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127-851: Typical for a comedy starring Chu Ke-liang, it was released a day before the Chinese New Year in Taiwan. A protective father's unreasonable obsession with traditions nearly derails his daughter's wedding. Both songs were written by Chen Kuo-hua. The Wonderful Wedding was the top domestic film of the Chinese New Year holidays in Taiwan, breaking the NT$ 100 million (US$ 3.15 million) mark in 5 days. The Wonderful Wedding made NT$ 54.96 million (US$ 1.74 million) in Taipei after four weekends. Chinese New Year Chinese New Year , or

254-612: 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

381-411: A Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. During the festival, people around China will prepare different gourmet dishes for their families and guests. Influenced by the flourished cultures, foods from different places look and taste totally different. Among them,

508-446: 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

635-546: A form of a blessing and to suppress both the ageing and challenges that were associated with the coming year, to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers may also give bonuses in the form of red packets to employees. The money can be of any form, specifically numbers ending with 8 (Mandarin: ba 八), which sounds similar to fa (Mandarin: 发 ), meaning prosperity, but packets with denominations of odd or unlucky numbers, or packets without money are usually not allowed due to bad luck. The number 4

762-421: A glutinous new year cake ( niangao ) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days. Some families visit local temples hours before midnight to pray for success by lighting the first incense of the year. Today many households hold parties. Traditionally, firecrackers were lit to ward off evil spirits. The household doors are sealed and not reopened until dawn in a ritual called "opening

889-469: A longer Chinese New Year holiday will celebrate and welcome the gods that were previously sent on this day. This day is the god of Wealth's birthday. In northern China, people eat jiaozi , or dumplings, on the morning of powu (Chinese: 破五 ; pinyin: pòwǔ ). In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers. It is also common in China that on

1016-564: A new year. The money was called sui nian qian ( 随年钱 , "money based on age"). In the chapter, "Ending of a Year" ( 歲除 ) in Wulin jiushi ( 武林舊事 ), concubines of the emperor prepared a hundred and twenty coins for princes and princesses to wish them longevity. New Year's celebrations continued under the Yuan dynasty , when people also gave nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes") to relatives. The tradition of eating Chinese dumplings jiaozi ( 餃子 )

1143-469: A red string, and the money is called Ya Sui Qian ." The term is still used by Chinese people today. The money was presented in two forms: coins strung on red string or colourful purses filled with coins. In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that the Chinese New Year would fall on 1 Jan of the Gregorian Calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition. In 1967, during

1270-453: 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

1397-429: 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

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1524-676: A special breakfast on this day in some Chinese homes. The concept of the "La month" is similar to Advent in Christianity. Many families eat vegetarian on Chinese New Year eve, the garlic and preserved meat are eaten on Chinese New Year day. On the days immediately before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash away the dirt on nin ya baat " (Chinese: 年廿八，洗邋遢 ; pinyin: nián niàn bā, xǐ lātà ; Jyutping: nin4 jaa6 baat3, sai2 laap6 taap3 (laat6 taat3) ), but

1651-473: A substitute, large-scale fireworks display have been launched by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore. The second day, entitled "a year's beginning" (simplified Chinese: 开年 ; traditional Chinese: 開年 ; pinyin: kāinián ), oversees married daughters visiting their birth parents, relatives and close friends, often renew family ties and relationship. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have

1778-620: A symbol of good luck, and people started sending them to friends on New Year's Day, calling them by a new name, bai nian tie . The Chunlian (Spring Couplets) was written by Meng Chang , an emperor of the Later Shu (935–965 AD), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ：" 新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春 " ("Enjoying past legacies in the new year, the holiday foreseeing the long-lasting spring"). As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu , Volume 2: on

1905-456: A thriving view." The practice of worshipping ancestors on New Year's Eve is maintained by Chinese people to this day. Han Chinese also started the custom of visiting acquaintances' homes and wishing each other a happy new year. In Book of the Later Han , volume 27, a county officer was recorded as going to his prefect's house with a government secretary, toasting the prefect, and praising

2032-538: A weekend, as in the case of 2013, where the New Year's Eve (9 February) falls on Saturday and the New Year's Day (10 February) on Sunday. Depending on the country, the holiday may be termed differently; common names in English are "Chinese New Year", "Lunar New Year", "New Year Festival", and "Spring Festival". For New Year celebrations that follow Chinese-inspired calendars but are outside of China and Chinese diaspora (such as Korea's Seollal and Vietnam's Tết ), see

2159-437: A year-end rush of business prior to Chinese New Year. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets . Purchasing new clothing and shoes also symbolize a new start. Any hair cuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word "hair" (fa) and the word for "prosperity". Businesses are expected to pay off all

2286-450: Is auspicious into dumplings such as dates, which prophesy a flourishing new year; candy, which predicts sweet days; and nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes"), which foretells a rich life. In the Qing dynasty , the name ya sui qian ( 壓歲錢 , "New Year's Money)" was money given to children during New Year's. The book Qing Jia Lu ( 清嘉錄 ) recorded: "elders give children coins threaded together by

2413-648: 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

2540-636: Is considered an unlucky day to have guests or go visiting. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told. In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal. Other areas that have

2667-525: Is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra , lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. People normally return to work by the eighth day, therefore

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2794-404: Is especially unlucky , because it is sounded as si (Mandarin: 死 ), which means death. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Kowloon, Beijing, Shanghai for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain precincts of the city. As

2921-403: Is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories where there is a sizeable Chinese population. Since Chinese New Year falls on different days of the week each year, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. In some countries, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day if the New Year (as a public holiday) falls on

3048-557: 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

3175-520: Is still a commonly-used translation for people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Along with the Han Chinese inside and outside of Greater China , as many as 29 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China also celebrate Chinese New Year. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines celebrate it as an official festival. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing

3302-569: Is that bai nian tie was derived from the Han dynasty's name tag, men zhuang ( 門狀 , "door opening"). As imperial examinations became essential and reached their heyday under the Tang dynasty, candidates curried favour to become pupils of respected teachers in order to get recommendation letters. After obtaining good examination marks, a pupil went to the teacher's home with a men zhuang to convey their gratitude. Eventually, men zhuang became

3429-570: 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

3556-747: 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

3683-455: Is usually accompanied with a dinner feast , consisting of special meats as a main course and an offering for the New Year. This meal is comparable to Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner. In northern China, it is customary to make jiaozi or dumplings which are eaten at midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese sycee . In the South, it is customary to make

3810-582: 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

3937-639: The Cultural Revolution , official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. The State Council of the People's Republic of China announced that the public should "change customs" and have a "revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival." Since people needed to work on Chinese New Year's Eve, they would not need holidays during the Spring Festival. In 1980, the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations were reinstated. Chinese New Year

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4064-718: 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

4191-695: 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

4318-616: 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

4445-617: 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

4572-598: 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

4699-568: The Spring Festival (see also § Names ), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar . Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring , this festival traditionally takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve , the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival , held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on

4826-523: The Tang dynasty , people established the custom of sending bai nian tie ( 拜年帖 , "New Year's greetings"), New Year's greeting cards. It is said that the custom was started by Emperor Taizong of Tang . The emperor wrote " 普天同慶 " ("whole nation celebrates together") on gold leaves and sent them to his ministers. Word of the emperor's gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. Another theory

4953-668: 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

5080-607: The Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). In the Lüshi Chunqiu , in Qin state an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called "Big Nuo ", was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. Later, Qin unified China , and the Qin dynasty was founded; and the ritual spread. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one's house thoroughly in the days preceding Chinese New Year. The first mention of celebrating at

5207-567: 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') was contrasted to that of peoples perceived as "Yi" (often translated as ' barbarian ') living on

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5334-518: 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 the country's population. The Han Chinese have exerted

5461-870: The new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture . It has influenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year , such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Korean New Year , and the Ryukyu New Year . It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries that house significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia. These include Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,

5588-461: The winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month occurs ). In more than 96 per cent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring ( lichun ) according to the calendar. In the Gregorian calendar , the Chinese New Year occurs on

5715-451: The 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu 's attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year. The sixth day is Horse's Day, on which people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by throwing out the garbage stored up during the festival. The ways vary but basically have the same meaning—to drive away the Ghost of Poverty, which reflects the general desire of

5842-535: 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

5969-433: The Chinese people to ring out the old and ring in the new, to send away the previous poverty and hardship and to usher in the good life of the New Year. The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common person's birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng ,

6096-598: 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

6223-672: 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

6350-471: 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

6477-487: 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

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6604-418: 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

6731-583: 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

6858-513: 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

6985-637: The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in many European countries. The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning

7112-441: 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

7239-417: The Store owners will host a lunch/dinner with their employees, thanking their employees for the work they have done for the whole year. Han Chinese 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

7366-421: 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

7493-401: 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

7620-442: 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

7747-451: 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 the centuries at various points in Chinese history. By

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7874-433: The ancient Chinese. Poet and chancellor of the Tang dynasty , Lai Gu, also described this tradition in his poem Early Spring ( 早春 ): " 新曆才將半紙開，小亭猶聚爆竿灰 ", meaning "Another new year just started as a half opening paper, and the family gathered around the dust of exploded bamboo pole." The practice was used by ancient Chinese people to scare away evil spirits, since bamboo would noisily crack and explode from firing. During

8001-442: The article on Lunar New Year . For other countries and regions where Chinese New Year is celebrated but not an official holiday, see the table below. Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trend[s]. Buy yourself

8128-655: The celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner . It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Another practised custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets . Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness , wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes . In Chinese,

8255-418: 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

8382-424: 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

8509-428: The city's fortune through kau cim . The third day is known as "red mouth" (Chinese: 赤口 ; pinyin: Chìkǒu ). Chikou is also called "Chigou's Day" (Chinese: 赤狗日 ; pinyin: Chìgǒurì ). Chigou , literally "red dog", is an epithet of "the God of Blazing Wrath" (Chinese: 熛怒之神 ; pinyin: Biāo nù zhī shén ). Rural villagers continue the tradition of burning paper offerings over trash fires. It

8636-414: The color red and loud noises. Then the tradition grew when New Year was approaching, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors and used firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu , an ancient Taoist monk. Before the new year celebration

8763-402: 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

8890-468: 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

9017-417: 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

9144-421: The cured meats of Chinese New Year are known as larou (simplified Chinese: 腊肉 ; traditional Chinese: 臘肉 ; pinyin: làròu ). The porridge was prepared by the women of the household at first light, with the first bowl offered to the family's ancestors and the household deities. Every member of the family was then served a bowl, with leftovers distributed to relatives and friends. It's still served as

9271-598: The day of New Year's Eve, the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor's bedroom door. It is believed that placing the couplets on the door to the home in the days preceding the new year was widespread during the Song dynasty . The famous Northern Song politician, litterateur, philosopher, and poet Wang Anshi recorded the custom in his poem " 元日 " ("New Year's Day"). 爆竹聲中一歲除， 春風送暖入屠蘇。 千門萬戶曈曈日， 總把新桃換舊符。 Amid

9398-406: The debts outstanding for the year before the new year eve, extending to debts of gratitude. Thus it is a common practice to send gifts and rice to close business associates, and extended family members. In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is observed, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and decorations used to adorn altars over the past year are taken down and burned a week before

9525-560: The deities are also considered taboo. Normal traditions occurring on the first day involve house gatherings to the families, specifically the elders and families to the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, and trading Mandarin oranges as a courtesy to symbolize wealth and good luck. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash known as lai see (Cantonese: 利事 ) or angpow ( Hokkien and Teochew ), or hongbao (Mandarin: 红包 ),

9652-499: The deities into reporting good things about the family. Prior to the Reunion Dinner, a prayer of thanksgiving is held to mark the safe passage of the previous year. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Some people do not give a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. The day before Chinese New Year

9779-425: The deities of the heavens and Earth on midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers, and lion dance troupes, were done commonly as a tradition to ward off evil spirits. Typical actions such as lighting fires and using knives are considered taboo, thus all consumable food has to be cooked prior. Using the broom, swearing , and breaking any dinnerware without appeasing

9906-414: The door of fortune" (simplified Chinese: 开财门 ; traditional Chinese: 開財門 ; pinyin: kāicáimén ). The tradition of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve is known as shousui (Chinese: 守岁 ). It is still practised and believed to add to parental longevity. The first day, known as the "Spring Festival" (simplified Chinese: 春节 ; traditional Chinese: 春節 ) is for the welcoming of

10033-533: 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,

10160-517: 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

10287-474: 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

10414-409: The festival is commonly known as the "Spring Festival" (traditional Chinese: 春節 ; simplified Chinese: 春节 ; pinyin: Chūnjié ), as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun , the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the Chinese New Year. The name was first proposed in 1914 by Yuan Shikai , who

10541-825: 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

10668-416: 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

10795-459: 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

10922-459: 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 ,

11049-496: 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

11176-602: 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

11303-474: The messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the second day of Chinese New Year, blessing business to strive in the coming year. As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung , a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing. A representative from the government asks Che Kung about

11430-618: 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

11557-468: The most well-known ones are dumplings from northern China and Tangyuan from southern China. On the eighth day of the lunisolar month prior to Chinese New Year, the Laba Festival , a traditional porridge, Laba porridge (simplified Chinese: 腊八粥 ; traditional Chinese: 臘八粥 ; pinyin: làbā zhōu ), is served in remembrance of an ancient festival, called La , that occurred shortly after

11684-456: The new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before

11811-679: The new year starts on Little New Year , to be replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also "send gods back to heaven" (Chinese: 送神 ; pinyin: sòngshén ), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God , the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household's transgressions and good deeds. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order to "bribe"

11938-497: The opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.) The second day also saw giving offering money and sacrifices to the God of Wealth (Chinese: 财神 ) to symbolize a rewarding time after hardship in the preceding year. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, " Cai Shen dao !" [The God of Wealth has come!]." Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward

12065-625: 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

12192-607: 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

12319-413: The practice is not restricted to nin ya baat (the 28th day of month 12). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers do

12446-544: 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

12573-574: The prefect's merit. During the Jin dynasty (266–420), people started the New Year's Eve tradition of all-night revelry called shousui ( 守歲 ). It was described in Western Jin general Zhou Chu 's article Fengtu Ji ( 風土記 , 'Notes on Local Conditions'): "At the ending of a year, people gift and wish each other, calling it Kuisui ( 饋歲 , 'time for gifts'); people invited others with drinks and food, calling it Biesui ( 別歲 , 'sending off

12700-524: 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 the progenitors of Chinese civilization and

12827-835: 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

12954-445: 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

13081-531: 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

13208-456: The same in the Chinese language. After gunpowder was invented in the Tang dynasty and widely used under the Song dynasty , people modified the tradition of firing bamboo by filling the bamboo pole with gunpowder, which made for louder explosions. Later under the Song, people discarded the bamboo and started to use paper to wrap the gunpowder in cylinders, in imitation of the bamboo. The firecracker

13335-507: The sound of firecrackers a year has come to an end, The spring wind has wafted warm breath to the Tusu wine. While the rising sun shines over each and every household, People get rid of the old couplets and put up the new ones. The poem Yuan Ri ( 元日 ) also includes the word bao zhu ( 爆竹 , "exploding bamboo"), which is believed to be a reference to firecrackers, instead of the previous tradition of firing bamboo, both of which are called

13462-474: 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,

13589-480: 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),

13716-672: 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

13843-626: The start of a new year was recorded during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). In the book Simin Yueling ( 四民月令 ), written by the Eastern Han agronomist Cui Shi (崔寔), a celebration was described: "The starting day of the first month, is called Zheng Ri. I bring my wife and children, to worship ancestors and commemorate my father." Later he wrote: "Children, wife, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all serve pepper wine to their parents, make their toast, and wish their parents good health. It's

13970-400: 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

14097-501: 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

14224-420: 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 the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius 's contemporaries during

14351-445: 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

14478-414: 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,

14605-456: The villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of

14732-520: 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

14859-481: The winter solstice. Pickles such as Laba garlic, which turns green from vinegar, are also made on this day. For those that practice Buddhism, the Laba holiday is also considered Bodhi Day . Layue (simplified Chinese: 腊月 ; traditional Chinese: 臘月 ; pinyin: Làyuè ) is a term often associated with Chinese New Year as it refers to the sacrifices held in honour of the gods in the twelfth lunisolar month, hence

14986-402: The year'); on New Year's Eve, people stayed up all night until sunrise, calling it Shousui ( 守歲 , 'guard the year')." The article used the phrase chuxi ( 除夕 ) to indicate New Year's Eve—a phrase still used today. The Northern and Southern dynasties book Jingchu Suishiji describes the practice of firing bamboo in the early morning of New Year's Day, a New Year's tradition of

15113-489: 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,

15240-466: Was at the time the interim president of the Republic of China . The official usage of the name "Spring Festival" was retained by the government of the People's Republic of China , but the government of the Republic of China based in Taiwan has since adopted the name "Traditional Chinese New Year". The festival is also called "Lunar New Year" in English, despite the traditional Chinese calendar being lunisolar and not lunar . However, "Chinese New Year"

15367-514: Was established under the Ming dynasty at the latest. It is described in the book Youzhongzhi ( 酌中志 ): "People get up at 5 in the morning of new year's day, burn incense and light firecrackers, throw door latch or wooden bars in the air three times, drink pepper and thuja wine, eat dumplings. Sometimes put one or two silver currency inside dumplings, and whoever gets the money will attain a year of fortune." Modern Chinese people also put other food that

15494-576: Was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of harvest in autumn. However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival , during which Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. In the Classic of Poetry , a poem written during Western Zhou (1045 BC – 771 BC) by an anonymous farmer, described the traditions of celebrating the 10th month of the ancient solar calendar , which

15621-407: 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

15748-412: Was in autumn. According to the poem, during this time people clean millet-stack sites, toast guests with mijiu (rice wine), kill lambs and cook their meat, go to their masters' home, toast the master, and cheer the prospect of living long together. The 10th-month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year. The records of the first Chinese new year celebration can be traced to

15875-540: 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,

16002-457: Was still called bao zhu ( 爆竹 ), thus equating the new and old traditions. It is also recorded that people linked the firecrackers with hemp rope and created the bian pao ( 鞭炮 , "gunpowder whip") in the Song dynasty. Both bao zhu ( 爆竹 ) and bian pao ( 鞭炮 ) are still used today to celebrate the Chinese New Year and other festive occasions. It was also during the Song dynasty that people started to give money to children in celebration of

16129-464: 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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