Han Chinese: Difference between revisions
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== Names == |
== Names == |
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The term "Han Chinese" is used to distinguish the majority from the [[Nationalities of China|various minorities]] in and around China. The name comes from the [[Han Dynasty]] which succeeded the short-lived [[Qin Dynasty]] that reunited China. The [[Zhou]] dynasty, which preceded the [[Qin]], was a period of consolidation when the various tribes coalesced into [[Warring States]], which then annexed each other. It was during the [[Qin Dynasty]] and the [[Han Dynasty]] that the various tribes of [[China]] began to feel that they belonged to the same ethnic group, compared with "barbarians" around them. In addition, the Han Dynasty is considered a high point in Chinese [[civilization]], able to project its power far into [[Central Asia]]. |
The term "Han Chinese" is used to distinguish the majority from the [[Nationalities of China|various minorities]] in and around China who all look the same. The name comes from the [[Han Dynasty]] which succeeded the short-lived [[Qin Dynasty]] that reunited China. The [[Zhou]] dynasty, which preceded the [[Qin]], was a period of consolidation when the various tribes coalesced into [[Warring States]], which then annexed each other. It was during the [[Qin Dynasty]] and the [[Han Dynasty]] that the various tribes of [[China]] began to feel that they belonged to the same ethnic group, compared with "barbarians" around them. In addition, the Han Dynasty is considered a high point in Chinese [[civilization]], able to project its power far into [[Central Asia]]. |
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Even today many Chinese people call themselves "Han persons" (''Hànrén''). The term ''Han Chinese'' is sometimes used synonymously with "[[Chinese_nationality|Chinese]]" without regard to the 55 other minority Chinese ethnic groups; usage of this kind tends to be frowned upon by Chinese nationals, who regard the phrase ''Zhongguó rén'' (中國人) to be a more precise terminology. |
Even today many Chinese people call themselves "Han persons" (''Hànrén''). The term ''Han Chinese'' is sometimes used synonymously with "[[Chinese_nationality|Chinese]]" without regard to the 55 other minority Chinese ethnic groups; usage of this kind tends to be frowned upon by Chinese nationals, who regard the phrase ''Zhongguó rén'' (中國人) to be a more precise terminology. |
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Revision as of 04:03, 29 January 2006
| Zhang ZiyiJiang ZeminElaine ChaoYao Ming | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Majority populations in : | |
| Languages | |
| Chinese language | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Confucianism, Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, Traditional Chinese religion. Significant Christian and Muslim minorities throughout China, not only among ethnic minorities, but also among the Han themselves. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| See also Subgroups of the Han nationality and Overseas Chinese |
Han Chinese (simplified Chinese: 汉族; traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: hànzú) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. The Han Chinese constitute about 92 percent of the population of mainland China and about 19 percent of the entire global human population. The name was occasionally translated as the "Chinese proper" in older texts (pre-1980s) and is commonly rendered in Western media as the "ethnic Chinese."
Names
The term "Han Chinese" is used to distinguish the majority from the various minorities in and around China who all look the same. The name comes from the Han Dynasty which succeeded the short-lived Qin Dynasty that reunited China. The Zhou dynasty, which preceded the Qin, was a period of consolidation when the various tribes coalesced into Warring States, which then annexed each other. It was during the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty that the various tribes of China began to feel that they belonged to the same ethnic group, compared with "barbarians" around them. In addition, the Han Dynasty is considered a high point in Chinese civilization, able to project its power far into Central Asia.
Even today many Chinese people call themselves "Han persons" (Hànrén). The term Han Chinese is sometimes used synonymously with "Chinese" without regard to the 55 other minority Chinese ethnic groups; usage of this kind tends to be frowned upon by Chinese nationals, who regard the phrase Zhongguó rén (中國人) to be a more precise terminology.
Amongst Southern Chinese, a different term exists within various languages like Cantonese, Hakka and Minnan, but which means essentially the same thing. The term is Tángrén (唐人, literally "the people of Tang"). This also derives from another Chinese dynasty, the Tang dynasty, which is regarded as another zenith of Chinese civilization. In fact, the term survives in most Chinese references to Chinatown, known as 唐人街 ("Street of Tang People").
In Southeast Asia, another term used commonly by overseas Chinese is Huaren (simplified Chinese: 华人; traditional Chinese: 華人; pinyin: huárén), derived from Zhonghua (中华), a literary name for China. The usual translation is "ethnic Chinese". Sometimes the term is restricted to refer to only those Chinese who are overseas (outside Greater China).
Culture
Main article: Culture of China and History of China
Part of one of the world's oldest and most complex civilizations, Chinese culture dates back thousands of years. Han Chinese believe they share common ancestors, mythically ascribed to the patriachs Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor, some thousands of years ago. Hence many Han Chinese refer to themselves as "descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors" (Traditional Chinese: 炎黃子孫; Simplified Chinese: 炎黄子孙), a phrase which has reverberative connotations in a divisive political climate, as in that between Mainland China and Taiwan.
Throughout the history of China, Chinese culture has been heavily influenced by Confucianism. Credited with shaping much of Chinese thought, Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout most of Imperial China's history, and mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for entry into the imperial bureaucracy.
Han Chinese all speak some form of the Chinese language; one of the Chinese names is Hanyu (simplified Chinese: 汉语; traditional Chinese: 漢語), literally the "Han language". Similarly, Chinese characters, used to write the language, are called Hanzi (simplified Chinese: 汉字; traditional Chinese: 漢字), or "Han characters".
Han Chinese nowadays usually wear Western-style clothing. Traditional Han Chinese clothing is now largely extinct. It is, however, preserved in religious and ceremonial costumes. For example, Taoist priests dress in fashion typical of scholars of the Han Dynasty. The ceremonial dress in Japan, such as those of Shinto priests, are largely in line with ceremonial dress in China during the Tang dynasty. The traditional Chinese clothing worn by many Chinese females in important occasions such as wedding banquets and Chinese New Year is called the qipao. Ironically, this attire comes not from the Han Chinese but from a modified dress-code of the Manchus, the ethnic group that ruled China between the 17th (1644) and the early 20th Century.
Ethnic Han Unity or Disunity?
Despite the existence of many varied and diverse Chinese spoken languages, one factor in Han ethnic unity is the Chinese written language. This unity is credited to the Qin dynasty which unified the various forms of writing that existed in China at that time. For thousands of years, Literary Chinese was used as the standard written format, which used vocabulary and grammar significantly different from the various forms of spoken Chinese. Since the 20th Century written Chinese has been usually vernacular Chinese, which is largely based upon dialects of Mandarin, and not the local dialect of the writer (with the exception of the use of Standard Cantonese in writing). Thus, although the residents of different regions would not necessarily understand each other's speech, they would be able to understand each other's writing. It has also led to dialectal literature being slow to develop in the few dialects where it has developed at all. One of the few dialects to successfully diverge in the written form is Cantonese, particularly in Hong Kong. But with the predominance of Han-based writing and literature, local languages have not become a focus for regional self-consciousness or nationalism.
Within some variants of Chinese nationalist theory, including the official version espoused by the People's Republic of China, China is composed of many ethnic groups, and promoting the interest and culture of Han Chinese at the expense of the other ethnic groups is known as Han chauvinism, which has a pejorative meaning. However, another interpretation of Chinese nationalist theory takes the very opposite view and considers only the Han Chinese to be true Chinese and thus equates Chinese nationalism with Han nationalism.
Internal diversity
Among Han Chinese, there is a wide diversity of distinct cultural and linguistic groups. The differences among regional and linguistic subgroups of Han Chinese are at least as great as those among many European groups. Han Chinese speak many varieties of Chinese spoken languages which are generally labelled as different Chinese dialects although the difference among them can be as great as seen in many European languages. Cultural differences (cuisine, costume, and custom) are equally great. Modern Chinese history provides many examples of conflict, up to the level of small-scale regional wars, between linguistic and regional groups. Thus, the idea of a unified Han Chinese is quite complicated.
Such diversities, however, have not generated exclusive ethnic identities, and distinctions in religion or political affiliation have not reinforced regional differences. Rather, there has been a consistent tendency in Chinese thought and practice to downplay intra-Han distinctions, which are regarded as minor and superficial.
The definition of the Han identity has varied throughout history. Prior to the 20th century, some Chinese-speaking ethnic groups like the Hakka and the Tanka were not universally accepted as Han Chinese, while some non-Chinese speaking peoples, like the Zhuang, were considered Han. Today, Hui Chinese are considered a separate nationality, but aside from their practice of Islam, little distinguishes them from the Han; two Han from different regions might differ more in language, customs, and culture than a neighboring Han and Hui. During the Qing Dynasty, Han Chinese who had entered the Eight Banners miliary system were considered Manchu, while Chinese nationalists seeking to overthrow the monarchy stressed Han Chinese identity in contrast to the Manchu rulers. Upon its founding, the Republic of China recognized five major nationalities: the Han, Hui, Mongols, Manchus, and Tibetans, while the People's Republic of China now recognizes fifty-six nationalities.
Due to its internal diversity, any study of the Han is thus of great interest to researchers in many fields, particularly anthropology and human biology. Recent genetic studies have shown genetic differences, especially between Han Chinese in the southernmost coastal areas (Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) and Han Chinese in the rest of China. The dividing line is much further south than either the Huai River or the Yangtze River, both of which are used conventionally as regional borders.
According to the recent scientific reports in China and overseas, northern Han Chinese are genetically different from Han inhabitants of southern China, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Hainan. In fact, it has been stated that southern Han Chinese are more genetically similar to ethnic-genetic groups such as the Gin/Vietnamese while northern Han Chinese are closer to groups like Mongols than the two Han groups are with each other. A number of differences between these groups in terms of dialect and customs have also been noted. However, there is cultural affinity between these two groups.
Historical evidence indicates that the Han were descended from the ancient Huaxia tribes of northern China. During the past two millennia, the Han culture (that is, the language and its associated culture) extended into southern China, a region originally inhabited by the southern natives, including those speaking Dai, Austro-Asiatic and Hmong-Mien languages.
As the Huaxia culture spread from its heartland in the Yellow River basin, it absorbed many distinct ethnic groups which then came to be identified as Han Chinese, as these groups adopted Han language (or variations of it) and customs. For example, during the Shang Dynasty people of the Wu area, in the Yangtze delta, was considered a "barbarian" tribe. They spoke a distinctly different language, and was known for scant dress and tattooed bodies. By the Han Dynasty, however, this area had become part of Han Chinese heartland. Nevertheless, the absorption of different cultural groups has contributed to the diversity of culture and language throughout the Han Chinese ethnic group.