Map of the Chinese Han dynasty in 2 CE. Names of non-Chinese peoples and states have been purposely left with their Chinese names (e.g. Dayuan instead of Fergana; Gaogouli instead of Goguryeo) to reflect the fact that our knowledge of participants in the Han world order comes almost exclusively from Chinese sources.Map of Tang dynasty China, showing some of the surrounding ethnic (and other) groups or the geographical areas these groups were located.
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 premodern 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.[1]
The Chinese exonyms of various ethnic groups encountered in Chinese history can be rendered into English either by transliteration or translation; for instance, Dí狄 is transliterated as Di (or Ti) or translated as "Northern Barbarians". In some cases authors prefer to transliterate specific exonyms as proper nouns,[2] and in other cases to translate generic ones as English "barbarian" (for instance, "Four Barbarians"). The American sinologist Marc S. Abramson explains why "barbarian" is the appropriate translation for general terms like fan番 and hu胡, but not specific ones like fancai 番菜 "foreign-style food".
Translations such as "foreigner" and "alien," though possessing an air of scholarly neutrality, are inappropriate as a general translation because they primarily connote geographic and political outsiderness, implying that individuals and groups so designated were external to the Tang Empire and ineligible to become subjects of the empire. This was frequently not the case with many uses of fan and related terms — most common among them were hu (often used in the Tang to denote Central Asians) and four ethnonyms of great antiquity that, by the Tang, were mostly used generically with implicit geographic connotations: yi (east), man (south), rong (west), and di (north) — that largely connoted cultural and ethnic otherness but did not exclude the designated persons or groups from membership in the empire. Although the term barbarian has undergone many transformations from its Greek origins to its current English usage, not all of which are relevant to the Tang (such as its use in medieval Europe to denote religious difference, marking non-Christians of various ethnic, geographic, and political affiliations), its consistent association with inferiority, lack of civilization, and externality in the broadest sense often make it the most appropriate choice, including some cases when it is placed in the mouths of non-Han referring to themselves or others. However, its pejorative connotations make it inappropriate as a general translation. Thus, I have chosen not to translate these terms when they designate particular groups, individuals, or phenomena and do not refer to a specific ethnic group, language, geographic place, or cultural complex.[3]
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):
No known descendants, but possibly absorbed into the Uyghurs, who now show a large plurality of Indo-European DNA.[4] Maybe the descendants of the Kushan Empire are the Pashtuns.[5]
c. 4th century BC to mid-6th century, some Xianbeis assimilated into Hans
N/A
N/A
Possibly some of the Mongols, Tibetans, Monguor people, Sibe people, Evenks, and Chinese (some Chinese people today have the sinicised presumably Xianbei surnames such as Yuwen, Yuchi, Zhangsun, Tuoba, Murong and Huyan)
The eastern Turks assimilated mainly to the Orkhon Uyghurs who conquered them; as for several Western-Turkic-affiliated tribes: Karluks (standard Chinese: Géluólù 葛邏祿) became linguistic ancestors and partial genetic ancestors of modern Karluk Turkic speakers; Oghuz Turks possibly descend from the Western Turkic tribe Gūsū 姑蘇.[18]); the Khazars, whose political association with Göktürks was suggested by their Chinese name 突厥曷薩 Tūjué Hésà; 突厥可薩 Tūjué Kěsà, lit. 'Türk Khazar',[19][20] were possibly led by the Ashina clan.[21][22] The Shatuo Turks consisted of three tribes: the formerly Western Turkic-associated Chuyue tribe,[23][24][25] the formerly Türgesh-associated Suoge (娑葛),[26] and Anqing (安慶) of Sogdian origins.[24]
Early 6th century to present, a 2016 study reveals the date of divergence between Tibetans and Han Chinese was estimated to have taken place around 15,000 to 9,000 years ago.[27]
Early 10th century to present, established the Jin and Qing dynasties, many Manchus have lost their native Manchu language and only speak Mandarin Chinese
Mohe, Jurchens, Mancho, Manchurian, Manchurian Chinese
Since mid-17th century, first encountered by the Russians
Modern Manchus. Largest minority ethnic group in the Dongbei region. Modern Manchus have mostly lost their language and by and large have assimilated into Han Chinese culture, though there are some distinctive aspects that still remain.
7th century to present, many Jews have very much assimilated into Hui people after converting to Islam. The Nanjing and Beijing Jews became Muslims[28] At the start of the 20th century the Zhang Kaifeng Jewish family became Muslims.[29][30] Muslim men married Jewish women.[31] Some Jews adopted non-Jewish sons.[32][33] After the 1642 Yellow River flood some Muslim women were taken as wives by a Kaifeng Jew "the handsome" Zhang Mei (Chang Mei).[34] Kaifeng Jews became Muslims.[35] Islam was taken up after Kaifeng Jews married Muslims.[36][37] The converts to Islam retained Jewish characteristics after conversion.[38][39]
Modern Jews. Kaifeng is known for having the oldest extent Jewish community in China. Many Chinese Jews have very much assimilated into Hui Muslims, though a number of international Jewish groups have helped Chinese Jews rediscover their Jewish roots.[40][41] Kaifeng Jewish ancestry has been found among their descendants living among the Hui Muslims, such as during a hajj pilgrimage the Hui Muslim woman Jin Xiaojing (金效靜) found out about her Jewish ancestry and wrote about it in an article, "China's Jews" (中国的犹太人) published in "Points East" in 1981. Scholars have pointed out that Hui Muslims may have absorbed Kaifeng Jews instead of Han Confucians and Buddhists.[42][43] Jewish converts to Islam who became Hui Muslims in 16th century China were called the blue hat Hui (藍帽回回) since they converted to Islam due to similarities in their traditions.[44] One of the 7 prominent Hui Muslim clans of Kaifeng, the Zhang Jewish clan, became Muslim.[45] The Zhang family, among several Hui Muslims with Kaifeng Jewish ancestry call themselves "fake Muslims" since hey are openly proud of their ancestry[46] Instead of being absorbed into Han, a portion of the Jews of China of Kaifeng became Hui Muslims.[47] In 1948 Samuel Stupa Shih (Shi Hong Mo) (施洪模) said he saw a Hebrew language "Religion of Israel" Jewish inscription on a tombstone in a Qing dynasty Muslim cemetery to a place west of Hangzhou.[48]
^Yang, Miaoyan (2017). Learning to Be Tibetan: The Construction of Ethnic Identity at Minzu. Lexington Books (published 17 March 2017). p. 7. ISBN978-1498544634.
^Him, Mark Lai; Hsu, Madeline (2004). Becoming Chinese American: A History of Communities and Institutions. AltaMira Press (published 4 May 2004). p. 8. ISBN978-0759104587.
^Weinstein, Jodi L. (2013). Empire and Identity in Guizhou: Local Resistance to Qing Expansion. University of Washington Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN978-0295993270.
^Marks, Robert B. (2017). China: An Environmental History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 143. ISBN978-1442277878.
^S.P. Chen (Jan 2005). "The Yelang Kingdom and the Yi People", Journal of Guizhou University For Nationalities, College of Cultural Communication de l'Université de Guizhou, Guiyang. Download links: 1Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^New Book of Tangvol. 219 "奚,亦東胡種,爲匈奴所破,保烏丸山。漢曹操斬其帥蹋頓,蓋其後也。" translation: "Xī, another kind of Eastern Hu; defeated by the Xiongnu, [their] refuge [was] Wuwan mountains. Han [general] Cao Cao executed their leader Tadun. [The Xī] are possibly their descendants.
^Zuev, Yu. "Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms" (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuiyao" of 8-10th centuries), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 126, 133-134 (in Russian)
^Golden, Peter Benjamin (July 2018). "The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks". The Medieval History Journal: 294. p. 294
^Lee, Joo-Yup (2016). "The Historical Meaning of the Term Turk and the Nature of the Turkic Identity of the Chinggisid and Timurid Elites in Post-Mongol Central Asia". Central Asiatic Journal. 59 (1–2): 101–32. p. 103-105
^Pritsak, Omeljan (September 1978). "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism" (PDF). Harvard Ukrainian Studies. II (3): 261–281. p. 261
^Golden, Peter Benjamin (2007a). "Khazar Studies: Achievements and Perspectives". In Golden, Peter B.; Ben-Shammai, Haggai; Róna-Tas, András (eds.). The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Vol. 17. BRILL. pp. 7–57. ISBN 978-90-04-16042-2 p.165
^Golden, Peter Benjamin (1992). "An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples: Ethnogenesis Ans State Formation in the Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia and the Middle East". Turcologica. 9. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN978-3-447-03274-2. p. 165
^Lieberman, Phillip I., ed. (2021). The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5, Jews in the Medieval Islamic World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9781009038591. ... the Jewish presence in the city predates this year.242 According to the 1489 inscription, the founders of the Kaifeng ... while others state that the Jews of Beijing and Nanjing converted to Islam.249 The same Ricci was the first to ...
^Ehrlich, M. Avrum; Liang, Pingan (2008). "Part V KAIFENG JEWISH DESCENDANTS 14 THE CONTEMPORARY CONDITION OF THE JEWISH DESCENDANTS OF KAIFENG". In Ehrlich, M. Avrum (ed.). The Jewish-Chinese Nexus: A Meeting of Civilizations. Routledge Jewish Studies Series (illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 194. ISBN978-1134105533. Out of the seven original clans of Kaifeng Jews, the Zhang clan was said to have converted to Islam in the beginning of the twentieth century with the decline of the community and the problems in that period of China's history.
^Dubov, Kalman. Journey to the People's Republic of China; Review & Analysis. Kalman Dubov. Most of the Zhang converted to Islam. Jews who managed the synagogues were called mullahs. A high number of Kaifeng Jews passed the difficult Chinese Civil Service examination during the Ming Dynasty. Four inscriptions from 1489, 1512, ...
^Xu, Xin; Gonen, Rivka (2003). The Jews of Kaifeng, China: History, Culture, and Religion. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. p. 55. ISBN0881257915. Two families intermarry with Chinese Mohammedans only . The Jews give their daughters to the Mohammedans ; the Mohammedans do not give their daughters to the Jews . The Jews do not know from whence they came, or the period of their ...
^Goldstein, Jonathan, ed. (1998). The Jews of China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 119. ISBN076563631X. A 1757 regulation in the Paradesi record book stated : " If an Israelite or a ger [ apparently, a convert from outside Cochin ] marries a woman from the daughters ... of the mshuchrarim, the sons who are born to them go after the ...
^Goldstein, Jonathan; Schwartz, Benjamin I. (2015). The Jews of China: v. 1: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (illustrated ed.). Routledge. ISBN978-1317456049. Some ancestor rituals may still be carried out by Kaifeng Jewish descent groups today; it is hoped that ongoing ... a convert from outside Cochin] marries a woman from the daughters ... of the mshuchrarim, the sons who are born to them ...
^LESLIE, DONALD DANIEL (2017). "INTEGRATION, ASSIMILATION, AND SURVIVAL OF MINORITIES IN CHINA: THE CASE OF THE KAIFENG JEWS". In Malek, Roman (ed.). From Kaifeng to Shanghai: Jews in China. Routledge. p. 68. ISBN978-1351566292. In any case, the Kaifeng Jews did not stand out as an exotic community, for there were a large number of Muslims there, ... and they did not intermarry.93 According to most authorities, many Jews finally assimilated to Islam.
^Shapiro, Sidney (2001). Jews in Old China: Studies by Chinese Scholars. Hippocrene Books. p. 233. ISBN0781808332. Muslim religious strictures required anyone, whether man or woman, who married a Muslim to convert to Islam . ... An San, a Kaifeng Jew, was awarded a rank of Third Grade, because of services he had rendered to the court ... -followers were not assimilated into the Han population. Jews who married Muslims had to embrace Islam. This is one of the reasons the Jews were assimilated.
^Goldstein, Jonathan, ed. (1999). "Contributors Benjamin Isadore Schwartz, Frank Joseph Shulman". The Jews of China: Historical and comparative perspectives. East Gate book. Vol. 1 of The Jews of China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 119. ISBN0765601036. A 1757 regulation in the Paradesi record book stated : "If an Israelite or a ger (apparently, a convert from outside Cochin) marries a woman from the daughters ... of the mshuchrarim, the sons who are born to them go after the ...
^Points East, Volumes 1-7. Sino-Judaic Institute. 1986. p. 8. Even the first generation of a mixed marriage will often find the offspring only too happy to escape into the non ... Though the Jews converted to Islam, they apparently retained a Jewish coloration, much like Jews to convert to ...
^Contributors Michael Pollak, Bet ha-tefutsot (Tel Aviv, Israel) (1984). קהילת קאפינג: Chinese Jews on the Banks of the Yellow River. Bet Hatefutsoth, The Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora. The community was also weakened by repeated natural, military and economic catastrophes that Kaifeng experienced over the centuries. Fire and flood took their toll,{{cite book}}: |author1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 47. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. Later, in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is likely, as suggested by many scholars, that several of the Kaifeng Jews did convert to Islam rather than simply being swallowed up in the Buddhist or Confucian multitude. Today, a number of Muslims (and possibly non-Muslims) have discovered that their ancestors were Kaifeng Jews.108... 108 Jin Xiaojing 金效靜, 1981, translated in Points East 1.1 (Jan 1986), 1, 4-5 . She discovered she was of Jewish descent when on the hajj to Mecca !
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 196. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. Islamic works translated into Chinese played a very important role in the popularization of Islam . At the same time, many Jews who did not like to abandon their tradition converted to Islam and were known as the " Huihui with blue hats A 藍帽回回" . The missionary work of Christians from the beginning of the 17th century and the Chinese Bible did not affect them .
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 106. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. Others said he may indeed be from the Zhang clan, but that the clan (one of the "Seven Surnames") had apparently converted to Islam over a century ago.
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 18. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. 26 Some of those who converted to Islam, like the Zhang family, still seem to cherish this past as well and consider themselves as "fake Moslems". This has been confirmed by Zhang Qianhong and Li Jingwen in "Some Observations ...," 2000, p. 165.
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 48. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. "This also involves a difficult study of the relations that existed between the Kaifeng Jews and Muslims there. A number of Jewish descendants converted to Islam rather than melting into the general populations. What is their attitude to Judaism now?
^Kupfer, Helmut Karl Peter (2008). Kupfer, Peter (ed.). Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China. Vol. 47 of FASK, Publikationen des Fachbereichs Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim: Abhandlungen und Sammelbände, Universität Mainz Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft. Peter Lang. p. 50. ISBN978-3631575338. ISSN0941-9543. It is clear from Shi's later descriptions that many of the tombstones he saw were Muslim rather than Jewish, though one, he claimed, read "Religion of Israel" in Hebrew. In Hangzhou, according to Ricci in 1608, there had been a synagogue. We can only wonder whether the Jews there had a separate cemetery of their own or were accepted by the Muslims in their special cemetery.
Abramson, Marc S. (2008). Ethnic Identity in Tang China. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Beckwith, Christopher I. (2009): Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-13589-2.