Understand the Chinese nation

 

Understand the Chinese nation

 

The children of the 56 ethnic groups living in China's big family have a common name "Chinese Nation". After thousands of years of ups and downs, how did China's various ethnic groups form a unified multi-ethnic country? Historical books and archaeological data can prove that the origins of the Chinese nation are diverse.

Agudengba chatted with the boss and his wife in the tent inn about Sinocentrism. Apparently, Agudenba was very disappointed that he had found the wrong person to chat with. The boss and his wife had no interest in this, and Agudemba's narration only left them confused.

When the boss's wife impromptu sang a song called "Chinese Dream", Agudenba closed his eyes and seemed to fall into a dream.

That night, Agudemba walked out of the tent alone, looking very lonely.

Looking at the few sparse stars in the long night, Agudenba fell into deep thought.

Human beings have entered civilized society from prehistoric times and have experienced a long process of development. Since the early days of human civilization, early human activities have occurred in China from Heilongjiang in the north, Yunnan in the southwest, and coastal areas in the east. These people who have lived in different geographical environments for a long time must develop their own production methods and cultural methods to adapt to different natural conditions. Beginning around 6000 BC, these early ethnic groups had formed groups in different areas where they lived separately and showed different cultural characteristics.

In the process of cultural integration, the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River gradually formed an agricultural society based on the cultivation of millet, broomcorn millet and rice with a multi-variety crop planting economy. With the support of a relatively stable economy, the population of this society was slowly growing, and city construction gradually became popular in the Central Plains and Haidai regions. The emergence of city sites and very large settlements that served as regional governance centers during this period generally reflected the state of numerous states in the Five Emperors era. Compared with the civilization of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, it can be called a state-type civilization.

The Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties were also important stages in the formation of various ethnic groups around the Central Plains Cultural Area. During this development process, the surrounding ethnic groups formed their own distinctive cultures and conducted frequent exchanges with the culture of the Central Plains.

The Sushen, Rongdi and other tribes in the northern region once operated in parts of today's Northeast, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi. In today's northwest regions such as Gansu and Qinghai, there are mainly Qiang and Rongdi tribes. The tribes living in the eastern region mainly include Dongyi and Huaiyi. The southeast and southern regions are mainly present-day southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guangxi and southern Guangdong, where Wu and many Yue people live. The southwest region of today's Sichuan and Chongqing is mainly the area where Shu people and Ba people live.

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, China emerged in the Central Plains and expanded its territory to the surrounding areas. Various ethnic groups known as Dongyi, Nanman, Xirong and Beidi continued to enter the Central Plains and interacted and integrated with each other in various forms.

In the process of developing from state-type civilization to Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasty civilization, recorded wars began to occur between tribal alliances composed of ethnic groups living in different regions. The war intensified the integration between different cultural groups and accelerated class differentiation, giving rise to the hereditary Xia Dynasty. During the birth and expansion of the Xia Dynasty, it fought wars with the "barbarians" to the east. The Xia Dynasty had the advantage in the dispute between Yi and Xia, but the Shang Dynasty that succeeded the Xia inherited the culture of the Dongyi people and formed a military and political alliance with the Yi people. An alliance led by merchants and allied with the Dongyi tribes formed , won the battle between Xia and Shang, overthrew the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty. Later, the Zhou people in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, closer to the west, rose up and inherited the Shang empire. It can be said that the political confrontation between the east and the west became the driving force for the historical evolution of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Although the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties represented opposing political groups in politics, in terms of national development they also formed the Huaxia nationality, which is generally considered the predecessor of the Han nationality, and culturally established the basic characteristics of the Chinese culture, which is the core of Chinese civilization. The early Chinese state, with the Western Zhou Dynasty as a typical example, highlighted the characteristics of Chinese civilization: in terms of national political legitimacy, it pursues "morality" as the center and the destiny comes from public opinion; in terms of the national political system, it is characterized by the isomorphism of the family and the state, and the isomorphism of the family and the state. In terms of ethnic composition, it appears as a unified political and cultural community of multiple ethnic groups.

The word "China" first appeared in a bronze inscription named He Zun cast during the reign of King Cheng of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The "China" here refers to Luoyi, the center of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the world, and the area directly ruled by the Emperor of Zhou.

With the development of history, the scope of what China refers to has gradually expanded, and it has also transformed from the concept of spatial orientation to the concept of ancient ethnic communities. In fact, it has begun to represent "China" with an ethnic orientation and more emphasis on blood ties.

By the time of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the areas affiliated to the Zhou Dynasty could also be called "China". As the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty were included in the category of "China", the scope of "China" was also constantly expanding. During the Warring States Period, "China" had become the title of the entire territory of various countries. It can be said that China in the Zhou Dynasty was already a unified country containing multiple ethnic groups.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, as various vassal states fiercely merged with each other, the Huaxia people had extensive and frequent contacts with surrounding ethnic groups.

By the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, the unified national regime had been established, which not only ruled the Chinese people, but also directly ruled many ethnic minorities. This resulted in a multi-ethnic state not only geographically but also in fact. The centralized state established by the Qin and Han Dynasties with a vast territory and numerous ethnic groups laid a solid foundation for the formation of the Chinese nation.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to the great migration and mixing of ethnic groups, the inherent connections and inseparable integrity among various ethnic groups were strengthened. During this period, ethnic minorities such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di, and Qiang, known as the "Five Hus", moved in on a large scale, and the situation of "China within and barbarians outside" was broken. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty's vigorous reforms completely placed the Xianbei people in the atmosphere of Chinese culture.

The Sui and Tang Dynasties ended more than 300 years of war in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and established a unified pattern with a broader territory and more ethnic groups than the Han Dynasty based on the great migration and integration of ethnic groups. The implementation of enlightened ethnic policies in the early Tang Dynasty, combined with strong national power and advanced culture, enhanced the centripetal force and cohesion of surrounding ethnic groups, and contributed to the emergence of the "Hu Yue family".

Although the Song Dynasty coexisted with the Liao Dynasty of the Khitan tribe and the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchen tribe for a long time, the interconnections and exchanges between the various ethnic groups were very close. Regimes such as the Liao, Jin, Xixia, and Dali vigorously absorbed the ruling experience and political systems of the Han Central Plains dynasties and incorporated a large number of elements of Central Plains culture.

In the subsequent Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the integration of various ethnic groups has never stopped. Since both the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were national regimes established by ethnic minorities, the boundaries between Yi and Xia were objectively blurred, and different ethnic groups gained unprecedented opportunities for contact, exchange, and understanding, which further deepened ethnic integration and cultural interpenetration, and consolidated form a unified multi-ethnic country.

After the Mongolians settled in the Central Plains, they created the "province" system. Now Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other ethnic areas are under the jurisdiction of the provinces. The Xuanzhengyuan was also established to directly manage Tibet, and the Penghu Inspection Department was set up to manage Penghu and Taiwan. At the same time, a chieftain system was established in ethnic areas such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Kangxi, which strengthened the central government's jurisdiction over border areas. In particular, the Yuan Dynasty for the first time integrated the Mongolian Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into the direct territory of the Central Plains Dynasty, which played a vital role in the history of the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country.

After the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty, it successively unified the Mongolian tribes of Monan Mongolia, Mobei Khalkha Mongolia and Moxi Erut Mongolia, put down a series of rebellions such as the Junggar Tribe, Xiaohe Zhuo and others, and strengthened its control of the minority ethnic groups in the Heilongjiang Basin. Management of ethnic minority areas.

After more than 140 years of unremitting efforts during the Kang, Yong, and Qian dynasties, all ethnic groups in the entire region from Northeast China, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet to southern and eastern China were unified within the territory of China.

From a historical perspective, every ethnic fusion brings about the unification of a multi-ethnic country; every unification is not a simple repetition of history, there are some new ethnic groups integrated into the multi-ethnic country, and finally condensed into a multi-ethnic country. A unified multi-ethnic country with Han as the main body.

After thousands of years of brewing and integration, the Chinese nation is now a whole nation composed of many ethnic groups in the country. The title of "Chinese nation" is completely shared by all ethnic groups. Unity in diversity is the basic characteristic of the Chinese nation.

Looking through the scrolls of world history, it is not difficult to find that there are many countries in the world that are composed of multiple ethnic groups. Their members can recognize each other as citizens of the same country, but they may not necessarily recognize a common general term nationally. The Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire, which were all-powerful in history, both had a vast territory and numerous ethnic groups, but they fell apart a long time ago. Their citizens never called themselves the Roman nation or the Ottoman nation.

History is like a play, geography is the stage; if you can't find the stage, where can you see the play?

In the two thousand years from the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, although there were civil strife, divisions, ethnic wars and dynasty changes, the multi-ethnic political entity with the Han as the main body has always existed. The characteristics of the distribution of China's various ethnic groups are: living together in large groups, living in small groups, and living intertwined with each other. There are ethnic minorities living in concentrated areas in Han areas, and Han ethnic groups living in ethnic minority areas. This distribution pattern is formed by the interactions and flows among various ethnic groups during the long-term historical development process.

There are 56 ethnic groups in China recognized by the central government. Since the 55 ethnic groups other than the Han have smaller populations than the Han, they are customarily called "ethnic minorities." China's ethnic minorities are mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan and Taiwan. Yunnan Province has the most ethnic groups in China, with 25 ethnic groups.

55 ethnic minorities: Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uyghur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazakh, Dai, Li, Lisu , Wa, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulao, Qiang, Bulang, Salar, Maonan, Gelao, Xibo , Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Uzbek, Russian, Evenki, Deang, Baoan, Yugu, Jing, Tatar, Dulong, Oroqen, Hezhe, Monba, Lhoba, Jinuo tribe.

China is a country with many religions, including Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, etc. Among China's ethnic minorities, there are seven ethnic groups: Tibetan, Mongolian, Tu, Yugu, Memba, Pumi, and Naxi who believe in Tibetan Buddhism (commonly known as Lamaism); those who believe in Theravada Buddhism (commonly known as Theravada Buddhism) include the Dai, Bulang, De'ang and other ethnic groups. Part of the Wa ethnic group; there are 10 ethnic groups that believe in Islam: Hui, Uyghur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, Baoan, Salar, Kirgiz, Tatar, Uzbek, and Tajik; some of the Yi, Miao, Lahu, Jingpo, and Lisu ethnic groups believe in Christianity. A small number of Russian and Evenki people practice Orthodox Christianity. Some ethnic minorities such as Dulong, Nu, Wa, Jingpo, Gaoshan, Oroqen, and Lhoba still maintain primitive nature worship and various beliefs.

Looking at the development of Chinese civilization and the process of China's national construction since ancient times, China's unified multi-ethnic country can continue to develop beyond time and space, and its civilization can continue to show strong vitality. This is in line with the innovation and unity of Chinese civilization. Sex and inclusivity are inseparable. These characteristics are also an indispensable source of motivation for Chinese civilization to enter modern times and move toward the future.

Agudenba closed his eyes and then opened them wide. He was thinking a lot, but some of them were far-fetched. He no longer thinks about the historical process of the formation of the Chinese nation, but what he thinks most about is the future direction of the Chinese nation.

Agudengba impromptu sang "Chinese Nation" to the dark night sky:

 

dark night,

Can't see the moon.

There are only a few stars,

Sparsely hanging on the horizon.

Just like the ancient sages,

No longer worrying.

Throughout the ages, dynasties have changed,

Natural and man-made disasters continue.

Five thousand years of violent wind and rain,

The Chinese nation is diverse.

Withstand the test of time,

It cannot withstand internal power struggles.

The long night will disappear,

The morning light will return.

the eastern sun,

It will be popular all over the world.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River will not flow backwards,

The Chinese nation will last forever.