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111-729: Ma Bufang and his older brother Ma Buqing (1901–1977) were born in Monigou Township (漠泥沟乡) in what is today Linxia County , 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Linxia City . Their father Ma Qi (马麒) formed the Ninghai Army in Qinghai in 1915, and received civilian and military posts from the Beiyang Government in Beijing confirming his military and civilian authority there. His older brother Ma Buqing received

222-612: 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

333-892: A Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Rebgong in 1939, one of the oldest in Amdo. Ma Bufang sent his army to destroy and loot the Tsanggar Monastery in 1941; his forces expelled the monks. It was not until the Communists took power that the Monastery could be rebuilt; the monks returned in 1953. Many of the monasteries attacked by Ma Bufang were associated with the Ngoloks. Tibetan tribals in southern Qinghai revolted due to taxation between 1939 and 1941, but they were crushed by "suppression campaigns" and massacred by Ma Bufang which caused

444-529: A battle in Gansu, and drove him into Xinjiang. In 1936, Ma Bufang was appointed commander of the newly organized 2nd army. Because Ma Bufang did not want the 14th Dalai Lama to succeed his predecessor, he stationed his men in such a way that the Dalai Lama was effectively under house arrest , saying this was needed for "protection", and refusing to permit him to leave for Tibet. He did all he could to delay

555-641: A classical Chinese education, while Ma Bufang received education in Islam . Ma Qi originally had Ma Bufang study to become an imam while his older brother Ma Buqing was educated in the military. Ma Bufang studied until he was nineteen and then pursued a military career like his brother. Ma Bufang controlled the Great Dongguan Mosque . Ma was a graduate of the Officers' Training Corps of Qinghai. Ma Bufang sided with Feng Yuxiang 's Guominjun until

666-696: A conflicted relationship with the Tibetan population of Qinghai. Some Tibetan Buddhists served in his army while others were crushed and killed by it. In 1932, Ma Bufang's Muslim troops, and the Han Chinese general Liu Wenhui , defeated the 13th Dalai Lama 's Tibetan armies when Tibet tried to invade Qinghai province . Ma Bufang overran the Tibetan armies and recaptured several counties in Xikang province. Shiqu , Dengke, and other counties were seized from

777-446: 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

888-641: 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 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

999-617: A machine gun while he was limping and fired back at the Japanese warplanes and cursed the Japanese as dogs in his native Salar language . Ma Bukang and Ma Bufang were having a discussion on Ma Biao when Japanese warplanes bombed Xining. In 1942, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , head of the Chinese government, toured Northwestern China in Xinjiang , Gansu , Ningxia , Shaanxi , and Qinghai, where he met both Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang. It

1110-548: A major influx of Tibetan refugees into Tibet from Qinghai. A former Tibetan Khampa soldier named Aten, who battled Ma Bufang's forces, provided an account of a battle. He described the Chinese Muslims as "fierce". After he and his troops were ambushed by 2,000 of Ma Bufang's Chinese Muslim cavalry, he was left with bullet wounds and he "had no illusions as to the fate of most of our group", most of whom were wiped out. Aten also asserted that "the Tibetan province of Amdo",

1221-505: 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

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1332-429: 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

1443-648: 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

1554-557: 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

1665-570: 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

1776-747: 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

1887-633: 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

1998-548: The Beiyang Government in Beijing in that same year confirming his military and civilian authority in Qinghai. Ma Buqing received a Confucian Classical Chinese education, while his brother Ma Bufang received education in Islam to become an Imam. Ma Buqing sided with Feng Yuxiang 's Guominjun until the Central Plains War , when he switched to the winning side of Chiang Kai-shek . Ma Qi died in 1931 and his power

2109-406: The Central Plains War , when he switched to the winning side of Chiang Kai-shek . Ma Qi died in 1931 and his power was assumed by his brother Ma Lin (马麟), who was appointed governor of Qinghai. General Ma Lin held the position of civil Governor, while Ma Bufang was military Governor. They feuded with, and disliked each other. Ma Bufang was not admired by people as much as his uncle Ma Lin, whom

2220-718: 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

2331-570: The Hajj to Mecca . Ma Lin's next position was to be part of the National Government Committee. In an interview Ma Lin was described as having: "high admiration and unwavering loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek". The Qing dynasty had granted his family a yellow standard which had his family name "Ma" on it. Ma Bufang continued to use this standard in battle and, as of 1936, he had 30,000 Muslim cavalrymen in his army. Ma Bufang had

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2442-635: 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

2553-616: 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

2664-559: The Kuomintang to Egypt. In 1957, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and the People's Republic of China, Ma was transferred by Taipei to serve as the ROC ambassador to Saudi Arabia . Ma served in this post for four years; he never returned to Taiwan. He was in the post from 1957 to 1961 until his dismissal "on charges of corruption and incompetence". He received

2775-562: 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

2886-598: 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

2997-583: The People's Liberation Army (PLA). In August 1949, Ma Bufang traveled by plane to the Kuomintang (KMT) government in Canton to request supplies via airdrop, while his son Ma Jiyuan assumed command over the KMT forces at Lanzhou who advised journalists they would defend the city. However, the government denied his request, and Ma flew back to Lanzhou, then abandoned it, retreating by truck back to Xining. Then

3108-595: The President of the Republic of China , I hope that you will refrain from using expressions which should not be used by one who occupied the position of a mufti. We are all serving our beloved country trying to do our best for our countrymen. I also hope that you will refrain from using the expression "The Turkestani Nation" which was the creation of one Abdul Qayyum Khan while he was living in Germany . We are working for

3219-527: The Salar General Han Youwen , also defected to the Communists and joined the People's Liberation Army . Ma Bufang had another chief of staff in his North-West Command, Ma Ji. Ma Ji's son Ma Wenying later became a well known tailor. Ma Buqing Ma Buqing (1901–1977) ( simplified Chinese : 马步青 ; traditional Chinese : 馬步青 ; pinyin : Mǎ Bùqīng ; Wade–Giles : Ma Pu-ch’ing , Xiao'erjing : مَا بُ‌ٿِئٍ )

3330-668: 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

3441-555: The 82nd Army during the war against Japan . In 1937, when the Japanese attack at the Battle of Beiping–Tianjin began the Chinese government was notified by Muslim General Ma Bufang of the Ma clique that he was prepared to bring the fight to the Japanese in a telegram message. Immediately after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident , he arranged for a cavalry division, under Muslim General Ma Biao , to be sent east to battle

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3552-535: 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

3663-609: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army , led by General Peng Dehuai , defeated Ma's army and occupied Lanzhou , the capital of Gansu. Ma was driven out of Xining and escaped to Chongqing then Hong Kong . He had 50,000 dollars in money with him. While residing in a flat in Hong Kong, he stated his intention to flee to Mecca . In October, Chiang Kai-shek urged him to return to the Northwest to resist

3774-598: 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

3885-672: 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

3996-471: 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

4107-487: 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

4218-418: 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

4329-632: 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

4440-617: The Japanese in Henan. The Qinghai Chinese, Salar, Chinese Muslim, Dongxiang , and Tibetan troops Ma Bufang sent fought to the death against the Imperial Japanese Army , or committed suicide refusing to be taken prisoner, when cornered by the enemy. When they defeated the Japanese, the Muslim troops slaughtered all of them except for a few prisoners sent back to Qinghai to prove that they had been victorious. In September 1940, when

4551-518: The Japanese launched an offensive against the Muslim Qinghai troops, the Muslims ambushed them and killed so many of them that they were forced to retreat. The Japanese could not even pick up their dead; instead, they cut an arm from their corpses for cremation to send back to Japan. The Japanese did not attempt to make a similar offensive again. Ma Biao was the eldest son of Ma Haiqing, who was

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4662-440: The Japanese. Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang discussed the battle plans against the Japanese over the telephone with Chiang Kai-shek. The top crack elite cavalry of Ma Bufang was sent against Japan. Ethnic Turkic Salar Muslims made up the majority of the first cavalry division which Ma Bufang sent. Because of fierce resistance by Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang's Muslim cavalry, the Japanese were never able to reach and capture Lanzhou during

4773-403: The PLA, but he fled to Mecca with more than 200 relatives and subordinates, in the name of hajj . Ma Bufang, and his family members like son Ma Jiyuan, cousin Ma Bukang , and nephew Ma Chengxiang , fled to Saudi Arabia ; however, after one year, Ma Bufang and Ma Bukang then moved to Cairo , Egypt , while his son Ma Jiyuan, with ten Generals, moved to Taiwan . General Ma Bufang announced

4884-662: The Panchen Lama. General Ma Bufang was appointed Supreme Commander in Chief of the entire region of northwestern China by the government, described by TIME magazine as "13 times as big as Texas ", containing "14 million people" "one-third Han Chinese, one-third Moslem Chinese, and the remainder Tibetans, Turkis, Mongolians, Kazaks". He entered Lanzhou in a Buick with his troops, seizing buildings and setting up camps. Ma Bufang also had to battle against forty Soviet warplanes sent by Joseph Stalin against his forces. Generals Hu Zongnan and Ma Bufang led five corps to defeat General Peng's army near Baoji . They killed 15,000 members of

4995-402: 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

5106-434: The Saudi citizenship and remained in Saudi Arabia until his death in 1975 at the age of 72. He had one son, Ma Jiyuan (馬繼援), who served as a divisional commander in Ma Bufang's army. While serving as ambassador, in response to a request by Abdul Ahad Hamed, a former Uyghur Mufti living in Saudi Arabia, for accommodations to be granted to Uyghurs who held Republic of China passports , living outside China, Ma Bufang sent

5217-441: 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

5328-421: 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

5439-474: The Tibetans who were pushed back to the other side of the Jinsha River . Ma and Liu warned Tibetan officials not to cross the Jinsha River again. A truce was signed ending the fighting. The reputation of the Muslim forces of Ma Bufang was boosted by the war and victory against the Tibetan army. The stature of Ma Biao rose over his role in the war and later in 1937 his battles against the Japanese propelled him to fame nationwide in China. The control of China over

5550-401: 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

5661-442: 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

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5772-422: The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius 's contemporaries during the Warring States period to elucidate 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')

5883-462: The border area of Kham and Yushu with Tibet was guarded by the Qinghai army. Chinese Muslim run schools used their victory in the war against Tibet to show how they defended the integrity of China's territory as it was put in danger since the Japanese invasion. The Kuomintang Republic of China government supported Ma Bufang when he launched seven extermination expeditions into Golog , eliminating thousands of Ngolok tribesmen. Some Tibetans counted

5994-399: The border with Tibet. Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with bombing if they did not comply. Ma Bufang attacked the Tibetan Buddhist Tsang monastery in 1941. He also constantly attacked the Labrang Monastery . Ma Bufang's army battled extensively in bloody battles against the Japanese in Henan province. Ma Bufang sent his army, under the command of his relative General Ma Biao , to fight

6105-418: 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

6216-410: The centuries at various points in Chinese history. By the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, Han Chinese were 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

6327-424: 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

6438-402: 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

6549-468: 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

6660-417: 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

6771-416: The country's population. The Han Chinese have exerted the primary formative influence in shaping 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

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6882-441: The defense of the city of Xining during air raids by Japanese planes. Han survived an aerial bombardment by Japanese planes in Xining while he was being directed via telephone from Ma Bufang, who hid in an air raid shelter in a military barracks. The bombing resulted in human flesh splattering a Blue Sky with a White Sun flag and Han being buried in rubble. Han Youwen was dragged out of the rubble while bleeding and he managed to grab

6993-425: 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,

7104-454: 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

7215-419: 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

7326-412: The following letter which rejected this request and rejected his usage of the term "East Turkestan", upheld the official position of the Republic of China that Xinjiang was a part of China and that it did not recognize the East Turkestan Independence Movement . Dear Brother, With all due respect to your previous position in the Government of Sinkiang and to the confidence placed in you by His Excellency

7437-450: 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

7548-416: 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

7659-646: The help of the Kuomintang and forced his uncle Ma Lin to concede his position. At that point Ma Bufang became governor of Qinghai, with military and civilian powers, and remained in that position until the Communist victory in 1949. During Ma Bufang's rise to power, he along with Ma Buqing and cousins Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin, were instrumental in helping another cousin, Ma Zhongying, to prevail in Gansu . They did not want Ma Zhongying to compete with them on their own turf, so they encouraged and supported Ma Zhongying in developing his own power base in other regions such as Gansu and Xinjiang . Ma Bufang defeated Ma Zhongying in

7770-459: 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

7881-459: 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 ,

7992-549: 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

8103-602: 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

8214-618: 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

8325-546: The movement of the Dalai Lama from Qinghai to Tibet by demanding 100,000 Chinese silver dollars. Even though his uncle Ma Lin was officially governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang held de facto military power in the province and foreigners acknowledged this. While his uncle Ma Lin was governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang was pacification commissioner of Gansu. In 1936, during Autumn, Ma Bufang made his move to expel his uncle from power and to replace him. Ma Bufang made Ma Lin's position untenable and unbearable until he resigned from power by making

8436-678: The movement of war supplies to Chinese forces fighting against Japan, having built a route to the Soviet Union and was planning another route via Tibet . In July 1942 Chiang Kai-shek instructed Ma Buqing to move 30,000 of his troops to the Tsaidam marsh in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai . Chiang named Ma Reclamation Commissioner, to threaten Sheng Shicai 's southern flank in Xinjiang , which bordered Tsaidam. Liangzhou District in Wuwei

8547-716: The number of times he attacked, remembering the seventh attack which made life impossible for them. Ma was highly anti-communist, and he and his army wiped out many Ngolok tribal Tibetans in the northeast and eastern Qinghai, and also destroyed Tibetan Buddhist Temples. Ma Bufang established the Kunlun Middle School and used it to recruit Tibetan students, who were subjected to harsh military life. The school became an important source of Tibetan translators as Ma expanded his military domain over land inhabited by Tibetans. As Ma Bufang defeated more Tibetans, he also drafted them into his army. Ma Bufang attacked and demolished

8658-578: The people adored. In 1936, under the order of Chiang Kai-shek, and with the help of Ma Zhongying 's remnant force in Gansu , and Ma Hongkui 's and Ma Hongbin 's force from Ningxia , Ma Bufang and his brother Ma Buqing played an important role in annihilating Zhang Guotao 's 21,800 strong force that crossed the Yellow River in an attempt to expand the Communist base. In 1937, Ma Bufang rose with

8769-721: 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

8880-656: 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

8991-437: The progenitors of Chinese civilization and the ancestors of modern Han Chinese. Han Chinese people and culture spread south from 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

9102-955: 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

9213-445: 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

9324-531: 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

9435-501: The sixth younger brother of Ma Haiyan , Ma Bufang's grandfather. During the war against Japan, Ma Bufang commanded the 82nd Army. Xining was subjected to aerial bombardment by Japanese warplanes in 1941 during the Second-Sino Japanese War. The bombing spurred all ethnicities in Qinghai, including the local Qinghai Mongols and Qinghai Tibetans, against the Japanese. The Salar Muslim General Han Youwen directed

9546-474: 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,

9657-480: 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),

9768-672: 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

9879-581: The start of the Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China (1950–1958) , on January 9, 1950, when he was in Cairo, Egypt saying that Chinese Muslims would never surrender to Communism and would fight a guerilla war against the Communists. His former military forces, most of them Muslim, continued to play a major role in the insurgency. In 1950, Ma moved to Cairo. He was there to request help from Arab countries. Ma served as representative of

9990-400: 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

10101-501: 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

10212-445: 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

10323-414: 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,

10434-760: The war against the Japanese. In 1940 at the Battle of Wuyuan , Ma Buqing led the 5th Cavalry Corps against the Japanese. The Japanese were defeated by the Chinese Muslim cavalry and Wuyuan was retaken from the Japanese. Ma Buqing was in virtual control of the Gansu corridor at this time. In 1942 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , head of the Chinese government personally went on tour in Northwestern China in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Qinghai, where he met both Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang. Ma Buqing's troops were involved in road construction, for

10545-690: The war. Ma Bufang also obstructed Japanese agents trying to contact the Tibetans and was called an "adversary" by a Japanese agent. Ma became governor of Qinghai when he expelled his uncle Ma Lin from power in 1938. He commanded a group army. He was appointed because of his anti-Japanese inclinations . Under orders from the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kaishek, Ma Bufang repaired Yushu Batang Airport to prevent Tibetan separatists from seeking independence. Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942. Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to

10656-602: The welfare of the true people of Sinkiang not for the Turkestanis living outside Sinkiang or the followers of Abdul Qayyum Khan. Best regards, Ambassador of Nationalist China in Saudi Arabia The Ma Bufang Mansion in Xining , Qinghai was where Ma and his family lived from 1943 to 1949. In 1938 Ma Bufang built a residence for his concubine called East mansion. Ma Bufang's headquarters

10767-520: 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

10878-546: Was "occupied" by Ma Bufang. Ma Bufang called for peace and tolerance between ethnicities. The soldiers in Ma Bufang's cavalry forces belonged to a wide range of ethnicities. Hui , Mongols , Tibetans, and Han Chinese all served in Ma Bufang's cavalry. Ma Bufang's ethnic tolerance in theory ensured that recruits could escape ethnic divergence in his armies. In 1937 and 1938, the Japanese attempted to approach Ma Bufang and were ignored. Ma Bufang's soldiers were designated as

10989-537: 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,

11100-486: Was a prominent Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, controlling armies in the province of Qinghai . Ma Buqing and his younger brother Ma Bufang (1903–1975) were born in Monigou Township (漠泥沟乡) in what is today Linxia County , some 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Linxia City . Their father Ma Qi formed the Ninghai Army in Qinghai in 1915, and received civilian and military posts from

11211-514: Was assumed by his brother Ma Lin , who was appointed governor of Qinghai. Ma Buqing watched Chinese Opera , and met the later American Professor John DeFrancis during an opera performance. His troops defeated the CCP during the Long March in 1936. Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang discussed battle plans against the Japanese over the telephone with Chiang Kai-shek. Ma Buqing's Hexi 5th Army entered

11322-496: Was born in 1914. Ma Chengxiang commanded the 5th cavalry army and joined Ma Buqing on Taiwan. Ma Buqing's eldest son was Ma Xuyuan ( Chinese : 馬緒援 ; Wade–Giles : Ma Hsü-yüan ), and his other son was Ma Weiguo ( Chinese : 馬衛國 ; Wade–Giles : Ma Wei-kuo ). Han Chinese The Han Chinese or the Han people , or simply the Chinese , are an East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China . With

11433-672: Was contrasted to that of peoples perceived as "Yi" (often translated as ' barbarian ') living on 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

11544-549: Was converted into the provincial museum by the Communists, until a new one was built. It currently contains the "Qinghai Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute" collection. Ma Bufang's former chief of staff was Ma Wending, who defected to the communists and became vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People's Congress. Another officer who served under Ma Bufang,

11655-407: 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

11766-672: Was made Chief of all Military and Political affairs of the Northwest by the Kuomintang. The Panchen Lama , who was exiled from Tibet by the Dalai Lama's government, wanted to seek revenge by leading an army against Tibet in September 1949 and asked for help from Ma Bufang. Ma Bufang patronized the Panchen Lama, and the Lamaist Red Sect against the Dalai Lama. Qinghai served as a "sanctuary" for Red Sect members; Ma Bufang allowed Kumbum Monastery to be totally self-governed by

11877-540: 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,

11988-584: Was previously his headquarters in Gansu, where he controlled 15 million Muslims. In 1949, Ma Buqing evacuated with his family to Taiwan along with the Kuomintang Republic of China government becoming advisor to the Ministry of Defense. His brother, Ma Bufang, fled to Egypt. Ma Buqing died on 9 February 1977, in Taipei . A daughter of Ma Buqing married Ma Buqing's nephew Ma Chengxiang who

12099-540: Was reported around this time that Ma had 50,000 elite soldiers in his army. Ma Bufang supported the Chinese nationalist imam Hu Songshan . Ma Bufang was elected to the Sixth Central Committee of the Kuomintang in 1945. The Kuomintang Chinese government ordered Ma Bufang to march his troops into Xinjiang several times to intimidate the pro-Soviet Governor Sheng Shicai . This helped to provide protection for Chinese settling in Xinjiang. Ma Bufang

12210-534: Was sent with his Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi by the Kuomintang in 1945 during the Ili Rebellion to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi. Ma Bufang relocated Genghis Khan 's shrine from Yulin to Xining in 1949. On April 7, 1949 Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui announced jointly that they would continue to fight the Communists, and would not make an accord with them. Fighting continued as the Communists advanced. Ma

12321-464: 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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