Fifty-six constellations and fifty-six flowers, fifty-six brothers and sisters are a family.
Fifty-six languages converge into one sentence: Love China, Love China, Love China and Love China.
-Lyrics of 56 flowers of 56 nationalities
During the long years in China, countless nationalities lived in this vast land. After a long period of integration, they finally formed our present China family. In the long years, there have been several turbulent years, which have vigorously promoted the process of national integration in silence.
the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the first period of great ethnic integration in China's history. At that time, in addition to the Han nationality, there were powerful minority regimes such as Xiongnu, Rong and Yue. Apart from a few normal exchanges between the Han nationality and these ethnic minorities, the rest is endless struggle. These struggles have also secretly promoted the process of national integration.
One of the main characteristics of national integration is the change of each other's living customs. Take clothing as an example. China's traditional clothing is heavy, with a wide robe and big sleeves, and a skirt under the coat. One sleeve can hold one person, and those pants are closer to what we call "open-backed pants" today. In addition, they must wear a kind of clothing similar to stockings. It can be said that the traditional costumes of the Han nationality are not conducive to daily communication, nor to war or production activities.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the clothes of ethnic minorities were mostly small sleeve narrow clothes, and their pants were not "open-backed pants". Therefore, in peacetime wars, when it comes to clothing, the Han nationality has lost to ethnic minorities.
Traditionally, Han people have a kind of thinking. When they judge whether two different races can merge, they don't look at their blood relationship, but at whether they can realize their cultural identity. For example, ethnic minorities adopt the Han etiquette system, so the Han regime treats them as their own; But if Han people adopt the etiquette system of ethnic minorities, they will be regarded as different.
Because of this way of thinking, it takes a long time for Han people to absorb the advantages of ethnic minorities. Take the crown on the emperor's head as an example. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that this crown was completely abolished and replaced with black gauze. Ordinary people's daily clothes have also been generally improved.
Wei, Jin, southern and northern dynasties
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is the second period of great ethnic integration in China history. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, because of years of wars in the Central Plains, Han people who originally lived in the Central Plains began to migrate to ethnic minority areas, and ethnic minorities also began to migrate to the Central Plains, forming migration convection between them, and the great ethnic integration began.
In addition to the convection of ethnic migration, the following year's war, people's thoughts have also undergone profound changes, such as their worship of religion, or, for example, they began to face up to ethnic minorities. After witnessing the strength of ethnic minorities, Han people began to face up to ethnic minorities, which is also an important reason for ethnic integration.
Chen Yinque once commented on the ethnic integration in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and thought that it was this ethnic integration that promoted the prosperity of the Li Shimin family and eventually promoted the formation of the Li and Tang Dynasties.
Liao, Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties
Liao, Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties were the third period of great ethnic integration in China history. The reason for this great national integration is very simple, that is, because of years of war. In this great national integration, Liao, Jin, Yuan and other minority regimes began to absorb a large number of China traditional culture, and at the same time accelerated the feudalization process of their respective regimes.
For the Han nationality, because of the signing of a series of treaties during the war, the biggest influence on them may be the change of living customs, such as eating mutton.
Late Ming and early Qing dynasty
The late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty were the last period of large-scale ethnic integration in the history of China. During this period, due to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, Manchu entered the Central Plains, and after implementing a series of policies, it began the assimilation process between different ethnic groups.
In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the most important promoter of national integration was a series of policies promulgated by the Qing Dynasty. For example, women should wear clean traditional shoes, while men must wear long braids. Judging from Lu Xun's novel Mao's Story, the assimilation policy implemented in Qing Dynasty was quite successful. After all, the Han people who died with pigtails at the beginning later became dead and alive.
The great ethnic integration during the Manchu and Qing Dynasties finally completed the formation of the big family of the Chinese nation, and also laid the territorial foundation of our country today.
abstract
Several major national integrations in history all happened in the era of constant wars, which is almost an inevitable requirement to accelerate the process of national integration, but it also brought deep suffering to the people living in that period. In the process of continuous national integration, the big family of the Chinese nation was finally established. This also perfectly countered those ethnic separatists: we have thousands of years of historical integration, this is a family whose blood is thicker than water, how can we easily provoke it!