Nationalities of China

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[[de:V�lker Chinas]] [[fi:Kiinan etniset ryhm�t]]

The People's Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or M�nz� (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.

Official ideology places all Chinese nationalities as being part of a broader nationality known as zhonghua minzu.

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 generally considered a member of the Han nationality.

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 racial differences between persons within that group.

The multinational 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 nationalities theory is heavily influenced by that of the Soviet Union. Official policy claims to be against assimilation and maintains that each nationality should have the right to develop its own culture and language.

The degree of integration of minority nationality 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.

In order of population these are:

Han (汉族 : H�n Z�)
Zhuang (壮族 : Zhu�ng Z�)
Manchu (满族 : Mǎn Z�)
Hui (回族 : Hu� Z�)
Miao (苗族 : Mi�o Z�) (Hmong)
Uyghur (维吾尔族 : W�iw�ěr Z�)
Yi (彝族 : Y� Z�)
Tujia (土家族 : Tǔjiā Z�)
Mongol (蒙古族 : Měnggǔ Z�)
Tibetan (藏族 : Z�ng Z�)
Buyi (布依族 : B�yī Z�)
Dong (侗族 : D�ng Z�)
Yao (瑶族 : Y�o Z�)
Korean (朝鲜族 : Ch�oxiǎn Z�)
Bai (白族 : B�i Z�)
Hani (哈尼族 : Hān� Z�)
Li (黎族 : L� Z�)
Kazakh (哈萨克族 : Hās�k� Z�)
Dai (傣族 : Dǎi Z�, also called Dai Lue, one of the Thai ethnic groups)
She (畲族 : Shē Z�)
Lisu (傈僳族 : L�s� Z�)
Gelao (仡佬族 : Gēlǎo Z�)
Lahu (拉祜族 : Lāh� Z�)
Dongxiang (东乡族 : Dōngxiāng Z�)
Wa (佤族 : Wǎ Z�) (Va)
Shui (水族 : Shuǐ Z�)
Naxi (纳西族 : N�xī Z�) (includes the Mosuo (摩梭 : M�suō))
Qiang (羌族 : Qiāng Z�)
Tu (土族 : Tǔ Z�)
Xibe (锡伯族 : X�b� Z�)
Mulam (仫佬族 : M�lǎo Z�)
Kirghiz (柯尔克孜族 : Kēěrk�zī Z�)
Daur (达斡尔族 : D�w�ěr Z�)
Jingpo (景颇族 : Jǐngpō Z�)
Salar (撒拉族 : Sǎl� Z�)
Blang (布朗族 : B�lǎng Z�)
Maonan (毛南族 : M�on�n Z�)
Tajik (塔吉克族 : Tǎj�k� Z�)
Pumi (普米族 : Pǔmǐ Z�)
Achang (阿昌族 : Āchāng Z�)
Nu (怒族 : N� Z�)
Evenks (鄂温克族 : �wēnk� Z�)
Gin (京族 : Jīng Z�)
Jino (基诺族 : Jīnu� Z�)
De'ang (德昂族 : D��ng Z�)
Uzbek (乌孜别克族 : Wūzībi�k� Z�)
Russian (俄罗斯族 : �luōsī Z�)
Yugur (裕固族 : Y�g� Z�)
Bonan (保安族 : Bǎoān Z�)
Monpa (门巴族 : M�nbā Z�)
Oroqin (鄂伦春族 : �l�nchūn Z�)
Drung (独龙族 : D�l�ng Z�)
Tatar (塔塔尔族 : Tǎtǎěr Z�)
Hezhen (赫哲族 : H�zh� Z�)
Lhoba (珞巴族 : Lu�bā Z�)
Gaoshan (高山族 : Gāoshān Z�) (Taiwanese aborigine)

Religions

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

Buddhism: the Dai, Mongolian, Naxi (including Mosuo), Tibetan and Yugun.
Islam: the Bonan, Dongxiang, Hui, Kazak, Kirgiz, Salar, Tajik, Tatar, Uygur and Uzbek.
Orthodoxy: the Russians
Shamanism: the Daurs, Ewenkis, and Oroqens.