Han Chinese subgroups

TheHan Chinesepeople can be defined intosubgroupsbased on linguistic, cultural, ethnic, genetic, and regional features. The terminology used inMandarinto describe the groups is: "minxi" (Chinese:Dân hệ;pinyin:mínxì;Wade–Giles:min²hsi⁴;lit.'ethnic lineages',pronounced[mǐnɕî]), used inmainland Chinaor "zuqun" (Chinese:Tộc quần;pinyin:zúqún;Wade–Giles:tzu²ch'ün;lit.'ethnic groups',pronounced[tsǔtɕʰy̌n]), used inTaiwan.No Han subgroup is recognized as one ofPeople's Republic of China's 56official ethnic groups,in Taiwan only three subgroups,Hoklo,HakkaandWaishengrenare recognized.

Han subgroups

The eight main dialect areas of Mandarin in mainland China

The mainvarieties of Chineseinmainland ChinaandTaiwan

Further information:Varieties of Chinese

Mandarin-speaking groups

• Total Native Han Speakers: 885,000,000

Mandarin,also known as the Northern dialects, is the largest of the Chinese languages. Even in regions where non-Mandarin speakers historically dominated, Mandarin is being brought in as alingua franca.The Mandarin-speaking groups are the largest group in mainland China, but in thediasporathe Min, Hakka and Cantonese dialects are more numerous. TheDungan peopleofCentral Asiaare native Central Plains Mandarin-speakingHuipeoples. Other notable Mandarin-speaking peoples include theSichuanese peopleandJianghuai people.

Jianghuai people

Main articles:Jianghuai peopleandLower Yangtze Mandarin

TheJianghuai peopledistribute in theJianghuairegion between theYangtze river(Jiang, giang ) and theHuai river( hoài ) in centralAnhuiand centralJiangsu.The Lower Yangtze Mandarin or the Jianghuai Mandarin is distinctive from other Mandarin dialects. The main dialects of the language is theNanjing dialect.

Jiao-Liao people

Main articles:Jiaoliao Mandarin,Shandong Peninsula,andLiaodong Peninsula

The Jiao-Liao people are distributed on bothJiaodong PeninsulaandLiaodong Peninsula.Since pre-historical periods, the 2 peninsulas have been closely related, culturally, economically etc.Their strong relationship is partly attributed to Miaodao Archipalegos(seeChangdao County) in between theBohaiStrait, because they made the inter-strait voyage easier. The 2 peninsulas are both surrounded by theBohai Seato the west and theYellow Seato all other directions.

Jiaoliao Mandarin with its variants mapped

TheJiaoliao Mandarindiffers from neighboring dialects significantly (e.g.,Jilu Mandarin,Northeastern Mandarin), possibly due to the lack of population interchange and the insularity of Jiao-Liao Culture. Rongcheng dialect is the most archaic form of Jiaoliao Mandarin, in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation.

Sichuanese people

Main articles:Sichuanese culture,Sichuanese people,andSouthwestern Mandarin

TheSichuanese peopleare centered aroundChongqingandSichuan.TheSouthwestern Mandarinare also the lingua Franca inGuangxiandHubei.

Wu-speaking groups

Main articles:Wuyue cultureandWu Chinese-speaking people

• Total Native Han Speakers: 77,175,000

Wu-speaking peoples, in particular, are concentrated in theYangtze Riverbasin (southernJiangsu,the wholeShanghai,most ofZhejiangand parts of southernAnhui), northernFujian,and northeasternJiangxi.Scattered remnants of Wu-speaking Chinese are found in other parts of China, such as inGuizhou,Sichuan,ChongqingandXinjiang,as a result after 1964. Most of them outside of Jiangnan region usually speak variants ofTaihu Wu dialects.Wu Chineseis spoken chiefly in theWu region.Jiangnanese peopleconsist of bothShanghainese peopleand Ningbo people, as well as other ethnic Han inJiangnan.They mostly speak variants ofTaihuWu Chinese.Other languages spoken are Jianghuai Mandarin and Xuanzhou Wu Chinese.

TheShanghainese peopleare centered aroundShanghaiand speak theShanghainese dialectofWu.Ningbo people are another Wu-speaking Chinese group and speak theNingbo dialect.Wenzhou peopleare a Wu-speaking Chinese group who speakWenzhounese.Though a significant minority are also speakers of a dialect ofMin Nanknown asZhenan Min.IfHuizhou Chinesewas fully considered to be a subdivision of Wu Chinese, then people fromHuizhouare considered to be Wu-speaking.

Wu Chinese is also spoken by a minuscule minority, particularly bymainlanders,both inTaiwanand inHong Kong,as also other overseas Chinese communities.

Yue-speaking groups

Main articles:Lingnan culture,Cantonese people,andTaishanese people

• Total Native Han Speakers: 66,000,000

Yue or Cantonese speakers are predominant in thePearl River basin(western-centralGuangdongand eastern-centralGuangxi), as well as inHong KongandMacau.The Yue dialects spoken in Guangxi province are mutually intelligible with Cantonese. For instance, Wuzhou is about 120 miles upstream from Guangzhou, but its dialect is more like that of Guangzhou than is that of Taishan which is 60 miles southwest of Guangzhou and separated by several rivers from it. Cantonese is also spoken by some locals in Hainan. For example, the Mai dialect which is closely related to Cantonese, is spoken in Hainan Province.

There are Cantonese-speaking communities in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, in Indonesia. Many Cantonese emigrants, particularlyTaishanese peoples,also migrated to United States and Canada, and later in Australia and New Zealand as well. As a result, Cantonese continues to be widely used by Chinese communities of Guangzhou and Hong Kong/Macau origin in the Western World and has not been completely supplanted by Mandarin.

Min-speaking groups

Main articles:Teochew culture,Hokkien culture,andMin Chinese speakers

• Total Native Han Speakers of Min (all groups): 60,000,000

Min speakers are scattered throughout southern China but mostly concentrated on provinces ofFujianandHainan,with some parts inGuangdong(especially inChaoshan), the tip of southernZhejiangandTaiwan.

There are several main dialects inMin Chinese.TheFuzhou dialectof Min Dong, is spoken by theFuzhou peoplewho are native to the city ofFuzhou.The dialect ofPuxian Minis represented by thePutian people(also known as Xinghua or Henghua), the Puxian-speaking people are native toPuxian.

TheHokkiendialects ofMin Nanspoken in Southern Fujian and Taiwan is the largest Min division and spoken by largerHoklopopulation compared to other Min dialects. Furthermore, Hokkien is further extended into other uniqueMin Nangroups who speaks variants of the Min Nan dialect. TheTeochew peoplewho are native to eastern Guangdong andHainanese peoplewho are native of Hainan island are allMin Nandialect groups. The dialect ofCangnan,which isZhenan Min,is spoken inWenzhou,Zhejiang. Outside of mainland China and Taiwan, Min Nan also make up the biggest Chinese dialect group among the overseas Chinese populations in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

Xiang-speaking groups

Main articles:Culture of HunanandHunanese people

• Total Native Han Speakers: 36,015,000

Xiang speakers mostly live inHunanprovince, and so are often calledHunanese people.Xiang-speaking people are also found in the adjacent provinces ofHubei,JiangxiandSichuan.TheXiangnan Tuhuausers are the minority ethnic subgroup in this region.

Hakka-speaking groups

Main articles:Hakka cultureandHakka people

• Total Native Han Speakers: 34,000,000

TheHakka peoplespeaksHakkaand are predominant in parts ofGuangdong,Guangxi,Fujian,JiangxiandTaiwan.They are one of the largest groups found among theEthnic Han in Southeast Asia.

Gan Chinese-speaking groups

Main articles:Culture of JiangxiandGan Chinese-speaking people

• Total Native Han Speakers: 20,580,000

The origin of Gan-speaking peoples in China are from Jiangxi province in China. Gan-speaking populations are also found in Fujian, southern Anhui and Hubei provinces, and linguistic enclaves are found in Taiwan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian and non-Gan speaking Jiangxi.

Smaller groups

Other minor subgroups include speakers of theTanka people,Gaoshan Han,Tunpu,Caijia,Peranakans,Chuanqing,Kwongsai people,Waxiang peopleandTaz people.

Han subgroups by subculture

Main article:Chinese culture

The culture of the Han Chinese is complex and diverse. The vast geographic scale of China has led the Han to culturally separate themselves into northern and southern divisions.

North

• Zhongyuan culture( trung nguyên )
• Beijing culture( bắc kinh )
• Shandong culture( lỗ / lỗ )
• Jin culture( tấn / tấn )
• Dongbei culture( đông bắc / đông bắc )

South

• Hubei culture( sở )
• Lingnan culture( việt / việt )
• Hakka culture( khách )
• Teochew culture( triều )
• Hokkien culture( mân nam / mân nam )
• Xinghua culture( hưng hóa )
• Fuzhou Culture( mân đô / mân đông )
• Jiangxi culture( cống )
• Huizhou culture( huy )
• Hunanese culture( tương )
• Sichuanese culture( thục )
• Wuyue culture( ngô / ngô )
• Wenzhou culture( âu )
• Haipai culture( hải )
• Hong Kong culture( cảng )
• Macanese culture( úc )

Han subgroups by region of China

Mainland China

Further information on the Han Chinese in mainland China:Ethnic groups in China

The Han people originated in mainland China. Each Han subgroup is generally associated with a particular region in China; the Cantonese originated inLiangguang,the Putian inPuxian,the Foochow inFuzhou,the Hoklo inSouthern Fujian,the Chaoshan/Teochew in eastern Guangdong,the Hakka in eastern/central Guangdong and western Fujian, and the Shanghainese inShanghai.

Hong Kong

Further information on the Han Chinese in Hong Kong:Hong Kong people

See also:Tanka people

In Hong Kong, a majority of the population areCantonese.According to the CIA World Factbook, 89% of Hong Kongers speak theCantonese language.Other Han Chinese peoples present in Hong Kong include the Hakka, Teochew, Hoklo andShanghainesebesides ethnic minorities like the Tankas.

Macau

See also:Tanka people

As per the 2021 census of Macau, 89.4% of Macau's population declared themselves to be of Chinese ethnicity.Most speak Cantonese as their "usual language" (81%).In English, the termMacanese peopletends to refer to people of mixed Cantonese andPortuguesedescent.Macau peopleis used to describe anyone who originates from or lives in Macau.

See also

• Overseas Chinese
• Regional discrimination in China
• Ethnic groups of Southeast Asia