Nationalities of China

(Redirected from List of Chinese ethnic groups)

Categories: Ethnic groups of China

The People's Republic of China officially describes itself as a multi-ethnic unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. In addition to the 56 official nationalities, there are some Chinese who classify themselves as members of unrecognized nationalities. Also, foreign nationals who have become Chinese citizens form yet another separate group.

In general, the system of 56 nationalities is applied only to Mainland China. The Taiwanese aborigines are classified as one of the 56 nationalities - Gaoshan. Hong Kong and Macau are outside the system.

The official PRC point of view is that all of these above nationalities are part of a broader "civil ethnicity" known as Zhonghua Minzu.

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Nationalities

Although most of the nationalities can be seen as ethnic groups, the correspondence is not one to one. For example, many Hui Chinese are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except for the fact that they practice Islam. Conversely, Hakka are often thought of as an ethnic group, but they are generally considered to be within the subgroups of the Han ethnicity.

While Han Chinese make up the vast majority of China's total population, the population distribution is highly uneven with large parts of western China having Han Chinese as a minority. In addition the lumping of most Chinese into the majority Han, obscures some of the large linguistic, cultural, and genetic differences between persons within that group.

The multi-ethnic nature of China results in part by territories incorporated by the Qing dynasty, whose emperors were themselves Manchu and not members of the majority Han. Chinese ethnicities theory is heavily influenced by that of the Soviet Union. Official policy is against assimilation and maintains that each ethnic group should have the right to develop its own culture and language.

The degree of integration of minority nationalities with the national community varies widely from group to group. With some groups, such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs there is a great deal of resentment against the majority. Other groups such as the Zhuang, Hui Chinese, and ethnic Koreans are well integrated into the national community.

See List of China administrative regions by ethnic group for the ethnic composition of each province-level division of China.

In order of population, the nationalities of China are:

  • Han (汉族 : Hàn Zú)
  • Zhuang (壮族 : Zhuàng Zú)
  • Manchu (满族 : Mǎn Zú)
  • Hui (回族 : Huí Zú)
  • Miao (苗族 : Miáo Zú) (Hmong)
  • Uygur (维吾尔族 : Wéiwúěr Zú)
  • Yi (彝族 : Yí Zú)
  • Tujia (土家族 : Tǔjiā Zú)
  • Mongol (蒙古族 : Měnggǔ Zú)
  • Tibetan (藏族 : Zàng Zú)
  • Buyei (布依族 : Bùyī Zú)
  • Dong (侗族 : Dòng Zú)
  • Yao (瑶族 : Yáo Zú)
  • Chosen (朝鲜族 : Cháoxiǎn Zú), meaning Koreans.
  • Bai (白族 : Bái Zú)
  • Hani (哈尼族 : Hāní Zú)
  • Li (黎族 : Lí Zú)
  • Kazak (哈萨克族 : Hāsàkè Zú)
  • Dai (傣族 : Dǎi Zú, also called Dai Lue, one of the Tai ethnic groups)
  • She (畲族 : Shē Zú)
  • Lisu (傈僳族 : Lìsù Zú)
  • Gelao (仡佬族 : Gēlǎo Zú)
  • Lahu (拉祜族 : Lāhù Zú)
  • Dongxiang (东乡族 : Dōngxiāng Zú)
  • Va (佤族 : Wǎ Zú) (Va)
  • Sui (水族 : Shuǐ Zú)
  • Naxi (纳西族 : Nàxī Zú) (includes the Mosuo (摩梭 : Mósuō))
  • Qiang (羌族 : Qiāng Zú)
  • Tu (土族 : Tǔ Zú)
  • Xibe (锡伯族 : Xíbó Zú)
  • Mulao (仫佬族 : Mùlǎo Zú)
  • Kirgiz (柯尔克孜族 : Kēěrkèzī Zú)
  • Daur (达斡尔族 : Dáwòěr Zú)
  • Jingpo (景颇族 : Jǐngpō Zú)
  • Salar (撒拉族 : Sǎlá Zú)
  • Blang (布朗族 : Bùlǎng Zú)
  • Maonan (毛南族 : Màonán Zú)
  • Tajik (塔吉克族 : Tǎjíkè Zú)
  • Pumi (普米族 : Pǔmǐ Zú)
  • Achang (阿昌族 : Āchāng Zú)
  • Nu (怒族 : Nù Zú)
  • Ewenki (鄂温克族 : Èwēnkè Zú)
  • Gin (京族 : Jīng Zú), meaning Vietnamese or Kinh people.
  • Jino (基诺族 : Jīnuò Zú)
  • De'ang (德昂族 : Déáng Zú)
  • Uzbek (乌孜别克族 : Wūzībiékè Zú)
  • Russ (俄罗斯族 : Éluōsī Zú)
  • Yugur (裕固族 : Yùgù Zú)
  • Bonan (保安族 : Bǎoān Zú)
  • Monba (门巴族 : Ménbā Zú)
  • Oroqen (鄂伦春族 : Èlúnchūn Zú)
  • Derung (独龙族 : Dúlóng Zú)
  • Tatar (塔塔尔族 : Tǎtǎěr Zú)
  • Hezhen (赫哲族 : Hèzhé Zú)
  • Lhoba (珞巴族 : Luòbā Zú)
  • Gaoshan (高山族 : Gāoshān Zú), meaning Taiwanese aborigines1.
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Complications

Undistinguished nationalities (未识别民族: Wèi Shíbié Mínzú) are ethnic groups that have not been officially recognized or classified by the central government. The group numbers more than 730,000 people, and would constitute the 20th most populous nationality of China if taken as a single group (which it is not). The vast majority of this group is found in Guizhou province.

The group of "Undistinguished nationalities" does not include groups that have been controversially classified into existing groups. For example, the Mosuo are officially classified as Naxi, and the Chuanqing are classified as Han Chinese, but they reject these classifications and view themselves as separate nationalities.

Citizens of mainland China (i.e. excluding the former European colonies of Hong Kong and Macau) who are of foreign origin are classified using yet another separate label: "Foreigners Joining in Chinese Nationality" (外国人入中国籍). However, if there is an existing group among the 56 nationalities that describes the citizen of foreign origin (e.g. Han Chinese, Korean, Russian, Gin, Kazakh, etc.), then he or she is classified into that nationality rather than the special label.

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Religions

Note that some of these nationalities hold belief systems that cannot be distinctly classified based upon the following system (in alphabetical order).

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Notes

  • Note 1: The PRC government refers to all Taiwanese aborigines as Gaoshan, meaning "High Mountain", whereas the government in Taiwan recognizes a dozen groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term Gaoshan has a different connotation in Taiwan (see Taiwanese aborigines for details). While several thousands of these aborigines have migrated to China's Fujian province, most remain in Taiwan; whether the ones in Taiwan should be considered citizens of China is a controversial issue of Taiwan's legal status and political status.
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See also

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External links and references

eo:Nacioj de Cxinio fr:Nationalités de Chine it:Etnie cinesi ja:中国の少数民族の一覧 fi:Kiinan etniset ryhmät sv:Kinas nationaliteter zh:中华民族