{{Short description|none}} {{about|the general concept of peoples relating to China|the dominant Chinese ethnic group|Han Chinese|a list of ethnicities in modern China|List of ethnic groups in China|a list of ethnicities in historical China|Ethnic groups in Chinese history|the concept of the multiethnic Chinese nation|Zhonghua minzu{{!}}''Zhonghua minzu''}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox Chinese | t = 華人 | s = 华人 | p = Huárén | t2 = 中國人 | s2 = 中国人 | p2 = Zhōngguóren }}
The '''Chinese people''', or simply '''Chinese''', are people or ethnic groups identified with China. Understandings of who is considered Chinese have shifted across time through social construction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Xu |first=Guoqi |url=https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674303997 |title=The Idea of China |date=2026 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-30399-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=29 April 2010 |author1=Chandra Ford |author2=Nina T Harawa |title=A new conceptualization of ethnicity for social epidemiologic and health equity research |journal=Soc Sci Med |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=251–258 |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.008 |pmid=20488602 |pmc=2908006}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Harding |first=Harry |year=1993 |title=The Concept of "greater China": Themes, Variations and Reservations |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=136 |issue=136 |pages=660–86 |doi=10.1017/S030574100003229X |jstor=655587 |s2cid=154522700 }}</ref>
People of Chinese ethnicity or ancestry who live outside Greater China may consider themselves overseas Chinese.<ref>{{cite book |last = Barabantseva |first = Elena |title = Overseas Chinese, Ethnic Minorities and Nationalism: De-Centering China |year = 2010 |publisher = Routledge |isbn = 978-1-136-92736-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Park |first = Yoon Jung |title = A Matter of Honour: Being Chinese in South Africa |year = 2008 |publisher = Lexington Books |isbn = 978-0-7391-3553-2 |page = 155 }}</ref> In some areas throughout the world, ethnic enclaves known as Chinatowns are home to populations of overseas Chinese.
== Terminology == The term {{Lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Zhōngguó zhī rén}} ({{zh|t=中國之人|l=people of China}}; {{Langx|mnc|{{ManchuSibeUnicode|ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ<br />ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ {{zwj}}ᡳ<br />ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ}}|Dulimbai gurun-i niyalma}}) was used by the Qing government to refer to all traditionally native subjects of the empire, including Han, Manchu, and Mongols.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Zhao |first=Gang |year=2006 |title = Reinventing China: Imperial Qing ideology and the rise of Modern Chinese national identity in the early twentieth century |url = https://webspace.utexas.edu/hl4958/perspectives/Zhao%20-%20reinventing%20china.pdf|url-status=unfit |journal = Modern China |publisher=Sage |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=3–30 |doi = 10.1177/0097700405282349|s2cid=144587815 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140325231543/https://webspace.utexas.edu/hl4958/perspectives/Zhao%20-%20reinventing%20china.pdf |archive-date = 25 March 2014 |access-date = 29 May 2016 }}</ref> In modern Chinese, there is a distinction between ''Huaren'' and ''Zhongguoren''. The former term refers to ethnic Chinese, and is often used for those who reside overseas or those who are non-citizens. The latter term refers to people who have lived in China or are Chinese citizens.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beeson|first=Mark|title=Contemporary Southeast Asia|year=2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-06880-4|page=118}}</ref><ref>https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327152957/https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA |date=27 March 2022 }} {{Zh-no-labels|生息、繁衍,居住在中国的本地人或者海外有中国血统的侨胞}} Local people who live, reproduce, reside in China, or Chinese nationals of Chinese descent living overseas.</ref><ref>https://cwn.ling.sinica.edu.tw/_process.asp?inputword=%A4%A4%B0%EA%A4H&radiobutton=1 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001085940/https://cwn.ling.sinica.edu.tw/_process.asp?inputword=%A4%A4%B0%EA%A4H&radiobutton=1 |date=1 October 2022 }} {{Zh-no-labels|普通名詞。中華民族的族人或中國大陸的人民。}} noun, ethnic groups of Zhonghua Minzu, or people of China</ref> The term ''Zhongguoren'' has a more political or ideological aspect in its use, and while many in China may use ''Zhongguoren'' to mean the Chinese ethnicity, some in Taiwan would refuse to be called ''Zhongguoren''.<ref name="chang">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vouLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 |title=Language, Politics and Identity in Taiwan: Naming China |author=Hui-Ching Chang |author2=Richard Holt |pages=162–64 |isbn=978-1-135-04635-4 |publisher=Routledge |date=20 November 2014 |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930190823/https://books.google.com/books?id=vouLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA162#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
People from Taiwan, which is officially called the Republic of China (ROC), may also be referred to as "Chinese" in various contexts, though they are usually referred to as "Taiwanese". The territory of Taiwan is disputed and the ROC has limited recognition of its sovereignty.
==Ethnicity== {{Further|Ethnic minorities in China|List of ethnic groups in China|Unrecognized ethnic groups in China}}
A number of ethnic groups as well as other racial minorities of China are referred to as Chinese people.<ref name="MWD">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Chinese |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary |edition=Tenth |publisher=Merriam-Webster |year=1993}}</ref> ''Zhonghua minzu'' ({{zh|s=中华民族}}), the "Chinese nation", is a supra-ethnic concept which includes all 56 ethnic groups living in China that are officially recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. It includes established ethnic groups who have lived within the borders of premodern China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinatraveldepot.com/C247-Chinese-nationality|title=Brief Introduction Chinese nationality|website=Chinatraveldepot.com|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701041329/http://www.chinatraveldepot.com/C247-Chinese-nationality}}</ref> The term ''zhonghua minzu'' was used during the Republic of China from 1911 to 1949 to refer to five primary ethnic groups{{Efn|The Han, the Manchu, the Mongols, the Hui (applied to Muslims as a whole), and the Tibetans.}} in China.<ref>{{cite book|title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang|last=Millward|first=James A.|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-231-13924-3}}</ref> The term ''zhongguo renmin'' ({{zh|中国人民}}), "Chinese people", was the government's preferred term during the early communist era; ''zhonghua minzu'' is more common in recent decades.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWc9Ia7TcaMC&pg=PA252|title=China Since 1919: Revolution and Reform: a Sourcebook|last=Jenner|first=W.J.F.|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-25141-9|editor=Alan Lawrance|pages=252–255|chapter=Race and history in China|access-date=19 October 2015|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117124208/https://books.google.com/books?id=JWc9Ia7TcaMC&pg=PA252|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Han Chinese === {{Excerpt|Han Chinese}}
=== Ethnic minorities === The Chinese government recognizes 56 ethnic groups in China. Other ethnic groups in China include the Zhuang, Hui, Manchus, Uyghurs, and Miao, who make up the five largest ethnic minorities in mainland China, with populations of approximately 10 million or more. In addition, the Yi, Tujia, Tibetans and Mongols each have populations between five and ten million. Ethnic minorities may consider themselves ''Zhongguoren.''
== Diaspora == {{Excerpt|Overseas Chinese|only=paragraphs}}
== See also== {{Portal|China|Taiwan|Hong Kong}} * Chinese ancestral veneration * Chinese folk religion * Chinese nationality * Ethnic groups in Chinese history * Unrecognized ethnic groups in China
==Notes== {{Notelist|refs= {{Efn|name=Han people|{{Lang-zh|t=漢族|s=汉族|p=Hànzú|l=Han ethnic group}} ''or'' <br /> {{Lang-zh|t=漢人|s=汉人|p=Hànrén|l=Han people}}}} }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote}} * [https://archive.today/20010223232236/http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/minority/minority.html Chinese Ethnic Minorities] * {{Citation |url=http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno=1163&no=1163&level=B |title=The Ranking of Ethnic Chinese Population |access-date=2 November 2008 |publisher=Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, Republic of China |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123193905/http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno=1163&no=1163&level=B |archive-date=23 November 2013 }} {{Authority control}}
Category:Chinese people Category:Broad-concept articles