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Han Taiwanese,^{[3][4][5][page needed][6]} also known asTaiwanese Han^[7][8] (Chinese:臺灣漢人^[9][10]),TaiwaneseHan Chinese,^[11] orHan Chinese Taiwanese,^[12][13] areTaiwanese people of full or partial ethnicHan ancestry.^{[14][15][16][17]} According to theExecutive Yuan ofTaiwan, they comprise 95^[2] to 97^[18] percent of the Taiwanese population, which also includesAustronesians and other non-Han people.^[19] Major waves of Han immigration occurred since the 17th century to the end ofChinese Civil War in 1949, with the exception of theJapanese colonial period (1895–1945).^[19] Han Taiwanese mainly speak three Sinitic languages:Mandarin,Hokkien andHakka.^[20][21]

There is no simple uniform definition of Han Taiwanese,^[22][23] which are estimated to comprise 95 to 98 percent of theTaiwanese population.^[2][18][14] To determine if a Taiwanese is Han, common criteria include immigration background (from continentalEast Asia), using aChinese language as their mother tongue, and observance of traditionalHan festivals.^{[22][24][25][page needed]} Sometimes a negative definition is employed, where Han people are those who are not non-Han.^{[23][page needed]}

Taiwanese Han ethnic groups include theHoklo people andHakka people that had arrived in Taiwan beforeWorld War II (sometimes called "benshengren"),^[26][27] as well those and other Han people that arrived shortly after World War II^{[nb 1]} (sometimes called "waishengren").^[29] The distinction between benshengren and waishengren is now less important due to intermarriages and the rise of aTaiwanese identity.^[26] In addition, there are Han that do not fall into the above categories, including thePuxian-speaking people inWuqiu Township,Kinmen County, theMindong-speaking people inMatsu, and various newly arrived Han immigrants.^{[citation needed]}

Those who trace their ancestry toQuanzhou andZhangzhou fromFujian make up 70% of Taiwan's population. 15% originate fromLongyan andMeixian from Fujian andGuangdong respectively whilst 12% come from other provinces from mainland China. The rest are either Taiwanese aborigines, ethnic minorities from mainland China or foreign spouses.^[30]

There is a belief that modern Taiwanese Han are genetically different from Chinese Han, which has been used as a basis for Taiwanese independence from China. This belief has been called the "myth of indigenous genes" by some researchers such as Shu-juo Chen and Hong-kuan Duan, who say that "genetic studies have never supported the idea that Taiwanese Han are genetically different with Chinese Han."^[22] Some descendants of plains aborigines have opposed the usage of their ancestors in the call for Taiwanese independence.^[13] Genetic studies show genetic differences between Taiwanese Han and mountain aborigines. According to Chen and Duan, the genetic ancestry of individuals cannot be traced with certainty and attempts to construct identity through genetics are "theoretically meaningless."^[22] In the highest self reports, 5.3 percent of Taiwan's population claimed indigenous heritage.^[31]

Estimates of indigenous ancestry range from 13%, 26%, and as high as 85%. The latter number was published in a Chinese language editorial and not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, however these numbers have taken hold in popular Taiwanese imagination and are treated as facts in Taiwanese politics and identity. Many Taiwanese claim to be part aboriginal. Some Taiwanese graduate biology students expressed skepticism at the findings, noting the lack of peer-reviewed publications. Chen suggests that the estimates resulted from manipulation of sample sizes. The lack of methodological rigor suggests the numbers were meant for local consumption. In all scientific studies, genetic markers for aboriginal ancestry make up a minute portion of the genome.^[31] In 2021,Marie Lin [zh] who was the source of the larger indigenous ancestry numbers, co-authored an article stating that the East Asian and Austronesian ancestors of the Taiwanese Han and indigenous peoples mixed during the southward migration of East Asians 4,000 years ago, although recent admixtures cannot be ruled out. However, only one in five hundred Han Taiwanese individuals examined was genetically closer to theDusun people, who are closer to the Taiwanese indigenous peoples than Sino-Tibetan populations, and there are "distinct patterns of genetic structure between the Taiwanese Han and indigenous populations." Taiwanese Han also cluster withCantonese andChinese Singaporeans the most out of the Sino-Tibetan-speaking groups, supporting the hypothesis that the admixture event occurred prior to the migration of Taiwanese Han to Taiwan.^[32]

Other studies show genetic affinities between Taiwanese Han andKinh Vietnamese^[33][34][35] and also, genetic input fromwestern Indonesians and otherMainland Southeast Asians, reflecting ancient trade.^[36]

There were two major waves of Han immigration: 1) during theQing dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries and 2) fromRepublic of China'smainland area, which is now ruled by thePeople's Republic of China, in the final years of theChinese Civil War (1945–1949).

Taiwan's southwest was home to a Chinese population numbering close to 1,500 before theDutch first came in 1623.^[37] From 1624 to 1662, they began to encourage large-scale Hanimmigration to the island for labour, mainly from what is today southFujian.

Starting from 1683, the Qing government limited immigration to Taiwan. Such restriction was relaxed following the 1760s, and by 1811 there were more than two million ethnic Chinese in Taiwan. The 1926 census counted 3,116,400 and 586,300 Han people originating from the Hok-kien and Kwang-tung provinces (roughlyFujian andGuangdong today) during theMing orQing dynasty.

Around 800,000 people, the vast majority being Han, immigrated to Taiwan after the end of theWorld War II, whenRepublic of China took over Taiwan, with the biggest wave taking place around the founding of thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland in 1949. Since the mid-1990s, there has been a small amount of Han immigration from the PRC into Taiwan. It mainly consists of two categories—brides of businessmen who work on the mainland, and women who have married rural Taiwanese, mostly through a marriage broker.^{[citation needed]}

Around 20% or 34,000 of theVietnamese people in Taiwan areHoa people, people of Chinese origin that are mostly Han.^[43]

There were violent ethnic conflicts (termed "分類械鬥" in government documents of theQing dynasty), which played a major role in determining the distribution of different groups ofHan people in Taiwan. Most conflicts were between people ofZhangzhou andQuanzhou origins which includes acts where Quanzhang fought againstHakka peasants from the southwestern hills ofFujian (Tingzhou and western Zhangzhou) throughout the period. ("漳泉械鬥", Chang-Chin conflicts)^[44] and between people ofHokkien andHakkas origins ("閩粵械鬥" [Min-Yue conflicts]) where Hoklo people united to fight against theHakka who largely came fromGuangdong and a minority fromFujian, is called ("閩客械鬥" [Min-Hakka conflicts]).

Trying to be a mediator, Tēⁿ Iōng-sek (鄭用錫, 10 June 1788 – 21 March 1858), the first Taiwanese to achieve the highest degree,jinshi or "Doctor" (Mandarin: 進士), in the imperial examination of the Qing dynasty, wrote an articleOn Reconciliation (勸和論).^[45]

In some regions, where the majority of the population spoke another language, the minority group sometimes adopted the more dominant language and lost their original language. This most commonly occurred with Hakka migrants, who adopted eitherQuanzhou orZhangzhouHokkien; they are referred to as "minnanized"Hakka people (福佬客).^[46]

Unlike pre-World War II, when Han immigrants were predominantly of Hok-kien and Hakka origins, post-World War II Han people came from all overmainland China. Their different languages, habits, ideologies and relationships with the Republic of China government sometimes led to conflicts between these two groups.^[47]

In Taiwan, the Han people came into contact with the Austronesians, Dutch, Spanish and Japanese.

TheAmis term for Han people ispayrag.

According to the historianMelissa J. Brown, within the Taiwanese Minnan (Hoklo) community itself, differences in culture indicate the degree to which mixture withAustronesians took place, with most pure Hoklo Han in Northern Taiwan having almost no Austronesian admixture, which is limited toHoklo Han in Southern Taiwan.^[48]Plains aborigines who were mixed and assimilated into the Hoklo Han population at different stages were differentiated between "short-route" and "long-route".^[49] The ethnic identity of assimilated Plains aboriginals in the immediate vicinity of Tainan was still known since a Taiwanese girl from an old elite Hoklo family was warned by her mother to stay away from them.^[50] The insulting name"番仔" (huan-a) was used against plains aborigines by the Taiwanese, and the Hoklo Taiwanese speech was forced upon Aborigines like thePazeh people.^[51] Hoklo Taiwanese has replaced Pazeh and driven it to near extinction.^[52] Aboriginal status has been requested by plains aboriginals.^[53]

Part of themaximum-likelihood tree of 75 Asian populations:^[54]

In Taiwan, the prevalence ofalcohol dependence among the Han is 10 times lower than that of Austronesians, which is related to genetic, physical, psychological, social, environmental, and cultural factors.^[55] An association study by researchers at theAcademia Sinica found that genes in alcohol metabolism pathway, especiallyADH1B andALDH2, conferred the major genetic risk for alcohol dependence in Taiwanese Han men.^[56]

The languages used by Han Taiwanese includeMandarin (entire country),Hokkien (Taiwan proper andKinmen),Hakka (Taiwan proper),Mindong (Matzu),Puxian (Wuqiu Island, Kinmen), and other Han languages spoken by some post-World War II immigrants or immigrants frommainland China since the 1990s. The writing systems used includeHan characters, Han phonetic notations such asMandarin Phonetic Symbols for Mandarin andTaiwanese Phonetic Symbols for Hokkien and Hakka, and theLatin alphabet for various romanization systems, includingTongyong Pinyin,Wade–Giles,Gwoyeu Romatzyh andMandarin Phonetic Symbols II for Mandarin,POJ andTaiwanese Minnan Romanization System for Hokkien, andHakka Romanization System for Hakka.^{[citation needed]}

Significant numbers of Puxian Min, Fuzhounese, andTeochew speakers came to Taiwan proper, but they were eventually assimilated into theHokkien (Minnan) speaking population.^{[citation needed]}

The Taiwanese linguistUijin Ang divided Taiwan (excluding Kinmen and Matsu) into 7 linguistic regions, including one Austronesian, five Han and one mixed.^[21]

Ever since the arrival of Han immigrants in Taiwan, their languages have undergone changes through interactions with other Han or non-Han languages. For example, one unit of land area used in Taiwanese Minnan isKah (甲; 0.9699 acre), which comes from the Dutch word for "field",akker (akker >阿甲 >甲).^[57]

• 
  Minced pork rice, a rice dish of Han Taiwanese.
• 
  Minced pork rice inTaichung.
• 
  Rice blood cakes to be fried.
• 
  Oyster omelet inLugang, Changhua.

The most popular religions of Han Taiwanese areTaoism andBuddhism.^[62] With 11,796 temples (78.4% Taoist; 19.6% Buddhist), Taiwan is the country with the highest density of temples in the world.^[63]

• 
  Lungshan Temple, a Taoist-Buddhist temple in Taipei.
• 
  Iun-Fug Giung (永福宮),Longtan District, Taoyuan, is a traditional Han temple built in 1791 in the Hakka village Sam-Hang-Zii

In traditional Han society, children inherit the surname of the father. Population analyses of Han Taiwanese based on theshort tandem repeat sequences on theY chromosome, which is specific to males, shows high haplotype diversity in most surname groups. Except for rare ones, the origins of Han surnames in Taiwan are pretty heterogeneous.^[10]

Confucian temples formed an important part of the life of early Han immigrants. Famous temples includeTaiwan Confucian Temple andTaipei Confucius Temple.^[65]

One of the earliest written records ofTaiwanese Hakka isA Tragic Ballad about Hakka Sailing to Taiwan (渡台悲歌), a work written in the Raoping dialect about the life and struggle of Hakka immigrants to Taiwan under the Ching rule.^[66]

One of the best known Han folktales in Taiwan is theAunt Tiger.^[67]

Taiwanese architecture refers to a style of buildings constructed by the Han people, and is a branch of Chinese architecture.^[70] The style is generally afforded to buildings constructed before the modernization under Japanese occupation, in the 1930s. Different groups of Han immigrants differ in their styles of architecture.^[71] Being far away from the center of political power of Beijing, buildings were constructed free of construction standards.^{[citation needed]} This, coupled with inferior level of expertise of artisans and craftsmen, and the Japanese colonization, the architectural style diverged from the ones on the mainland.^[71] Many traditional houses have been designated national monuments by the Taiwanese government, such as theLin Family Mansion and Garden^[72] and the House of Tēⁿ Iōng-sek (鄭用錫).^{[citation needed]}

Hakka Taiwanese have long traditions of indigo dyeing.^[73][74]

TheYilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival exhibits collections of traditional Han Taiwanese toys.^[75]

• Han Taiwanese nationalism

• Taiwan Folklore & Folk Culture (National Taiwan University OpenCourseWare)

• Han Taiwanese
• Chinese culture in Taiwan

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