1.3 Billion: Breaking Down the Han Chinese Ethnicity

There are roughly 1.3 billion Han Chinese in the world — 20% of the entire global population and the largest ethnic group in the world by far. In this video, we think about the early growth of this population -- what forces created this many people during the Ming and Qing dynasties -- as well as their genetic homogeneity.

[jehanc]

The Han Chinese in indonesia is about 5.6% that is 14 million and Malaysia is about 24.5% of Malaysian are Han Chinese which is about 8 million.

[rh]

In America, everybody has to have a color. In China, ethnical identity is a marginal issue, I have Hui friends, Manchu friends, Yi friends, we just refer ourselves as Chinese, nothing special except minor cultural differences. The west promotes cultural pluralism, but never says a word about cultural assimilation, China is the other way around. We seek commonality and common grounds, put differences aside.

[howellwong]

I am a minority in the US. I would be one too in China. I am half Chinese, that is, 1/4 Hakka and 1/4 Cantonese, each has its own language.

[TheEclipse]

Southern Chinese are mixed with the Austronesians who originally inhabited Southern China, Northern Chinese are mixed with the steppe Turkic people who invaded and were invaded by the Chinese. The majority of these unions produced children that see themselves as "Chinese".

[ociiu]

Finally, some video that accurately reflects that Chinese, even Han Chinese, is an ethnic group and not a race. Bravo!

[oyonggofomocci]

8:43 Maybe on a cultural level, but not *linguistically*, there are multiple languages spoken by this "homogenous population"
Especially in the south: Minnanese (Hokkien), Cantonese, Hakka, Gan (Jiangxi), Xiang (Hunanese)

[sladetuner]

most of the Chinese and people of Chinese decent who live in Indonesian and Malaysian are Han Chinese

[IAmGluttonLife]

This is one Chinese subgroup that fascinates me is Sichuanese people because they look more like the ethnic minorities of the that Provence then other Han Chinese and they also dress like them even their culture

[thecrimsondragon]

I'm loving these videos... Can you do a video on the impact Han Chinese have had on Southeast Asia (eg Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand)? Culturally, economically and otherwise. I have heard that the Chinese had a huge impact on both Malaysian and Indonesian economies and that some of the richest people in those countries are Chinese.

[barbiebarbie]

Ancient Chinese = Han people 漢人.
Traditional Chinese culture = Han culture 漢文化.
(After 1949, people in China (including non -Han people) have given Chinese ID cards. However, the identity card is "ethnic groups". The Mongolian is called "Mongolian ethnic ". The Manchu people are called "Manchu ethnic". The Manchu people are almost mixed with the Han nationality. China now has 56 ethnic groups. Now the Han population accounts for 90%)
In ancient China. Non -Han and Mongolians and Mongolians were only 1% in China (99% han people). In history, they were not called the Chinese. They were called barbarians by the Han people.

[GaysianAmerican]

Damn getting turned into a rounding error

[moonsorrow]

I’m Han Hakka Chinese living in Australia., we Hakka Han Chinese are originally from the central northern China..before the great migrations to southeast China in Guangdong province.. and during the Tang Dynasty my ancient ancestors helped the Tang Dynasty rise to power....

[midnight-]

The people that are in Chinatown Philadelphia are mostly a mix of the minority ethnic groups from China is what I was told by different Asian Americans and they also told me, as a European American that a good percentage or a minority of the percentage of Asians in Chinatown, Philadelphia are southeast Asians from, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia along with some from the Philippines as well. They tend to be somewhat darker in skin color then us white Americans or European Americans, whatever you want to call us, and shorter on average then us European Americans, and very noticeably shorter on average the older the population is with these Chinese and southeast Asians in Chinatown, Philadelphia. But when I am at an airport in the USA or at a very popular vacation destination in the USA, I see these tall light skin East Asians and find out that a majority of them are from China with them usually saying that they are from the northern regions of China like Shandong or elsewhere. These Chinese make us European Americans in my experience look short on average in height, and are usually as light in skin color as us European Americans. They are some much different then the Chinese in Chinatown, Philadelphia or the southeast Asians in Chinatown, Philadelphia in physical features.

[allentchang]

You forgot crops from the New World such as potatoes and peanuts also fueled China's population growth in the Qing Dynasty.

[shazmosushi]

Another high quality video. Keep making more like these. In depth and fascinating stuff!

[Edpantz]

Great video, one small correction: the former rulers of the Qing dynasty are the previously mentioned Manchu, not the Hui

[barbiebarbie]

Before 1949, the Chinese refer to the Han people (even if there are other ethnic groups in China, the Han people live in the city, and other non -Han people live outside the city. They are separated). They are separated).
After 1949, all non -Han people also gave the "Chinese ID card" as modern Chinese (including a large number of Koreans who sneaked into China after 1900). There is a "national identity" on the Chinese ID card.
Any country in modern times is multi -ethnic. Including Japan and South Korea.

[trungson]

Good point in the video. To sum up, the reason for the Han Chinese being such a big ethnic group is due to the large extent of the Han Dynasty Empire in the past, allowing migration within the empire, leading to homogenization among different groups of people within the Han Empire. So, The Han Empire extended to Northern Korea and North and Central Vietnam as well, during the Han Dynasty, imparting strong inheritance of the Han language, culture, and genetic to the Koreans and Vietnamese. In fact, Korean and Vietnamese languages were largely derived from an ancient form of the Han language. Probably the same with Cantonese and the culture of Southern China today.

[UtopiaVoyages]

Han Chinese in Malaysia are 2nd largest ethnic in Malaysia even though the number has drastically gone down in recent years due to persecution, discrimination, and racism. Han Chinese in Malaysia are still allowed to practice their cultures and languages. There are many Mandarin schools in Malaysia and Chinese New Year is a public holiday in Malaysia with decorations filling up the malls.

[tolookatmemes]

we cantonese people have always been oppressed. first by the han people for 2000 years, and then by the british for 150 years. and now by the communists for however long