7 things to know about the Culture of Han Chinese

 

The Han Chinese is the most civilized ethnic group in China.

China is magnificent land. Its ancient civilizations, long history, empires, arts and architectures, costumes, and festivals are so enchanting that one can not deny knowing about this land. You might get to think about Kung Fu, long dresses, some specific type of temples when you think about China. But do you know how much diversity this land has? Might not! You would be surprised to know that China has about 56 ethnic groups. So many cultural variations. Right! Well, In this blog post I'm gonna tell you about the largest ethnic group of China that is the Han group or Han Chinese.

Population

Han people (汉人)  being the largest ethnic group in China make about 92% of China's total population and 20% of the World's population. You might relate them just to Mainland China, of course, most of them are settled in Mainland China but they are also resided in Taiwan, Singapore, and many other areas of the World. Han group itself is divided into many subgroups. The Hans got their name from the Hans Dynasty. According to a Chinese friend of mine, Han is considered to be China's most civilized ethnic group. According to him

"The Han nationality got its name from the Han Dynasty in China(202BC - 220AD). Before that it was not called the Han nationality, but the descendents of ancient Yandi and Huangdi, called the Descendents of Yuan and Huang. The Han nationality has the largest population(about 1.3 billion now) and the highest degree of civilization among all ethnic groups in China, so it has always been the main ethnic group in China."

Class System

Hans people had a class system with classes like mandarin, artisans, peasants, workers, and the mean people. The mandrins were Bureaucrats and government people while the Mean people were those not from the society of Han people.

History

The Han originally belong to the land around the Yellow River. They began to rise after the fall of the Qin dynasty(221 - 206BC). Emperor Gaozu is considered the founder of the Han Dynasty. Hans people can be traced back to 3,000 years ago. Hans Dynasty is considered as the Golden age of Chinese Imperial history. As there were not only expansion in territories but also the agriculture process was introduced in China. With the military, agriculture, society rules, literature, arts, and their script 'Hans Script', it is considered as the most civilized dynasty.

Languages

Han Chinese has many languages in different lands but in China, this group has the Mandarin language which is the language spoken throughout China.

Festivals

Oh, this might be getting boring. But there are some captivating festivals of this culture. Let's see! Chinese mostly follow the Chinese Lunar Calendar for their festivals and traditions. Some major festivals are Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Double-Ninth Festival, Spring festival, and Lantern Festival. Let's have a glimpse of these captivating festivals. 

New Year Festival

Everyone has heard of New Year Festival. China is known for its New Year celebrations. As the majority of the Chinese population is Hans their festivals are the same. Chinese New Year is celebrated between the 1st to 15th of the first lunar month. Every Chinese New year is associated with an animal in the lunar calendar. 

Photo By Guakartifact.com

And those born in that year are presumed to have characteristics of that animal. These are Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Pig and Dog. Traditions of this festival are paying New Year visits, Red Envelops, Fireworks, and eating jiaozi.

Photo by Dương Nhân from Pexels

Photo by REEET JANK on Unsplash

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Traditions of this festival are eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, tying five-colored skill thread, and taking a perfumed poach.

Photo by Samuel Wong on Unsplash

Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th of the first lunar month. Han celebrates it by watching lanterns, playing fireworks and lantern riddles, eating yuan xiao, and performing folk dances.

Photo by Kai-Chieh Chan from Pexels

Photo By Yuan xiao

Double Ninth Festival

Double Ninth festival is celebrated on the ninth of the ninth lunar month. Nine is pronounced 'jiu' (九) in Chinese which means long so it depicts longevity. Eating Chongyang cake, drinking wine, and enjoying the beauty of nature are major traditions of this culture.

 Double Ninth Festival. [Photo/VCG]

Dressing and Costumes

Hans's traditional dresses are very fascinating. Traditional Han dress includes a rob with a belt. They wore long dresses as a sign of value and wealth. Long dresses with a lot of clothing were valued. Same with the silk which was a sign of a person's wealth and glory.

Photo By Chinese Clothing

Religion

Han people were followers of Confucianism. Buddhism can also be seen as their religion in the later era. They used to believe in spirits, demons, and immortals.

Hans in Modern times

Hans nowadays makes about 20% of the World's total population. Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore are the main states with inhabitants of this ethnic group. They still celebrate their traditional festival with zeal and zest. The lunar calendar is very important. Wheat, rice, and noodles are considered their famous foods. Han's traditional dressing is no longer in trend. Also regarding religion, they are mostly Christians or Athiest.

A Child from Han group, Photo by Zeng Leon

Hans are subdivided into many ethnic groups. That was only a short, general description of the Han people. Did you ever meet a Han group person or you ever had a chance to travel to China? Tell me about your precious views. Have a pleasant time!