Ethnic groups in Chinese history refer to various or presumed ethnicities of significance to the history of China, gathered through the study of Classical Chinese literature, Chinese and non-Chinese literary sources and inscriptions, historical linguistics, and archaeological research.
Among the difficulties in the study of ethnic groups in China are the relatively long periods of time involved, together with the large volume of literary and historical records which have accompanied the history of China. Classical Chinese ethnography (like much then-contemporary ethnography) was often sketchy, leaving it unclear as to whether Chinese-depicted names referred to a true ethnic group or a possibly multiethnic political entity. Even then, ethnonyms were sometimes assigned by geographic location or surrounding features, rather than by any features of the people themselves, and often carried little distinction of who the Han Chinese authors considered Chinese and non-Chinese for differences such as lifestyle, language, or governance. Many of the ethnonyms were historically used in such a way as to invite comparison with the word "barbarian".
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The names of various ethnic groups encountered in Chinese history can be rendered into English either by transliteration or translation. Transliteration attempts to render the proper name of an ethnic or social group by rendering the Chinese word as designated in Chinese characters into English as designated by use of the English alphabet. In some cases[1] authors prefer to render the terms designating these various groups as proper nouns, in other cases all of these various names in Chinese may be translated into English as generic barbarians. This practice involves the translation of numerous Chinese language terms into English as barbarians or "barbarians": sometimes of one type or another; such as, Northern Barbarians or Southern Barbarians, or "Northern Barbarians" or "Southern 'Barbarians'".
The following table summarizes the various ethnic groups and/or other social groups of known historical significance to the history of China (any non clear-cut connection is denoted by a question mark):
| Pinyin Romanization | Names in Chinese characters and Pronunciation | Approximate residence according to Chinese texts | Time of appearance in the history of China | Equivalence(s) of non-Chinese names | Time of appearance outside China | Possible Descendant(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miao | 苗 (Miáo) | Name applied to peoples in various areas stretching from provinces (Hebei, Shanxi) north of the Huang He to Yunnan province | As early as 25th century BC to present | Hmong, Hmu, Xong, A Hmao, ... | See Miao | Miao/Hmong, ethnic groups in China, America and Europe |
| Yuezhi | 月氏 (Yuèzhī) | Tarim basin | c. 6th century BC to 162 BC, then driven out by Xiongnu. | Kushans, Tocharians ? | Mid-2nd century BC in Central Asia | No known descendants, but possibly absorbed into the Uyghurs, who now show a large plurality of Indo-European DNA,[2] despite the majority of Uighurs having Mongoloid racial traits (although there are some Uighurs with certain European traits, such as light hair, light eyes, face shape, etc.) |
| Han | 漢 (Hàn) | China, generally, especially central China | From earliest history or prehistorical (though often associated with Han Dynasty to present | Han Chinese, Chinese | Certainly by Han Dynasty | Modern Han Chinese |
| Wuhuan | 烏桓 (Wūhuán) | Western portions of Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning provinces) and Inner Mongolia | 4th century BC to late 3rd century BC, assimilated by Han | No known equivalence | N/A | No known descendants |
| Xianbei | 鮮卑 (Xiānbēi) | Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning provinces), Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia. Moved into areas north of the Huang He and founded a dynasty there. | c. 4th century BC to mid-6th century, assimilated into Hans | N/A | N/A | No known descendants (some Han have the Xianbei surname Murong, Tuoba, and Yuwen) |
| Qiang | 羌 (Qiāng) | Gansu, Qinghai, western portion of Sichuan, eastern portion of Xinjiang, and northeastern portion of Tibet | Mentioned in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty, c. 14th century BC to c. 1050 BC.
c. 4th century BC to late 5th century, assimilated into Hans |
No known equivalence | N/A | Modern Qiang, Tangut, Old Tibetan, Nakhi, Jingpho, Lahu etc. |
| Di | 氐 (Dī) | Areas of neighboring borders of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Shaanxi | c. 8th century BC to mid-6th century, assimilated into Hans | No known equivalence | N/A | As minorities in Sichuan |
| Jie | 羯 (Jié) | Shanxi province | Late 2nd century to mid-4th century, assimilated into Hans | No known equivalence | N/A | No known descendants |
| Dingling, Gaoche, Shule | 丁零 (Dīnglíng), 高車 (Gāochē), 疏勒 (Shūlè) | Banks of Lake Baikal and on the borders of present-day Mongolia and Russia, migrated to modern-day Shanxi and Xinjiang | 1st century BC to late 5th century, assimilated into Hans | ? | ? | Some descendants still living by Lake Baikal ? |
| Rouran, Ruru, | 柔然 (Róurán), 蠕蠕 (Rúrú), 茹茹 (Rúrú) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, northern portions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and eastern portion of Xinjiang | Early 3rd century to early 6th century | Turkic peoples and/or Mongolic peoples (possibly others falling under the label as well) | Late 6th century to early 9th century | Turkic peoples |
| Tujue | 突厥 (Tūjué) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, northern portions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and eastern portion of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan | Late 5th century to mid-10th century | Göktürks | Mid-6th century to early 9th century | The western Turks partly migrated to Transoxiana, Persia, and Anatolia, while the eastern Turks assimilated mainly to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang; nowadays, mostly Turkmen and Uyghur in Central Asia, and, to a lesser degree, the Turkish-speaking population of modern-day Turkey (and other Turkic peoples) share that ancestry. |
| Huihu | 回紇 (Huíhé) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, northern portions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia | Early 7th century to mid-10th century | Uyghurs | Early 9th century to present | Uyghurs and Yugurs |
| Tufan | 吐蕃(Tǔbō, also pronounced as Tǔfān in Taiwan) | Present-day Tibet, Qinghai, western border of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi and Southern border of Xinjiang | Mid-6th century to present | Tibetans | Early 6th century to present | Tibetans |
| Qidan | 契丹 (Qìdān) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Liaoning, northern border of Shanxi and Hebei, and later in Xinjiang and eastern border of Kazakhstan | 388-1125 | Khitan | 388-1211 | Daur and Evenks people.
There exist descendants of war-scattered Qidan soldiers sent to Yunnan and Guangxi province during the Yuan Dynasty in Baoshan, Yunnan. |
| Xi or Kumo Xi | 庫莫奚 (Kùmòxī) | More or less the same residence of the Khitans, since regarded as two ethnic groups with one unique ancestry | Pre-4th century to mid-12th century | No known equivalence | N/A | No known descendants |
| Shiwei | 室韋 (Shìwéi) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, western Manchuria and southern Siberia | Late 6th century to late 10th century | No known equivalence | N/A | Conquered by Khitans, splinter groups and remnants re-emerged as Mongols |
| Menggu | 蒙古 (Ménggǔ) | Present-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, western Manchuria, southern Siberia, and eastern and central Xinjiang before Genghis Khan | Since late c. 8th century | Mongol | Late 12th century to present | Mongol
There remain descendants of Mongol soldiers sent to Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guangxi provinces during the Yuan Dynasty. |
| Dangxiang | 党項 (Dǎngxiàng) | Ningxia, Gansu, northern portions of Shanxi, southwestern portion of Mongolia, Southeastern portion of Xinjiang | Mid-8th century to early 13th century | Tanguts | N/A | Part of Hui nationality (Dungan), Ersu, part of Amdo Tibetans |
| Sai | 塞 (Sāi) | Widespread throughout Central Asia | 2nd century BC to 1st century BC | Saka | 5th century BC | ? |
| Mohe | 靺鞨 (Mòhé) | Manchuria and northern portion of Inner Mongolia, helped to establish Balhae | Early 7th century to early 10th century. | Malgal | N/A | Jurchens |
| Nüzhen or Manzuren | 女真 (Nǚzhēn), 滿 (Mǎn) | Manchuria and northern portion of Inner Mongolia | Early 10th century to present, established Jin Dynasty and Qing Dynasty | Jurchens, Mancho, Manchus or Manchurian | Since mid-17th century, first encountered by the Russians | Largest minority ethnic group in Dongbei region or Manchuria. Their culture has very much assimilated with the Han, though some distinctive aspects still remain. |