 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Zhonghua minzu" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleis missing information about "revival" / "rejuvenation" (复兴) of the Chinese nation. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(January 2021) |
| Zhonghua minzu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中華民族 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华民族 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Chinese nation[note 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg)
| Part of a series on |
| Names of China |
|---|
|
Zhonghua minzu (Chinese:中華民族;pinyin:Zhōnghuá mínzú;Wade–Giles:Chung1-hua2 min2-tsu2) is a political term in modernChinese nationalism related to the concepts ofnation-building,ethnicity, andrace in the Chinesenationality.[4][5][6][7][8]
Zhonghua minzu was established during the earlyBeiyang (1912–1927) periods to includeHan people and four major non-Hanethnic groups: theManchus,Mongols,Hui, andTibetans,[9][10] under the notion ofa republic of five races (Wǔzú gònghé). Conversely,Sun Yat-sen and theKuomintang (KMT) envisioned it as a unified composite of Han and non-Han people.[11][non-primary source needed] It differs from the wordHanzu (Chinese:漢族;pinyin:Hànzú;Wade–Giles:Han4-tsu2), a word is only used to refer to theHan Chinese.
Zhonghua minzu was initially rejected in thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) but resurrected after thedeath of Mao Zedong to include Han Chinese alongside55 other ethnic groups as a collective Chinese family.[4][7] Since the late 1980s, the most fundamental change of the PRC's nationalities and minorities policies is the renaming fromZhongguo renmin (中国人民; 'the Chinese people') toZhonghua minzu (中华民族; 'the Chinese nation'), signalling a shift away from amultinational communistpeople's statehoodof China to one multi-ethnic Chinesenation state with one single Chinesenational identity.[8]
An older proto-nationalist term throughout Chinese history would beHuaxia, but the immediate roots of theZhonghua minzu lie in theQing dynasty founded by theManchu clanAisin Gioro in what is todayNortheast China.[12] The Qing Emperors sought to portray themselves as ideal Confucian rulers for theHan Chinese,Bogda Khans for theMongols, andChakravartin kings forTibetan Buddhists.[13]
Dulimbai gurun (ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ) is the Manchu name for China. It has the same meaning as the Chinese nameZhongguo (中國; 'Middle kingdom').[15][16][17] The Qing identified their state as "China" (Zhongguo), and referred to it asDulimbai Gurun in Manchu. The Qing equated the lands of the Qing state, including present day Manchuria, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet and other areas as "China" in both the Chinese and Manchu languages, defining China as a multi ethnic state, rejecting the idea that China only meant Han areas, proclaiming that both Han and non-Han peoples were part of China, using "China" to refer to the Qing in official documents, international treaties, and foreign affairs, and the 'Chinese language' (Dulimbai gurun i bithe) referred to Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol languages, and the termZhongguo zhi ren (中國之人;ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᡳ
ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠDulimbai gurun-i niyalma 'Chinese people') referred to all Han, Manchu, and Mongol subjects of the Qing.[18]
When the Qingconquered Dzungaria in 1759, they proclaimed that the new land was absorbed into China (Dulimbai gurun) in a Manchu language memorial.[19][20][21] The Qing expounded on their ideology that they were bringing together the "outer" non-Han like the Mongols and Tibetans, together with the "inner" Han Chinese, into "one family" united in the Qing state, showing that the diverse subjects of the Qing were all part of one family, the Qing used the phraseZhongwai yijia (中外一家) orneiwai yijia (內外一家; 'interior and exterior as one family'), to convey the idea of a unification of the different peoples.[22] A Manchu language version of a treaty with the Russian Empire concerning criminal jurisdiction over bandits called people from the Qing as "people of the central kingdom (Dulimbai gurun)".[23][24][25][26] In the Manchu officialTulisen's Manchu languageaccount of his meeting with theTorghut Mongol leaderAyuka Khan, it was mentioned that while the Torghuts were unlike the Russians, the "people of the Central Kingdom" (dulimba-i gurun) were like the Torghut Mongols, and the "people of the Central Kingdom" referred to the Manchus.[27]
Before the rise ofnationalism people were generally loyal to thecity-state, thefeudal fief and its lord or, in the case of China, to adynastic state.[28] While Qing rulers adopted the Han Chinese imperial model and considered their state asZhongguo (Chinese:中國;pinyin:Zhōngguó;Wade–Giles:Chung1-kuo2, the term for China inStandard Chinese), and the name "China" was commonly used in international communications and treaties such as theTreaty of Nanking,[29] someHan nationalists such asSun Yat-sen initially described the Manchus as "foreign invaders" to be expelled,[30] and planned to establish a Hannation-state modelled closely after Germany and Japan. Fearing that this restrictive view of the ethnic nation-state would result in the loss of large parts of imperial territory, Chinese nationalists discarded this concept. The abdication of the Qing emperor inevitably led to controversy about the status of territories in Tibet and Mongolia. While the emperor formally bequeathed all the Qing territories to the new republic, it was the position of Mongols and Tibetans that their allegiance had been to the Qing monarch; with the abdication of the Qing, they owed no allegiance to the new Chinese state. This was rejected by theRepublic of China and subsequently thePeople's Republic of China.[citation needed]
This development in Chinese thinking was mirrored in the expansion of the meaning of the termZhonghua minzu. Originally coined by the late Qing philologistLiang Qichao,Zhonghua minzu initially referred only to theHan Chinese. It was then expanded to include theFive Races Under One Union, based on the ethnic categories of the Qing.[31][32]
The concept ofZhonghua minzu was first publicly espoused by PresidentYuan Shikai in 1912, shortly after the overthrow of theQing dynasty and the founding of theRepublic of China. Facing the imminent independence ofOuter Mongolia from China, Yuan Shikai stated, "Outer Mongolia is part ofZhonghua minzu [the Chinese nation] and has been of one family for centuries" (外蒙同為中華民族，數百年來儼如一家).[citation needed]
Sun Yat-sen further elaborated the concept, as expressed, for example, in a 1920 speech:[33]
有人說，清室推翻以後，民族主義可以不要。這話實在錯了。…現在說五族共和，我們國內何止五族呢？我的意思，應該把我們中國所有各民族融化成一個中華民族。…並且要把中華民族造成很文明的民族，然後民族主義乃為完了。
Some people say, after the overthrow of the Qing, we will have no further need of nationalism. Those words are certainly wrong... At the present we speak of unifying the 'five nationalities', yet surely our country has far more than five nationalities? My stand is that we should unite all the peoples of China into one Chinese nation (Zhonghua minzu) ...furthermore, develop that nation into an advanced, civilized nation; only then will nationalism be finished.
After the founding of the PRC, the concept ofZhonghua minzu became influenced bySoviet nationalities policy. Officially, the PRC is aunitary state composed of56 ethnic groups, of which the Han are by far the largest. The concept ofZhonghua minzu is seen as an all-encompassing category consisting of people within the borders of the PRC.[citation needed]
This term has continued to be invoked and remains a powerful concept in China into the 21st century. In mainland China, it continues to hold use as the leaders of China need to unify into one political entity a highly diverse set of ethnic and social groups as well as to mobilize the support ofoverseas Chinese in developing China.[citation needed] The term is included in article 22 of the Regulations on United Front Work of theChinese Communist Party: "...promote national unity and progress, and enhance the identification of the masses of all ethnic groups with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics."[34]Zhonghua minzu is also one of thefive identifications.[citation needed]
InTaiwan. it has been invoked byPresident Ma as a unifying concept that includes the people of both Taiwan and mainland China without a possible interpretation that Taiwan is part the People's Republic of China, whereas terms such as "Chinese people" can be, given that the PRC is commonly known as "China".[35]
The adoption of theZhonghua minzu concept may give rise to the reinterpretation of Chinese history. For example, the Qing dynasty was originally sometimes characterized as aconquest dynasty or non-Han regime. Following the adoption of theZhonghua minzu ideology, which regards the Manchus as a member of theZhonghua minzu, dynasties founded by ethnic minorities are no longer stigmatized.[citation needed]
The concept ofZhonghua minzu nevertheless also leads to the reassessment of the role of many traditional hero figures. Heroes such asYue Fei andZheng Chenggong, who were originally often considered to have fought for China against barbarian incursions, have been re-characterized by some asminzu yingxiong ('ethnic heroes') who fought not against barbarians but against other members of theZhonghua minzu—theJurchens andManchus respectively.[36] At the same time, China exemplified heroes such asGenghis Khan, who became a national hero as a member of theZhonghua minzu.[37]
The concept of theZhonghua minzu has sometimes resulted in friction with neighboring countries such asMongolia,North Korea andSouth Korea, who claim regional historical peoples and states. For instance, Mongolia has questioned the concept of Genghis Khan as a "national hero" during theRepublic of China Period. Since the collapse of socialism, Mongolia has clearly positioned Genghis Khan as the father of the Mongolian nation.[38] Some Chinese scholars rejections of that position involve tactics such as pointing out that more ethnicMongols live within China than Mongolia and that the modern-day state of Mongolia acquired its independence from the Republic of China which claimed the legal right to inherit all Qing territories, including Mongolia, through theImperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor.[39][40][41] There is also controversy between China and the Korean Peninsula regarding the historical status ofGoguryeo.[42]
... however, the CCP's nationalist claims are increasingly falling on deaf ears. Popular nationalists like Jin Hui now speak regularly of the "Motherland" (zuguo) and the "Chinese race" (Zhonghua minzu) - without reference to the Party. And they care so deeply
Repeated use of what should now be translated as 'Chinese race, (Zhonghua Minzu 中华民族), alongside omission of ethnic minorities in official narratives ...
| Sino-Tibetan |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indo-European | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overseas diaspora |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Immigrants and expatriates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Founders |
| |
| Ideology | ||
| Leaders | ||
| Party congress | ||
| Leadership elections | ||
| Significant venues | ||
| See also | ||
Notes: Acting leadersitalicised ; By-elections denoted with (b) | ||
