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Largest ethnicity has long, rich history
July 27, 2013, Saturday
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EDITOR'S Note:
China has 56 ethnic groups. Today's distribution of ethnic groups resulted from expansion and integration during Chinese history. Each group has its own rich and colorful tradition of costumes, festivals, religious beliefs and dietary habits.
This biweekly column will introduce and explain the evolution and characteristics of each ethnic group.
Han
Population: 1.23 billion, accounting for 91.5 percent of the total population of China
Distribution: widely scattered around China
Language: Chinese
Religion: varied
Food: Wheat or rice as the main course, accompanied by vegetables, meat and soybean products, is the basis for the common diet of the Han people.
Zhang Qian
A big, widespread population and an ancient, consistent culture might perfectly describe the largest ethnic group in China - Han.
The character Han originally referred to the Milky Way and its countless stars. It was first used to describe a group of Chinese in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) - an era when a united China enjoyed a developed economy, powerful military and advanced technology.
Now, it refers to over 1.23 billion people, accounting for 91.5 percent of the total Chinese population, who are scattered widely around China. There generally are more Han people in the east than in the west of China.
The Huaxia people, or Cathayans, who inhabited the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River over 3,000 years ago, are said to be the origin of Han people. They accommodated various cultures in the area and accepted other groups. Through war and peace, the Huaxia people gradually grew into a powerful force in alignment with other ethnic groups.
As the powerful Han Dynasty was set up by the group at the end of 3rd century BC, this group of people began to be addressed as the Han by other ethnic groups. The designation was kept, regardless of historical changes of dynasties.
The Han people are proud to describe themselves as descendant of long (the Chinese dragon). One legend has it that the Yellow Emperor with a bear as its tribe totem defeated all the other tribes, and collected part of their totems, contributing to the imaginary animal with deer's antlers, eagle's claws, fish's scales, a horse's face and an ox's nose. The new totem is like the merging and fusing of the Han group. And it was used as the exclusive symbol of the emperors in China for a very long time.
The phoenix often appears together with the Chinese dragon. The dragon represents yang and male, while the phoenix represents yin and female.
The dominant economic activity for most of the history of the Han included men plowing and women weaving. The Han were very creative in improving farming techniques, especially irrigation and cultivation. The famous Dujiang Weir water project built over 2,000 years ago is still a working irrigation system. Other economic activities such as silk farming and weaving, porcelain production and tea farming and processing all showed the Han's talents.
Language provides cohesion
It is hard to define a single costume as the traditional dress of the Han, considering so many types used in different regions and different ages. Likewise with the traditional architecture of the Han: The quadrangles in Beijing, the cave houses in Shaanxi Province, and the riverside building in water-towns at the lower reach of Yangtze River are all just part of the picture.
Chinese language with its system of written characters, however, is without a doubt a hallmark of the Han people. Regardless of the various dialects and tones, the consistency of Chinese characters has brought great cohesion to the nation.
The common diet of the Han includes wheat or rice as the main course, accompanied by vegetables, meat and soybean products. Yet different cooking methods and seasonings contributed to a very rich variety of cuisine. The famous eight big cuisines, Chuan (Sichuan), Yue (Guangdong), Min (Guangxi), Hui (Anhui), Lu (Shandong), Xiang (Hunan), Zhe (Zhejiang) and Su (Jiangsu) are typical.
Just like it does in many other cultures, alcohol plays an important role in the life of the Han people for entertainment, celebrations and festivals. Rice wine is the most common, while different herbs added to wines enrich the wine culture, leading to such traditions as drinking tu su wine on New Year's Eve, xiong huang wine on the Dragon Boat Festival and chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival.
China has 56 ethnic groups. Today's distribution of ethnic groups resulted from expansion and integration during Chinese history. Each group has its own rich and colorful tradition of costumes, festivals, religious beliefs and dietary habits.
This biweekly column will introduce and explain the evolution and characteristics of each ethnic group.
Han
Population: 1.23 billion, accounting for 91.5 percent of the total population of China
Distribution: widely scattered around China
Language: Chinese
Religion: varied
Food: Wheat or rice as the main course, accompanied by vegetables, meat and soybean products, is the basis for the common diet of the Han people.
Zhang Qian
A big, widespread population and an ancient, consistent culture might perfectly describe the largest ethnic group in China - Han.
The character Han originally referred to the Milky Way and its countless stars. It was first used to describe a group of Chinese in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) - an era when a united China enjoyed a developed economy, powerful military and advanced technology.
Now, it refers to over 1.23 billion people, accounting for 91.5 percent of the total Chinese population, who are scattered widely around China. There generally are more Han people in the east than in the west of China.
The Huaxia people, or Cathayans, who inhabited the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River over 3,000 years ago, are said to be the origin of Han people. They accommodated various cultures in the area and accepted other groups. Through war and peace, the Huaxia people gradually grew into a powerful force in alignment with other ethnic groups.
As the powerful Han Dynasty was set up by the group at the end of 3rd century BC, this group of people began to be addressed as the Han by other ethnic groups. The designation was kept, regardless of historical changes of dynasties.
The Han people are proud to describe themselves as descendant of long (the Chinese dragon). One legend has it that the Yellow Emperor with a bear as its tribe totem defeated all the other tribes, and collected part of their totems, contributing to the imaginary animal with deer's antlers, eagle's claws, fish's scales, a horse's face and an ox's nose. The new totem is like the merging and fusing of the Han group. And it was used as the exclusive symbol of the emperors in China for a very long time.
The phoenix often appears together with the Chinese dragon. The dragon represents yang and male, while the phoenix represents yin and female.
The dominant economic activity for most of the history of the Han included men plowing and women weaving. The Han were very creative in improving farming techniques, especially irrigation and cultivation. The famous Dujiang Weir water project built over 2,000 years ago is still a working irrigation system. Other economic activities such as silk farming and weaving, porcelain production and tea farming and processing all showed the Han's talents.
Language provides cohesion
It is hard to define a single costume as the traditional dress of the Han, considering so many types used in different regions and different ages. Likewise with the traditional architecture of the Han: The quadrangles in Beijing, the cave houses in Shaanxi Province, and the riverside building in water-towns at the lower reach of Yangtze River are all just part of the picture.
Chinese language with its system of written characters, however, is without a doubt a hallmark of the Han people. Regardless of the various dialects and tones, the consistency of Chinese characters has brought great cohesion to the nation.
The common diet of the Han includes wheat or rice as the main course, accompanied by vegetables, meat and soybean products. Yet different cooking methods and seasonings contributed to a very rich variety of cuisine. The famous eight big cuisines, Chuan (Sichuan), Yue (Guangdong), Min (Guangxi), Hui (Anhui), Lu (Shandong), Xiang (Hunan), Zhe (Zhejiang) and Su (Jiangsu) are typical.
Just like it does in many other cultures, alcohol plays an important role in the life of the Han people for entertainment, celebrations and festivals. Rice wine is the most common, while different herbs added to wines enrich the wine culture, leading to such traditions as drinking tu su wine on New Year's Eve, xiong huang wine on the Dragon Boat Festival and chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival.
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