but

6102-417: The contemporary Roman Empire in population size, geographical extent, and cultural reach. The Han dynasty's prestige and prominence led many of the ancient Huaxia to identify themselves as 'Han people'. Similarly, the Chinese language also came to be named and alluded to as the "Han language" ( 漢語 ; 汉语 ; Hànyǔ ) ever since and the Chinese script is referred to as " Han characters ." Prior to

6215-449: The development and growth of Chinese civilization. Originating from the Central Plains , the Han Chinese trace their ancestry to the Huaxia people, a confederation of agricultural tribes that lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in north central plains of China. The Huaxia are the progenitors of Chinese civilization and the ancestors of modern Han Chinese. Han Chinese people and culture spread south from

6328-445: The divide with its creation of a persistent Han ethnocultural identity . The Han Chinese civilisation influenced neighbouring states Korea , Japan , Vietnam and Thailand and other Asian countries. Although Han Chinese superiority had only been sporadically reinforced by displays of Chinese military power, their Sinocentric system treated these countries as vassals of the emperor of China , "the Son of Heaven " ( 天子 ), who

6441-410: The dominant Han population, although they did not last long in China proper (from 1271 to 1368). In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed the Ming dynasty and issued a long manifesto, in which he labeled the Yuan as barbarians who had usurped the Chinese throne, and who had inflicted atrocities such as rape and murder. He lists incidents where the Mongols massacred men in entire villages and appropriated

6554-425: The ensuing civil wars and succeeded in establishing a much longer-lasting dynasty. It continued many of the institutions created by the Qin dynasty, but adopted a more moderate rule. Under the Han dynasty, art and culture flourished, while the Han Empire expanded militarily in all directions . Many Chinese scholars such as Ho Ping-ti believe that the concept ( ethnogenesis ) of Han ethnicity, although being ancient,

6667-454: The etymological origin of the modern English word "China". The reign of the first imperial dynasty was short-lived. Due to the First Emperor's autocratic rule and his massive labor projects, which fomented rebellion among his population, the Qin dynasty fell into chaos soon after his death. Under the corrupt rule of his son and successor Huhai , the Qin dynasty collapsed a mere three years later. The Han dynasty (206 BC–220 CE) then emerged from

6780-419: The far south. At the same time, most of the nomads in northern China came to be sinicized as they ruled over large Chinese populations and adopted elements of their culture and administration. Of note, the Xianbei rulers of Northern Wei ordered a policy of systematic sinicization, adopting Han surnames , institutions, and culture, so the Xianbei became Han Chinese. Sui and Tang Han Chinese rule resumed during

6893-450: The formation of distinct Han lineages, who also likely assimilated the by-now partially sinicized Bai Yue in their midst. Modern Han Chinese subgroups, such as the Cantonese , the Hakka , the Henghua , the Hainanese , the Hoklo peoples, the Gan , the Xiang , the Wu-speaking peoples, all claim Han Chinese ancestry pointing to official histories and their own genealogical records to support such claims. Linguists hypothesize that

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7006-421: The former initially claiming to be a continuation of the Han dynasty. The Xianbei -led Former Yan rose to prominence partly due to their acceptance and employment of Han Chinese emigres within their administration, while Fu Jian of the Di -led Former Qin is most famous for his partnership with his Chinese Prime Minister, Wang Meng and his strong dedication to Confucian principles. Still, tension between

7119-416: The frontiers. In effect, he established a centralized bureaucratic state to replace the old feudal confederation system of preceding dynasties, making Qin the first imperial dynasty in Chinese history. This dynasty, sometimes phonetically spelt as the "Ch'in dynasty", has been proposed in the 17th century by Martino Martini and supported by later scholars such as Paul Pelliot and Berthold Laufer to be

7232-459: The influence of the new Han migrants. The term is used in everyday colloquial discourse and is also an element in one of the words for Chinatown : 'streets of Tang people' ( 唐人街 ; Tángrénjiē ; Tong4 jan4 gaai1 ). The phrase Huábù ( 華埠 ; 华埠 ) is also used to refer to Chinatowns. The term Zhonghua minzu (中華民族; 中华民族; Zhōnghuámínzú), literally meaning the Chinese nation, currently used as an supra-ethnic concept publicised by

7345-459: The literary name for China – Zhonghua ( 中華 ; 中华 ; Zhōnghuá ; 'Central China'). While the general term Zhongguo ren ( 中國人 ; 中国人 ) refers to any Chinese citizen or Chinese national regardless of their ethnic origins and does not necessary imply Han ancestry, the term huaren in its narrow, classical usages implies Central Plains or Han ancestry. Among some southern Han Chinese varieties such as Cantonese , Hakka and Minnan ,

7458-432: The literati, many of whom questioned the recommendation of the Kaifeng governor for the participation of Arab-born Li Yan-sheng in the 847 imperial examinations and several similar incidences of what they believed as incorrect racial privileging. Such was the discourse that Tang intellectual Chen An wrote an essay defending the governor's decision; The Heart of Being Hua (Chinese: 華心 ; pinyin: Huá xīn ), which

7571-473: The lords of the western barbarians" on a journey to conquer the Shang dynasty , leading to the creation of the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou would later contribute as much as the Shang to the Hua–Yi distinction. Not all Zhou regarded the Hua–Yi distinction as a cultural barrier that needed to be overcome to 'purify' China. Zhou philosopher Mencius believed that Confucian practices were universal and timeless, and thus, followed by both Hua and Yi people. Shun

7684-403: The main inhabitants of the fertile lowland areas and cities of southern China, with minority tribes occupying the highlands. The term "Han" not only refers to a specific ethnic collective, but also points to a shared ancestry, history, and cultural identity . The term "Huaxia" was used by the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius 's contemporaries during the Warring States period to elucidate

7797-447: The majority in both of the special administrative regions of the PRC – about 92.2% and 88.4% of the population of Hong Kong and Macau , respectively. The Han Chinese in Hong Kong and Macau have been culturally, economically and politically dominant majority vis-à-vis the non-Han minorities. There are over 22 million people of Han Chinese ancestry in living in Taiwan. At first, these migrants chose to settle in locations that bore

7910-435: The massive number of Han Chinese immigrating during this period which included notable families such as the Wang and the Xie. A religious group known as the Celestial Masters contributed to the movement. Jiangnan became the most populous and prosperous region of China. The Uprising of the Five Barbarians , also led to the resettlement of Fujian. The province of Fujian - whose aboriginal inhabitants had been deported to

8023-452: The most successful of which was the Northern Wei established by the Xianbei . From this period, the native population of China proper was referred to as Hanren, or the "People of Han" to distinguish them from the nomads from the steppe. Warfare and invasion led to one of the first great migrations of Han populations in history, as they fled south to the Yangzi and beyond, shifting the Chinese demographic center and speeding up sinicization of

8136-453: The non-Han tribes and ordered the Han people to slaughter the Jie people and other barbarians, identifying them by their high noses and full beards. Around 200,000 people were killed, with the Jie soon disappearing from history, but a large number of victims were also mistakenly-identified Han Chinese people. After Ran Min founded his state of Ran Wei in 350, he attempted to win back the support of

8249-566: The north. Hua%E2%80%93Yi distinction Ancient China was composed of a group of states that arose in the Yellow River valley. According to historian Li Feng , during the Zhou dynasty ( c.  1041–771 BCE ), the contrast between the 'Chinese' Zhou and the 'non-Chinese' Xirong or Dongyi was "more political than cultural or ethnic". Lothar von Falkenhausen argues that the perceived contrast between "Chinese" and "Barbarians"

8362-518: The north." The conclusion of the Warring States period brought the first unified Chinese state—established by the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE—who established the imperial system and forcibly standardized the traditional Chinese script , leading to the first of the distinctions between the 'refined' Hua and the increasingly marginalised Yi . The Han dynasty (221 BCE–206 CE) further contributed to

8475-467: The northern heartland in the Yellow River valley, driven by large and sustained waves of migration during successive periods of Chinese history (e.g. the Qin and Han dynasties), leading to a demographic and economic tilt towards the south, and to the absorption of various non-Han ethnic groups over the centuries at various points in Chinese history. By the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, Han Chinese were

8588-456: The overthrow of the Manchu regime. The Yongzheng Emperor , whom Zeng accused of ten major crimes, took this event as an opportunity to educate the Qing's Chinese subjects. In a series of discussions with Zeng Jing, the emperor proclaimed that Chinese were not inherently superior to the barbarians. To justify his statements, he declared that King Wen, the sage king and the founder of the Zhou dynasty,

8701-574: The peripheries of the Zhou kingdoms. Overseas Chinese who possess non-Chinese citizenship are commonly referred as "Hua people" ( 华人 ; 華人 ; Huárén ) or Huazu ( 华族 ; 華族 ; Huázú ). The two respective aforementioned terms are applied solely to those with a Han background that is semantically distinct from Zhongguo ren ( 中国人 ; 中國人 ) which has connotations and implications limited to being citizens and nationals of China, especially with regard to ethnic minorities in China . The name "Han people" ( 漢人 ; 汉人 ; Hànrén ) first appeared during

8814-503: The population in China and 97% of the population in Taiwan . Han Chinese form large diaspora populations throughout Southeast Asia, comprising large minorities in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Singapore, people of Han Chinese or Chinese descent make up around 75% of the country's population. The Han Chinese have exerted the primary formative influence in shaping

8927-607: The power of the Zhou kings fragmented not long afterwards, and many autonomous vassal states emerged. This dynasty is traditionally divided into two eras – the Western Zhou (1046–771 BCE) and the Eastern Zhou (770–256 BCE) – with the latter further divided into the Spring and Autumn (770–476 BCE) and the Warring States (476–221 BCE) periods. It was a period of significant cultural and philosophical diversification (known as

9040-607: The precedent for the next two millennia. To consolidate administrative control over the newly conquered parts of the country, the First Emperor decreed a nationwide standardization of currency, writing scripts and measurement units, to unify the country economically and culturally. He also ordered large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Great Wall , the Lingqu Canal and the Qin road system to militarily fortify

9153-955: The provinces of Fujian , Guangdong and Hainan , and to a lesser extent, Guangxi , Yunnan and Zhejiang ). There are 60 million Overseas Chinese people worldwide. Overseas Han Chinese have settled in numerous countries across the globe, particularly within the Western World where nearly 4 million people of Han Chinese descent live in the United States (about 1.5% of the population), over 1 million in Australia (5.6%) and about 1.5 million in Canada (5.1%), nearly 231,000 in New Zealand (4.9%), and as many as 750,000 in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Han Chinese have

9266-445: The region, for example, Panyu, were created by Han settlers rather than the Bai Yue, who preferred to maintain small settlements subsisting on swidden agriculture and rice farming. Later on, Guangdong, Northern Vietnam, and Yunnan all experienced a surge in Han Chinese migrants during Wang Mang 's reign. The demographic composition and culture of these regions during this period, could however scarcely be said to have been Sinitic outside

9379-584: The relocation of some communities and over time, varying degrees of intermarriage and assimilation took place. In Taiwan, Han Chinese (including both the earlier Han Taiwanese settlers and the recent Chinese that arrived in Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek in 1949) constitute over 95% of the population. They have also been a politically, culturally and economically dominant majority vis-à-vis the non-Han indigenous Taiwanese peoples . Nearly 30 to 40 million people of Han Chinese descent live in Southeast Asia. According to

9492-427: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ancient Chinese . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Chinese&oldid=1163624419 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

9605-656: The same time as Buddhism, but it was not encouraged to be spread as much as Buddhism was. Some Japanese philosophers, like the neo-Confucianists Yamaga Sokō and Aizawa Seishisai claimed that Japan was the "Central State" ( 中國 ; Chūgoku) instead of China. After the Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty in China proper in 1644, the Korean Joseon dynasty began to refer to itself as " Sojunghwa " ( Korean :  소중화 ; Hanja :  小中華 ; "Little China"). As

9718-526: The shared ethnicity of all Chinese; Chinese people called themselves Hua ren . The Warring States period led to the emergence of the Zhou-era Chinese referring to themselves as being Huaxia (literally 'the beautiful grandeur'): under the Hua–Yi distinction , a "Hua" culture (often translated as 'civilized') was contrasted to that of peoples perceived as "Yi" (often translated as ' barbarian ') living on

9831-474: The south. At the start of the rebellion in 755 there were 52.9 million registered inhabitants of the Tang Empire, and after its end in 764, only 16.9 million were recorded. It is likely that the difference in census figures was due to the complete breakdown in administrative capabilities, as well as the widespread escape from the north by the Han Chinese and their mass migration to the south. By now,

9944-480: The south. This process of sustained mass migration has been known as "garments and headdresses moving south" 衣冠南渡 (yì guān nán dù), on account of it first being led by the aristocratic classes. Such migratory waves were numerous and triggered by such events such as the Uprising of the Five Barbarians during the Jin dynasty (304–316 AD) in which China was completely overrun by minority groups previously serving as vassals and servants to Sima (the royal house of Jin),

10057-525: The southern provinces. Towards the end of the Ming dynasty, Ming loyalists invoked the Hua-Yi distinction to urge the Chinese to resist the Manchu invaders. The Qing dynasty 's order that all subjects shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue was viewed as a symbolic gesture of servitude by many ethnic Han, who thought that changing their dress to the same as Yi would be contrary to

10170-613: The sparsely populated regions of south China were inhabited by tribes known only as the Bai Yue or Hundred Yue. Many of these tribes developed into kingdoms under rulers and nobility of Han Chinese ethnicity but retained a Bai Yue majority for several centuries. Yet others were forcibly brought into the Sinosphere by the imperial ambitions of emperors such as Qin Shi Huangdi and Han Wu Di, both of whom settled hundreds of thousands of Chinese in these lands to form agricultural colonies and military garrisons. Even then, control over these lands

10283-530: The spirit of the Hua-Yi distinction. Scholar Lü Liuliang (1629–1683), who lived through the transition between the Ming and the Manchu-led Qing dynasty , refused to serve the new dynasty because he claimed that upholding the difference between Huaxia and the Yi was more important than respecting the righteous bond between minister ( 臣 ) and sovereign ( 君王 ). In 1728, failed Imperial examination candidate Zeng Jing , influenced by Lü's works, called for

10396-400: The term Tangren ( 唐人 ; Tángrén ; 'people of Tang'), derived from the name of the later Tang dynasty (618–907) that oversaw what is regarded as another golden age of China . The self-identification as Tangren is popular in south China, because it was at this time that massive waves of migration and settlement led to a shift in the center of gravity of the Chinese nation away from

10509-453: The throne – fled to Wu and settled there. Three generations later, King Wu of the Zhou dynasty defeated King Zhou (the last Shang king), and enfeoffed the descendants of Taibo in Wu – mirroring the later history of Nanyue , where a Chinese king and his soldiers ruled a non-Han population and mixed with locals, who were sinicized over time. After the Battle of Muye , the Shang dynasty

10622-615: The tribes, but in 352, his regime was toppled by the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty . Ran Min continues to be a controversial figure. He is considered by some to be a hero, whereas others believe he bore extreme prejudice arising from the Hua–Yi distinction. Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (a state that controlled the north of China), who was of the Xianbei people attempted to eliminate Yi from his state by imposing Sinicisation on his people. The Xianbei language

10735-445: The tumult of the Central Plains to the peaceful lands south of the Yangtze and on the southeastern coast, leading to the earnest settlement by Chinese of lands hitherto regarded as part of the empire's sparsely populated frontier or periphery. Guangdong and Fujian, hitherto regarded as backwater regions populated by the descendants of garrison soldiers, exiles and refugees, became new centers and representatives of Han Chinese culture under

10848-479: The two sages, one earlier and one later, were identical. In order to alleviate the shortages of labour caused by the Three Kingdoms wars, the Jin allowed millions of "barbarian" people to reside in Jin territory. Many officials opposed this decision in the name of the Hua–Yi distinction, claiming that if the barbarians did not identify with the Huaxia , they would conspire to destroy the empire. During

10961-541: The various Chinese states without them." The Disposition of Error , a fifth-century tract defending Buddhism , notes that when Confucius was threatening to take residence among the nine barbarian states ( 九黎 ) he said, "If a gentleman-scholar dwells in their midst, what baseness can there be among them?" An alternate translation of the philosopher's Analect 9.14 is, "Someone said: 'They are vulgar. What can you do about them?' The Master said: 'A gentleman used to live there. How could they be vulgar?'" In both translations,

11074-414: The various regions of modern China today with distinct regional features. The expansion of the Han people outside their linguistic homeland in the Yellow River is an important part of their historical consciousness and ethnogenesis, and accounts for their present-day diversity. There were several periods of mass migration of Han people to Southeastern and Southern China throughout history. Initially,

11187-520: The well-developed characters hint at a much earlier origin of writing in China. During the Shang dynasty, people of the Wu area in the Yangtze River Delta were considered a different tribe, and described as being scantily dressed, tattooed and speaking a distinct language. Later, Taibo , elder uncle of Ji Chang – on realising that his younger brother, Jili, was wiser and deserved to inherit

11300-429: The women. Zhu's northern military expedition had been a success; Beijing was captured in the same year and China was again governed by ethnic Han. Although the Ming referred to the preceding Yuan as the "wild Yuan" (胡元), they also accepted the Yuan before them as a legitimate dynasty. The Hongwu Emperor indicated on another occasion that he was happy to be born in the Yuan period and that the Yuan did legitimately receive

11413-472: Was "to undermine the credibility of the hua/yi distinction." However, due to the fact that this tract also helped to expose many unsavoury aspects of court life and political intrigues in the imperial government, Yongzheng's successor the Qianlong Emperor ( r.  1736–1796 ) recalled the tracts and had them burned for the fear that it would undermine the legitimacy of the Qing empire. During

11526-489: Was a brief period of prosperity under the native Han Chinese dynasty known as the Jin (266–420 BC), although protracted struggles within the ruling house of Sima (司馬) sparked off a protracted period of fragmentation, rebellion by immigrant tribes that served as slaves and indentured servants, and extended non-native rule. Non-native rule During this time, areas of northern China were overrun by various non-Han nomadic peoples , which came to establish kingdoms of their own,

11639-417: Was accentuated during the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BCE), when adherence to Zhou rituals became increasingly recognised as a "barometer of civilisation"; a meter for sophistication and cultural refinement. It is widely agreed by historians that the distinction between the Hua and the Yi emerged during that period. Gideon Shelach claimed that Chinese texts tended to overstate the distinction between

11752-625: Was an Eastern barbarian; he was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and died in Ming T'iao. King Wen was a Western barbarian; he was born in Ch'i Chou and died in Pi Ying. Their native places were over a thousand li apart, and there were a thousand years between them. Yet when they had their way in the Central Kingdoms, their actions matched like the two halves of a tally. The standards of

11865-407: Was formally entrenched in the Han dynasty. The Han dynasty is considered one of the golden ages of Chinese history, with the modern Han Chinese people taking their ethnic name from this dynasty and the Chinese script being referred to as " Han characters ". The fall of the Han dynasty was followed by an age of fragmentation and several centuries of disunity amid warfare among rival kingdoms. There

11978-494: Was founded the Shi clan of Jie ethnicity, who had a practice of heavily adopting people into their family. One of these people was Shi Min (later named Ran Min), a Han Chinese who was the adoptive grandson of Later Zhao's third ruler, Shi Hu . In 349 CE, after his promise to be made Crown Prince was reneged, Shi Min seized control of the emperor and the capital, Ye . Due to multiple attempts on his life, he soon became apprehensive of

12091-517: Was in possession of the Mandate of Heaven ( 天命 ), the divine right to rule. Areas outside Sinocentric influence and the divine rule of the Emperor were considered to consist of uncivilised lands inhabited by barbarians. Throughout history, Chinese frontiers had been periodically attacked by nomadic tribes from the north, west and even south. These people were being labelled as barbarians by

12204-474: Was not until the arrival of the industrialised European trade and colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries that exposed Chinese civilisation to technological developments that had long outdated China's. As such, Chinese society was forced to undergo a modification of its traditional views of its relationships with "barbarians", and in particular could no longer regard everyone other than Chinese as objectively inferior uncultured barbarians. Confucius lived during

12317-479: Was of Western Yi origin, but this did not hurt his greatness. The Yongzheng Emperor also borrowed from Han Yu, indicating that Yi can become Hua and vice versa. In addition, according to Yongzheng, both Hua and Yi were now a part of the same family under the Qing. One of the goals of the tract Dayi juemi lu ( 大義覺迷錄 ), which the Yongzheng Emperor published and distributed throughout the empire in 1730,

12430-575: Was outlawed and Xianbei people began to adopt surnames of the Han ethnicity; for example, the ruling clan of the Northern Wei originally bore the surname Tuoba but it was abandoned in favor of Yuan. In 581, the Sui emperor Yang Jian deposed the Xianbei ruler of Northern Zhou and restored Han rule over North China. This event marked the end of all power that the Xianbei and other non-Han groups had over China, and racial tension subsided. During

12543-478: Was overthrown by Zhou (led by Ji Fa ), which had emerged as a western state along the Wei River in the 2nd millennium BCE. The Zhou dynasty shared the language and culture of the Shang people, and extended their reach to encompass much of the area north of the Yangtze River . Through conquest and colonization, much of this area came under the influence of sinicization and this culture extended south. However,

12656-632: Was relaxed by his successors. The "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" was a period in which the north of China was ruled by a non-Han people, the Shatuo , for three short-lived dynasties while the south was ruled by ethnic Han. Their legitimacy was recognised by the Song dynasty . The Song dynasty saw both an economic boom and invasion by alien states. States like the Liao dynasty and Western Xia began to take territories inhabited by large numbers of Chinese and asserted that they too were Chinese and successors to

12769-464: Was tenuous, and Bai Yue cultural identity remained strong until sustained waves of Han Chinese emigration in the Jin, Tang and Song dynasties altered the demographic balance completely. Chinese language (or Chinese languages) can be divided to 10 primary dialects (or languages). Each Han Chinese subgroup (民系) can be identified through their dialects: The first emperor Qin Shih Huang Di

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