China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the word ''minzu'' () means a community that inherits

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

(文化) or

consanguinity Consanguinity (from Latin '':wikt: consanguinitas, consanguinitas'' 'blood relationship') is the characteristic of having a kinship with a relative who is descended from a common ancestor. Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are ...

(血缘). Depending on the context, the word has various meanings, such as "

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

", "

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

", and " race". In modern

Chinese languages The Sinitic languages (), often synonymous with the Chinese languages, are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute a major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is a primary split b ...

, ''minzu'' has a stronger cultural meaning than racial meaning. ''Minzu''-based nationalism is associated with nationalism in

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia. Its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by Ame ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, usually in the form of

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...

, in contrast to state nationalism. ''Minzu''-based nationalism in

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

is close to multi-ethnic nationalism.

Etymology

In Chinese, the term minzu has several meanings; it can be confused with concepts such as "''zhǒngzú''" ( 种族, lit. "race"), "''guózú''" ( 国族, lit. "nation"), "''zúqún''" ( 族群, lit. "ethnic group"). For example, 民族主义 (pinyin: ''mínzú zhǔyì'', lit. "''minzu''-ism") means "

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

", but 民族学 (pinyin: ''mínzú xué'', lit. "''minzu''-study") means "

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

". The term "minzu" is found in

Xiao Zixian Xiao Zixian (, 489–537), courtesy name Jingyang (景陽), formally Viscount Jiao of Ningdu (寧都驕子), was a Chinese historian best known for producing the ''Book of Qi'Book of Liang'', :zh:s:梁書/卷35, vol. 35. (also known as ''Boo ...

's book 《南齐书·高逸传》 during the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

("今诸华士女, 民族弗革"), and in the book 《太白阴经》 during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

("愚人得之, 以倾宗社, 灭民族"). However, these terms are closer to the meaning of "

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

" ( 民众) than they are to today. ''Minzu'' is a

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

from Japanese. During the Meji period,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

translators rendered "nation", "ethnic group", and "''Volk''" into ''

minzoku or ''minzoku'' nationalism means nationalism that emerges from Japan's dominant Yamato people or ethnic minorities. In present-day Japan statistics only counts their population in terms of nationality, rather than ethnicity, thus the number of e ...

'' (

民族 In China, the word ''minzu'' () means a community that inherits culture (文化) or consanguinity (血缘). Depending on the context, the word has various meanings, such as "nation", "ethnicity", and "race (human categorization), race". In modern ...

) when translating European books, which was introduced to China.

''Zhonghua minzu''

Before the

1911 Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

, the members of the

Chinese Revolutionary Party The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

were hostile to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Anti-Qing sentiment Anti-Qing sentiment () refers to a sentiment principally held in China against the rule of the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912), which was criticized by opponents as being "barbaric". Already hated by the Han Chinese because o ...

") and tried to build a

nation-state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) con ...

around the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

; at this time the concept of ''Zhonghua minzu'' (中华民族 / 中華民族, ''zhōnghuá mínzú'', lit. "Chinese nation") was about the same meaning with ''Han minzu'' (汉民族 / 漢民族, ''hàn mínzú'', lit. "Han nation") or ''Hanzu'' (汉族 / 漢族, ''hànzú'', "Han ethnic group"). After the 1911 Revolution, the concept of "

Five Races Under One Union Five Races Under One Union was one of the major principles upon which the Republic of China was founded following the 1911 Revolution. Its central tenet was the harmonious existence under one nation of what were considered the five major ethni ...

" was introduced, and later ''Zhonghua minzu'' united various

ethnic groups in China The Han people are the largest ethnic group in mainland China. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion). Besides the Han Chinese majority, 55 other ethnic (minority) groups are categorized in present-day China, n ...

. Today, ''Zhonghua minzu'' is concept is related to multi-ethnic nationalism, and therefore distinct from ''Han minzu'' or ''Hanzu''.

Other countries

民族 is not a word spoken only in China and Japan, and can be used in countries throughout

Chinese cultural sphere The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...

where

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

are spoken. The " dân tộc" in the

Vietnamese language Vietnamese () is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language Speech, spoken primarily in Vietnam where it is the official language. It belongs to the Vietic languages, Vietic subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Vietnamese is s ...

, and " 민족" in the

Korean language Korean is the first language, native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Koreans, Korean descent. It is the national language of both South Korea and North Korea. In the south, the language is known as () and in the north, it is kn ...

are 民族 and lexical cognates. In the modern Japanese language, ''minzoku'' (民族) is mainly used to express "ethnic group", instead "nation" is translated into ''kokumin'' ( 国民).

National symbolism

In many

n countries, 民族 is often related to official

national symbol A national symbol is a manifestation of a nation or community, serving as a representation of their National identity, identity and values. National symbols may be not only applied to sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of ...

as well. The word appears in

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

's official

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers", originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", is the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike historical Chinese anthems, previous Chinese stat ...

"),

Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army The Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army of China ( zh, s=中国人民解放军军歌, t=中國人民解放軍軍歌, p=Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Jūngē), also known as the March of the Chinese People's Liberation Army of Ch ...

, and the

National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China The National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China () is a patriotic song typically played during the raising and lowering of the flag of the Republic of China. Domestically, the flag anthem is typically played immediately following the nati ...

(

). In

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, the word was used in the

Pledge of Allegiance The U.S Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army o ...

until 2007.

National liberation movements

民族, 国民, and 国族 all mean "nation". Among them, 民族 is often used to describe anti-imperialist

left-wing nationalism Left-wing nationalism or leftist nationalism (in certain contexts also called popular nationalism by those who do not adhere to the left-right plane, or in contrast to conservative nationalism) is a form of nationalism which is based upon n ...

centered on ethnic identity, especially stateless nationalism; 国民 or 国族, means "nation", which can be established only on the premise of '

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

' (国/國), so in Northeast Asia, when it comes to words like "

national self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

" (民族自決, ''mínzú zìjué'') and "

national liberation Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

" (民族解放, ''mínzú jiěfàng''), the word "nation al translates to the 民族, not the 国民 or 国族. Because of this, in Northeast Asia, minzu''-based nationalism' (民族主義) and 'state-based nationalism' (国族主義, 国民主義 or 国家主義) are applied in different contexts. From the

1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Owens Thompson, Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central Uni ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, the Japanese imperialists proclaimed the idea of "national liberation" (民族自決, ''minzu jiefang'') and "national self-determination" (民族解放, ''minzu zijue'') to encourage the separation of

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

and

North China North China () is a list of regions of China, geographical region of the People's Republic of China, consisting of five province-level divisions of China, provincial-level administrative divisions, namely the direct-administered municipalities ...

from the rest of the country. This is also related to local ethnic nationalism; minzu may mean "nation" but may also mean "ethnic group". In

Postwar Japan Postwar Japan is the period in Japanese history beginning with the surrender of Japan to the Allies of World War II on 2 September 1945, and lasting at least until the end of the Shōwa era in 1989. Despite the massive devastation it suffered ...

, liberal nationalists like Masao Maruyama emphasized "国民主義" (''kokumin shugi'', lit. "state-based nationalism" or "civic nationalism") while left-wing nationalists who supported

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

and

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

emphasized "民族主義" (''minzoku shugi'', lit. "ethnic nationalism"). Today, in

, left-liberals tend to value ''minjok'' (the Korean race) over the North–South ideological and political divide. In a broader sense, left-liberals embrace "

" (民族主義, Korean: 민족주의); the notion that sharing the same bloodline is superior to temporary national partition. Conservatives on the other hand support " regime-based nationalism" (國民主義 or 國家主義, Korean: 국민주의 or 국가주의), which puts emphasis on being South Korean and stresses the differences in social and political values between the two

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Hong Kong nationalist Hong Kong nationalism ( or ) is a system of thought that spans the folklore, culture, history, geography, society, and politics of Hong Kong. It reflects a strong desire to protect democracy in Hong Kong, to oppose mainlandization, and to preser ...

s reject the concept of "Chinese ''minzu''" (中華民族) and define themselves as "HongKonger ''minzu''" (香港民族). "Hong Kong thnicnationalism" (民族主義 or 香港民族主義) is often opposed to

Chinese state nationalism Chinese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chinese people. According to Sun Yat-sen's philosophy in the Three Principles of the People, Chin ...

(國家主義 or 中國國家主義), because many Chinese state nationalists support reducing Hong Kong's autonomy. During

's KMT one-party dictatorship, the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT) defended

, in opposition to which liberal/progressives, including the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

(DPP), defended Taiwanese-based "liberal thnicnationalism" (自由民族主義); moderate Taiwanese thnicnationalism has an impact on Taiwanese politics even after democratization. When modern

Vietnamese nationalism Vietnamese nationalism (, or ''chủ nghĩa quốc gia Việt Nam'') is a form of nationalism that asserts the Vietnamese people as a separate independent nation. It encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Vietnamese p ...

was emerging during the

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

period, "nation" was defined as both ''dân tộc'' (民族) and ''quốc dân'' (國民). ''Dân tộc'' was commonly used in discourse, including among left-wing circles such as the

Indochinese Communist Party The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) was a political party which was transformed from the old Vietnamese Communist Party () in October 1930. This party dissolved itself on 11 November 1945. It is considered the first stage in the history of th ...

and the

Trotskyists Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as a ...

. ''Quốc dân'' was also employed by nationalist groups, from centre-left to right-wing, such as ''Việt-Nam Quốc-dân Đảng'', ''Tự-lực Văn-đoàn'', and ''Đại-Việt Quốc-dân Đảng'', signifying the

civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General *Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co. *Civics, the science of comparative government * Civic ...

role and participation of the populace in nation-building. Since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, another term, ''quốc gia'' (國家), also gained popularity, as seen in names like ''Đại-Việt Quốc-gia Liên-minh'', ''Việt-Nam Quốc-gia Độc-lập Đảng'', and ''Mặt-trận Quốc-gia Liên-hiệp''. In the early years of the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-suppor ...

(DRV), the term ''quốc dân'' was also used to appeal to a broader audience. Subsequently, the national communists (the DRV, the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

, and the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

) settled on the term ''dân tộc'', while the anti-communist nationalists (the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...

and, later, the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

) aligned themselves with the term ''quốc gia''. The terms ''chủ nghĩa dân tộc'' and ''chủ nghĩa quốc gia'' thus came to represent two strands of Vietnamese nationalism. Additionally, in matters concerning ethnic minorities, North Vietnam adopted the same term ''dân tộc'' (民族), whereas South Vietnam preferred ''sắc tộc'' (色族) to denote

Racial pride

Some Northeast Asia's nationalists value the ' blood purity' when defining 民族, showing

racial nationalism Racial nationalism is an ideology that advocates a Race (human categorization), racial definition of national identity. Racial nationalism seeks to preserve "racial purity" of a nation through policies such as banning Miscegenation, race mixing ...

Yamato nationalism or ''minzoku'' nationalism means nationalism that emerges from Japan's dominant Yamato people or Ethnic groups of Japan, ethnic minorities. In present-day Japan statistics only counts their population in terms of nationality, rather than ethnici ...

during

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, and today's North Korea's ''

Juche ''Juche'', officially the ''Juche'' idea, is a component of Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea#Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party o ...

'' are linked to racial nationalism. According to some scholars, Northeast Asia's "nationalism" (民族主義) has

right Hegelians The Right Hegelians (), Old Hegelians (''Althegelianer''), or the Hegelian Right (''die Hegelsche Rechte'') were those followers of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the early 19th century who took his philosophy in a politically ...

and 19th century notions of

blood and soil Blood and soil (, ) is a nationalist slogan expressing Nazi Germany's ideal of a racially defined Body national, national body ("Blood") united with a settlement area ("Soil"). By it, rural and farm life forms are idealized as a counterweight t ...

Three Principles of the People

"Mínzú" (民族, nationalism) is a core principle of the

Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People (), also known as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, San Min Chu-i, or Tridemism is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China during the Republi ...

, along with " Mínquán" (民權,

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

) and " Mínshēng" (民生,

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

References

{{Ethnic groups in China Chinese nationalism Chinese words and phrases * Romantic nationalism Three Principles of the People