View source for Ethnic groups in Chinese history

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{{For|the ethnic groups in modern China|List of ethnic groups in China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}

[[File:Han foreign relations CE 2.jpg|upright 1.2|thumb|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 knowledge of participants in the Han world order comes almost exclusively from Chinese sources.]]

'''Ethnic groups in Chinese history''' refer to various or presumed [[Ethnic group|ethnicities]] of significance to the history of China, gathered through the study of [[Chinese literature#Classical prose|Classical Chinese literature]], Chinese and non-Chinese literary sources and inscriptions, [[historical linguistics]], and [[archaeology of China|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 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, [[ethnonym]]s 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]]''.<ref name="West 2008 81">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |last=West |first= Barbara A. |publisher=Facts On File |year=2008 |isbn=978-0816071098 |publication-date=December 1, 2008 |page=81}}</ref>

==English names==
{{Main|Ethnic minorities in China|List of ethnic groups in China}}
The Chinese [[exonyms]] of various ethnic groups encountered in Chinese history can be rendered into English either by transliteration or translation; for instance, ''Dí'' [[wikt:狄|狄]] is transliterated as ''Di'' (or ''Ti'') or translated as "Northern Barbarians". In some cases authors prefer to transliterate specific exonyms as proper nouns,<ref>For instance, see Wu (1982), ''passim''.</ref> 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'' [[wikt:番|番]] and ''hu'' [[wikt:胡|胡]], but not specific ones like ''fancai'' 番菜 "foreign-style food".
<blockquote>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.<ref>Abramson (2008), p. 3.</ref></blockquote>

==List of ethnic groups==
{{Incomplete list|date=December 2020}}
{{further|List of ethnic groups in China|Western Regions}}
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):
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
![[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 people|Miao]]
|苗 (Miáo)
|Name applied to peoples in various areas stretching from provinces ([[Hebei]], [[Shanxi]]) north of the [[Yellow River]] to [[Yunnan]] province
|As early as 25th century BC to present{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
|Hmong, Hmu, Xong, A Hmao
|N/A
|Modern [[Miao people|Miao]], [[Hmong people|Hmong]]
|-
|[[Yuezhi]]
|月氏 (Yuèzhī)
|Tarim basin
|c. 6th century BC to 162 BC, then driven out by Xiongnu.
|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]]s, [[Tocharians]] 
|Mid-2nd century BC in Central Asia
|No known descendants, but possibly absorbed into the [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]], who now show a large plurality of Indo-European DNA.<ref name=HUGOgenetics>{{cite journal|title=Mapping Human Genetic Diversity in Asia|date= 11 December 2009|journal=Science|volume=326|issue= 5959|pages=1541–1545|author=HUGO Pan-Asian SNP Consortium|s2cid= 34341816|doi= 10.1126/science.1177074|pmid= 20007900|bibcode= 2009Sci...326.1541.}}</ref> Maybe the descendants of the [[Kushan Empire]] are the [[Pashtuns]].<ref name="HF">{{cite web |url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/EasternAfghans.htm |title=Kingdoms of South Asia – Afghanistan (Southern Khorasan / Arachosia) |access-date=2010-08-16 |work=The History Files }}</ref>
|-
|[[Huaxia]] 
|華夏 (Huáxià)<br />漢人 (Hànrén)
|[[Guanzhong]] and [[Yellow River]] basins in Northern China<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Introduction to the Chinese Economy: The Driving Forces Behind Modern Day China |last= Guo |first= Rongxing |publisher= Wiley |year= 2016 |isbn= 9783319323053 |pages=66–67}}</ref>
|From earliest history or prehistorical (name comes from the [[Han dynasty]])
|[[Yanhuang]], Zhonghua, Zhongguo, Huaxia, Hua, Xia, Han,<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/han "Han"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> Han Chinese, Chinese<ref>{{Cite book |title=Learning to Be Tibetan: The Construction of Ethnic Identity at Minzu |last=Yang |first=Miaoyan |publisher= Lexington Books |year=2017 |isbn=978-1498544634 |publication-date=March 17, 2017 |pages=7}}</ref><ref name="Chinese people">[http://www.huayuqiao.org/articles/shcheong/shcheong02.htm Who are the Chinese people?] {{in lang|zh}}. Huayuqiao.org. Retrieved on 2013-04-26.</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Han |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary |edition=Tenth |publisher=Merriam-Webster |year=1993}}</ref> 
|Han dynasty
|Modern [[Han Chinese]]
|-
|[[Baiyue]]
|百越 (Bǎiyuè)
|Name applied to various peoples residing in [[East China]], [[Southern China|South China]], and [[Northern Vietnam|North Vietnam]]
|8th century BC to 1st century AD, assimilated into Hans<ref name="Marks 2011 127">{{Cite book |title=China: An Environmental History |url=https://archive.org/details/radicalismrevolu00cath |url-access=limited |last= Marks |first=Robert B. |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=978-1442212756 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/radicalismrevolu00cath/page/n137 127]}}</ref>
|Bách Việt<ref name="Marks 2011 127" />
|Early 6th Century BC to 3rd century AD<ref name="West 2008 81" />
|Part of [[Cantonese]], along with various ethnic minorities such as the [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]], [[Dai people|Dai]], [[Tai peoples|Tai]], [[Bouyei people|Bouyei]], [[Sui people|Aisui]], [[Kam people|Kam]], [[Hlai people|Hlai]], [[Mulam people|Mulam]], and [[Maonan people|Maonan]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Becoming Chinese American: A History of Communities and Institutions |last1=Him |first1=Mark Lai |last2=Hsu |first2= Madeline |publisher=AltaMira Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0759104587 |publication-date=May 4, 2004 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Empire and Identity in Guizhou: Local Resistance to Qing Expansion |last=Weinstein |first=Jodi L. |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0295993270 |pages=19–20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=China: An Environmental History |last= Marks |first=Robert B. |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1442277878 |pages=143}}</ref>
|-
|[[Wu (state)|Wu]] and [[Yue (state)|Yue]]
|吴越 (Wúyuè)
|Present-day Southern [[Jiangsu]] province, Northern [[Zhejiang]] province, [[Shanghai]]
|8th century BC to 5th century BC
|Ngô Việt
|N/A
|[[Wu Chinese-speaking people|Wu Chinese]] people
|-
|[[Minyue]]
|閩越 (Mǐnyuè)
|Present day [[Fujian]] province
|4th century BC to 2nd century BC
|Mân Việt
|N/A
|[[Min Chinese]] people
|-
|[[Lạc Việt|Luoyue]]
|雒越 (Luòyuè)
|Present day [[Northern Vietnam]],Southern [[Guangxi]] province
|8th century BC to 1st century AD
|Lạc Việt
|N/A
|[[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] people, [[Hlai people|Hlai]] people
|-
|[[Âu Việt|Ouyue]]
|甌越 (Ōuyuè)
|Present day [[Vietnam|Northern Vietnam]], western [[Guangdong]], and northern [[Guangxi]]
|4th century BC
|Âu Việt
|N/A
|[[Cantonese people|Cantonese]], [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]]
|-
|[[Yelang]]
|夜郎(Yèláng)
|[[Guizhou]]
| 3rd century BC to 1st century BC
| Zangke, Dạ Lang 
| N/A
|Possibly [[Yi people|Yi]]<ref>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: [http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-GZMZ200501007.htm 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329201000/http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-GZMZ200501007.htm |date=29 March 2012 }}</ref>
|-
|[[Wuhuan]]
|烏桓 (Wūhuán)
|Western portions of [[Manchuria]] ([[Heilongjiang]], [[Jilin]], [[Liaoning]] provinces) and [[Inner Mongolia]]
|4th century BC to late 3rd century BC, assimilated into Hans
|No known equivalence
|N/A
|Possibly [[Kumo Xi]];<ref>[[New Book of Tang]] [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7219 vol. 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 [[Donghu people|Eastern Hu]]; defeated by the [[Xiongnu]], [their] refuge [was] [[Wuhuan|Wuwan]] mountains. [[Han dynasty|Han]] [general] [[Cao Cao]] executed their leader [[Tadun]]. [The Xī] are possibly their descendants.</ref> the rest were presumably assimilated into Hans.
|-
|[[Xianbei]]
|鮮卑 (Xiānbēi)
|[[Manchuria]] ([[Heilongjiang]], [[Jilin]], [[Liaoning]] provinces), [[Mongolia]], and [[Inner Mongolia]]. Moved into areas north of the [[Yellow River]] and founded a [[Northern Wei dynasty|dynasty]] there.
|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)
|-
|[[Qiang (historical people)|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
|[[Qiang people|Modern Qiang]], [[Tangut people|Tangut]], [[Tibetan people|Old Tibetan]], [[Nakhi]], [[Jingpho]], and [[Lahu people|Lahu]] 
|-
|[[Di (Wu Hu)|Di]]
|氐 (Dī)
|Areas of neighboring borders of [[Gansu]], [[Qinghai]], [[Sichuan]], and [[Shaanxi]]
|c. 8th century BC to mid-6th century, assimilated into Tibetans, Hans and other [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] - speaking ethnic groups
|No known equivalence
|N/A
|[[Baima people|Baima]] people
|-
|[[Jie (ethnic group)|Jie]]
|羯 (Jié)
|[[Shanxi]] province
|Late 2nd century to mid-4th century
|No known equivalence
|N/A
|The majority died in the [[Wei–Jie war|Ran Wei–Later Zhao war]], the rest assimilated into Hans. Some [[Turkic people]] or [[Yeniseian people]] may be related to the Jie.
|-
|[[Dian Kingdom|Dian]]
|滇國 (diānguó)
|[[Dian Lake]], [[Yunnan Province|Yunnan]]
|4th century BC to 1st century BC, assimilated into Hans<ref name="Marks 2011 146">{{Cite book |title=China: An Environmental History |url=https://archive.org/details/radicalismrevolu00cath |url-access=limited |last= Marks |first=Robert B. |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=978-1442212756 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/radicalismrevolu00cath/page/n156 146]}}</ref>
|Điền
|N/A
|No known descendants.<ref name="Marks 2011 146"/>
|-
|[[Kucha|Qiuci]]
|龜茲 (Qiūcí)
|[[Tarim Basin]], [[Xinjiang]]
|2nd century BC to 10th century AD, first encountered during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]]; assimilated by [[Uyghurs]] and others 
|[[Tocharians]]
|Date unknown, although they were part of the [[Bronze Age]] [[Indo-European migrations]] (see [[Tarim mummies]])
|During antiquity, [[Indo-European migrations|Indo-European peoples]] inhabited the oasis city-state of [[Kucha]] (as well as [[Turfan]]) in the [[Tarim Basin]] region of [[Xinjiang]]. They fell under the Imperial Chinese orbit of control during the [[Han dynasty|Han]] and [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] dynasties (see [[Protectorate of the Western Regions]], [[Tang campaign against the oasis states]], and [[Protectorate General to Pacify the West]]), but were eventually conquered by the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] and then assimilated by [[Kingdom of Qocho|Qocho Uyghurs]] (856-1335 AD).
|-
|[[Dingling]]
|丁零 (Dīnglíng), 高車 (Gāochē)
|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
|Gaoche, Chile
|1st century BC
|[[Tiele people|Tiele]]
|-
|[[Rouran]]
|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
|[[Nirun]]/[[Mongols]] (possibly others falling under the label as well)
|Late 6th century to early 9th century
|[[Mongols]]
|-
|[[Göktürks|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 eastern Turks assimilated mainly to the [[Uyghur Khaganate|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 languages|Karluk Turkic]] speakers; [[Oghuz Turks]] possibly descend from the Western Turkic tribe ''Gūsū'' 姑蘇.<ref>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)</ref>); 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',<ref>Golden, Peter Benjamin (July 2018). "The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks". The Medieval History Journal: 294. p. 294</ref><ref>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</ref> were possibly led by the [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]].<ref>Pritsak, Omeljan (September 1978). "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism" (PDF). Harvard Ukrainian Studies. II (3): 261–281. p. 261</ref><ref>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</ref> The Shatuo Turks consisted of three tribes: the formerly [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Turkic]]-associated Chuyue tribe,<ref>Ouyang Xiu. ''[[Historical Records of the Five Dynasties|Xin Wudaishi]]''. Vol. 4</ref><ref name="Atwood 2010">{{cite journal|first=Christopher P.|last= Atwood|title=The Notion of Tribe in Medieval China: Ouyang Xiu and the Shatup Dynastic Myth|journal= Miscellanea Asiatica|year= 2010|url= https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/16/|pages= 693–621}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last= Barenghi|first= Maddalena|title= Representations of Descent: Origin and Migration Stories of the Ninth- and Tenth-century Turkic Shatuo|journal= Asia Major|year= 2019|series= 3d|volume= 32|issue= 1|pages= 62–63|url= https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/3650HVkUhqL.pdf}}</ref> the formerly [[Türgesh]]-associated Suoge (娑葛),<ref>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. {{ISBN|978-3-447-03274-2}}. p. 165</ref> and ''Anqing'' (安慶) of Sogdian origins.<ref name="Atwood 2010"/>
|-
|[[Yugur|Huihu]]
|回紇 (Huíhé)
|Present-day [[Mongolia]], [[Inner Mongolia]], northern portions of [[Shanxi]], [[Shaanxi]], [[Gansu]], [[Ningxia]]
|Early 7th century to mid-10th century
|[[Toquz Oghuz]], Uyghurs or Yugurs
|Early 9th century to present
|[[Yugur]]
|- 
|[[Tibetan people|Tibetan]]s
|吐蕃 (Tǔbō, also pronounced as Tǔfān)
|Present-day [[Tibet]], [[Qinghai]], western areas of [[Sichuan]] and Yunnan, parts of [[Gansu]], Southern border of [[Xinjiang]]
|Mid-6th century to present
|N/A
|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.<ref name="Lu 2016">{{cite journal|last1=Lu|first1=Dongsheng|display-authors=etal|title=Ancestral Origins and Genetic History of Tibetan Highlanders|journal=[[The American Journal of Human Genetics]]|date=September 1, 2016|volume=99|issue=3|pages=580–594|pmc=5011065|pmid=27569548|doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.07.002}}</ref>
|Modern [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]]
|-
|[[Khitan people|Khitan]]s
|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]]
|c. 4th century to 12th century
|[[Khitan people|Khitan]]
|4th century to 12th century
|Possibly [[Daur people|Daur]], and some [[Baarins]], Chinese, Mongolians
(There exist descendants of war-scattered Khitan soldiers sent to [[Yunnan]] and [[Guangxi]] provinces 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 (possibly [[Mongols]])
|-
|[[Shiwei people|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]] and [[Tungusic peoples]]
|-
|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
|[[Mongols]]
|Late 12th century to present
|[[Mongols]]
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]]
|c. Mid-8th century to early 13th century, some Dangxiang assimilated into Hans
|[[Tanguts]]
|N/A
|Part of the [[Hui Chinese|Hui]] community ([[Dungan people|Dungan]]), Ersu, part of [[Amdo]] [[Tibetans]], part of [[Han Chinese]] in [[Mizhi]], [[Shaanxi]].)
|-
|[[Saka|Sai]]
|塞 (Sāi)
|Widespread throughout Central Asia
|2nd century BC to 1st century BC
|[[Saka]]
|5th century BC
|Maybe ancestral to the [[Pashtuns]] and the [[Wakhi people|Wakhi]].
|-
|[[Sogdia|Sute]]
|粟特 (Sùtè)
|Widespread throughout Central Asia; also lived in [[China proper]]
|1st century BC to 11th century AD
|[[Sogdia]]ns
|6th century BC
|Modern [[Yaghnobi people|Yagnobi]] people.
|-
|[[Manchu people|Manchus]] 
|女真 (Nǚzhēn), 滿族 (Mǎnzú)
|[[Manchuria]] and northern portion of [[Inner Mongolia]]
|Early 10th century to present, established the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties, many Manchus have lost their native [[Manchu language]] and only speak [[Mandarin Chinese]]
|[[Mohe people|Mohe]], Jurchens, Mancho, Manchurian, Manchurian Chinese
|Since mid-17th century, first encountered by the [[Russian people|Russians]]
|Modern [[Manchu people|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.
|-
|[[Jews]] 
|猶太 (Yóutài)
|[[Kaifeng]]
|7th century to present, many Jews have very much assimilated into Hui people after converting to Islam. The Nanjing and Beijing Jews became Muslims<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Lieberman |editor1-first=Phillip I. |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5, Jews in the Medieval Islamic World |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781009038591 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxU_EAAAQBAJ&dq=convert+islam+kaifeng+jews&pg=PT401|quote=... 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 ...}}</ref> At the start of the 20th century the Zhang Kaifeng Jewish family became Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ehrlich |first1=M. Avrum |last2=Liang |first2=Pingan |editor1-last=Ehrlich |editor1-first=M. Avrum |title=The Jewish-Chinese Nexus: A Meeting of Civilizations |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134105533 |page=194 |edition=illustrated |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfUl2vKpo2wC&dq=convert+islam+kaifeng+jews&pg=PA194 |series=Routledge Jewish Studies Series |chapter=Part V KAIFENG JEWISH DESCENDANTS 14 THE CONTEMPORARY CONDITION OF THE JEWISH DESCENDANTS OF KAIFENG|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dubov |first1=Kalman |title=Journey to the People's Republic of China; Review & Analysis |publisher=Kalman Dubov |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5VREAAAQBAJ&dq=convert+islam+kaifeng+jews&pg=PT128|quote=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, ...}}</ref> Muslim men married Jewish women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Xu |first1=Xin | author-link = Xu Xin (Judaic scholar) |title=The Jews of Kaifeng, China: History, Culture, and Religion |date=2003 |publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc. |isbn=0881257915 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GAAWkYBNu5sC&dq=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng&pg=PA55|quote=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 ...}}</ref> Some Jews adopted non-Jewish sons.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Goldstein |editor1-first=Jonathan |title=The Jews of China |date=1998 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=076563631X |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Z6DlzyT2vwC&dq=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng&pg=PA119|quote=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 ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Jonathan |last2=Schwartz |first2=Benjamin I. |title=The Jews of China: v. 1: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317456049 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8rKBgAAQBAJ&dq=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng&pg=PT182 |quote=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 ...}}</ref> After the [[1642 Yellow River flood]] some Muslim women were taken as wives by a Kaifeng Jew "the handsome" Zhang Mei (Chang Mei).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baron |first1=Salo Wittmayer |title=A Social and Religious History of the Jews: Late Middle Ages and the era of European expansion, 1200-1650 |date=1952 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0231088558 |page=617 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Czbvp49IFaQC&dq=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng&pg=PA617 |volume=18 |quote=Characteristically, however, the Jewish people did not observe special memorial days for most of its ancient and ... No one seems to have seriously questioned the permissibility of the Kaifeng Jews marrying more than one wife .}}</ref> Kaifeng Jews became Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=LESLIE |first1=DONALD DANIEL |editor1-last=Malek |editor1-first=Roman |title=From Kaifeng to Shanghai: Jews in China |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1351566292 |page=68 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tj0rDwAAQBAJ&dq=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng&pg=PA68 |chapter=INTEGRATION, ASSIMILATION, AND SURVIVAL OF MINORITIES IN CHINA: THE CASE OF THE KAIFENG JEWS |quote=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.}}</ref> Islam was taken up after Kaifeng Jews married Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shapiro |first1=Sidney |title=Jews in Old China: Studies by Chinese Scholars |date=2001 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=0781808332 |page=233 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dd8-AQAAIAAJ&q=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng |quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Goldstein |editor1-first=Jonathan |title=The Jews of China: Historical and comparative perspectives |date=1999 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=0765601036 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbhtAAAAMAAJ&q=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng |volume=1 of The Jews of China |series=East Gate book |chapter=Contributors Benjamin Isadore Schwartz, Frank Joseph Shulman |quote=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 ...}}</ref> The converts to Islam retained Jewish characteristics after conversion.<ref>{{cite book |title=Points East, Volumes 1-7 |date=1986 |publisher=Sino-Judaic Institute |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laQwAQAAIAAJ&q=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng |quote=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 ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Contributors Michael Pollak, Bet ha-tefutsot (Tel Aviv, Israel) |title=קהילת קאפינג: Chinese Jews on the Banks of the Yellow River |date=1984 |publisher=Bet Hatefutsoth, The Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLhtAAAAMAAJ&q=jewish+women+converting+mohammedanism+marry+kaifeng|quote=The community was also weakened by repeated natural, military and economic catastrophes that Kaifeng experienced over the centuries. Fire and flood took their toll,}}</ref>
|Jewish, Jewish Chinese, [[Hebrews]], [[Israelite]]s, Youtai
|N/A
|Modern [[History of the Jews in China|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.<ref name="Walgrove">{{Cite web |url=http://www.momentmag.com/jewish-history-in-china-boosting-sino-israeli-relations/ |title=Jewish History in China Boosting Sino-Israeli Relations |last=Walgrove |first=Amanda |date=March 25, 2011 |website=Moment}}</ref><ref name="Jpost.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/FUNDAMENTALLY-FREUND-Stop-the-crackdown-on-Chinas-Jews-467140|title=Stopping the crackdown on China's Jews - Opinion - Jerusalem Post|date=2016-09-08|publisher=Jpost.com|access-date=2017-07-18}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=47 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote=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 ! }}</ref><ref>金效静;;中国的犹太人[J];社会科学战线;1981年04期</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=196 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote=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 .}}</ref> One of the 7 prominent Hui Muslim clans of Kaifeng, the Zhang Jewish clan, became Muslim.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=106 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote=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.}}</ref> The Zhang family, among several Hui Muslims with Kaifeng Jewish ancestry call themselves "fake Muslims" since hey are openly proud of their ancestry<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=18 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote=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.}}</ref> Instead of being absorbed into Han, a portion of the Jews of China of Kaifeng became Hui Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=48 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote="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?}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kupfer |first=Helmut Karl Peter |issn = 0941-9543|editor1-last=Kupfer|editor1-first=Peter |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Youtai - Presence and Perception of Jews and Judaism in China |url= |location= |publisher=Peter Lang|page=50 |isbn=978-3631575338 |volume=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|quote=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.}}</ref> 
|-
|[[Koreans in China|Koreans]] 
|朝鮮族 (Cháoxiǎnzú)
|[[Heilongjiang]], [[Jilin]], [[Liaoning]], primarily Southeastern [[Manchuria]]
|mid 7th century<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reischauer|first1=Edwin Oldfather|title=Ennins Travels in Tang China|year=1955 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited|isbn=9780471070535|pages=276–283|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXqEAAAACAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Lewis | first=Mark Edward | title=China's cosmopolitan empire: The Tang dynasty | year=2009 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge | isbn=9780674033061|pages=154}}</ref> to present, some Koreans assimilated into Hui people.<ref>{{Cite book |title=中国朝鲜族史研究 |last=黄有福 |publisher= 民族出版社 |year=2009 |isbn=978-7-105-10152-8 |location=北京}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=中国民族政策与朝鲜族 |last= 金炳镐 |first=肖锐 |publisher= 中央民族大学出版社 |year=2011 |isbn=978-7-5660-0096-5 |location=北京}}</ref>
|Hanminjok, Joseonminjok, Goryeo, Hanguo, Chaoxian, Korean, Korean-Chinese
|N/A
|Modern [[Koreans in China|Koreans]]
|-
|[[Yamato people|Yamato]]
|大和 (Dàhé)
|[[Zhejiang]] and [[Fujian]]
| rowspan="2" |13th century,<ref name="britannica">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190724005153/https://www.britannica.com/topic/wako Wakō] Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref> from [[wokou|Japanese pirates]] who settled in China
|Yamato, Japanese
|N/A
|Possibly interbred or assimilated into Han Chinese.
|-
|[[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuans]]
|琉球 (Liúqiú)
|[[Zhejiang]] and [[Fujian]]
|Ryukyu, Ryukyuans
|N/A
|Possibly interbred or assimilated into Han Chinese.
|}

==See also==
* [[Barbarian]]
* [[Ethnic minorities in China]]
* [[Graphic pejoratives in written Chinese]]
* [[History of China]]
* [[List of ethnic groups in China]]
* [[Secession in China]]
* [[Five Barbarians|Wu Hu]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
; Books
* Abramson, Marc S. (2008). ''Ethnic Identity in Tang China''. University of Pennsylvania Press.
* [[Christopher I. Beckwith|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. {{ISBN|978-0-691-13589-2}}.
* [[K. C. Wu|Wu, K. C. (1982)]]. ''The Chinese Heritage''. New York: Crown Publishers. {{ISBN|0-517-54475-X}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Historical Non-Chinese peoples in China}}
{{East Asian topics}}
{{Ethnic groups in China}}
{{Asia topic|Ethnic groups in}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ethnic Groups In Chinese History}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Chinese history| ]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of China| ]]
[[Category:Separatism in China]]