The formation of the Han nationality did not happen overnight. It experienced the development of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities from tribes to nationalities, and the integration of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities with some barbarians, Yi, Rong and Di nationalities into the Chinese nation, which finally formed in three long and complicated historical stages of the Han Dynasty.
1. The successive rise of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities.
The formation of Han nationality began with the rise of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities.
From the 23rd century to the 22nd century BC, the Xia nationality first rose in the loess area and the Luohe River basin in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. According to legend, Xia tribe was still in the era of clan commune system in primitive society before entering the Yellow River and Luohe River basins. Blood relationship is still the main bond that holds people together. According to historical records, Xia Benji and Xia Tribe share the same surname. There are 12 clans, namely, Youhu, Younan, Zhenxun, Tongcheng, Bao, Fei, Qi, Gou, Xin, Ming and Zhenge. They are a big tribe with Xia Houshi as its core. With the change and development of productivity, the appearance and use of bronze tools in Dayu period is of great significance to the rise of Xia nationality, which promotes the formation of the economic type of irrigated agriculture with copper as the soldier, reflecting that the economic foundation and political conditions for the formation of Xia nationality are mature. At this new historical turning point, Yu zoned Kyushu, marking the completion of the transformation from the kinship of Xia tribes to the geographical relationship, and also marking the formation of Xia nationality.
Due to the imbalance of social development, when the Xia tribe rose in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, it was located in Shandong Peninsula, and the Shang tribe with bird as its totem worship still lived in primitive societies such as "no fixed place to live" and "Historical Records and Yin Benji". Not often in the city, Shangshu Shangshu Pan Geng. Mobile life. However, with the continuous development of productive forces, Shang tribes also embarked on the road of disintegration of primitive society without exception. "Xiangtu is very fierce and fierce, and there are interceptions overseas." The Book of Songs, Shang Song and Long Hair. This record is a message. Therefore, this minister originally belonged to the Shang tribe in Xia Dynasty, and in the process of establishing the Shang State, he was named "the vassal of Tang Zheng" and "Historical Records and Yin Benji". "Eleven signs and invincible in the world", Mencius Teng Wengong. Finally, in the battle of Mingtiao, Tang defeated Xia and established a new slave country-Shang Dynasty. At the same time, the Shang tribe also completed the transformation from blood relationship to geographical relationship, developed into a Shang nation, and rose in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Like the Shang Dynasty's destruction of the Xia Dynasty, the Zhou tribe living between the Qin and Ju basins in the upper reaches of the Shaanxi-Gansu Weihe River was originally a subordinate of the Shang Dynasty. Under the historical condition that I belong to Shang Dynasty, I completed the transition from primitive society to class society, and repeated the scene of the demise of Shang Dynasty, and established the Zhou Dynasty in Fair (Zuo Zhuan is twenty-four years old. Develop into Zhou nationality.
Following the rise of Xia, Shang and Zhou clans in the Yellow River valley, the Chu and Yue clans in the Yangtze River valley also rose. Compared with the Yellow River Basin, the social development process in the Yangtze River Basin is relatively slow. Because the country has not yet appeared, all clans and tribes in the Yangtze River basin have been called "barbarians" for quite a period of time. The man in Jianghan area was called "Jing Chu", and in Shang Dynasty there were "Wei Nv Jing Chu" and "Ju Nan" (The Book of Songs Yanwu). Said. According to the general law of "from tribe to nation", they are in the process of class generation and normal business, and they advocate martial arts. They became stronger rapidly in the constant war. In a sense, Zhou Chengwang named Xiong Yi as Chu, which not only laid the foundation for the establishment of Chu, but also marked the formation of Chu state.
The formation of the Yue nationality began with the appearance of Yue. Baiyue Group, located in the arc zone from Jiangsu, Zhejiang to Guangdong and Guangxi or Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, has long been in a "land where castes live together" because of unbalanced social development. Chen Zan was quoted as saying in the notes in Geography of Hanshu. The state of. However, due to historical opportunities and superior geographical location, Baiyue, a branch of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces adjacent to all ethnic groups in the Central Plains, stood out in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and began the process of forming a nation. The establishment of the State of Wu Yue reflects the disintegration and collapse of the primitive society of the State of Yue, and also marks the completion of the transformation from blood relationship to geographical relationship among tribes of the State of Yue.
From the rise of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities, we can see the magnificent scene of the formation and development of ancient nationalities in China, which is the first stage of the formation of the Han nationality.
2. The Chinese nation is in great integration.
As a historical event, nations, like other things, are constantly developing and changing. Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue, which developed from tribes to nations, are primitive nations. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, great changes and developments have taken place in ethnic relations. At this time, the main forms of development and change of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities are mutual contact, mutual penetration and mutual absorption, and there is a general trend of national integration.
The great ethnic integration in the Spring and Autumn Period was first carried out among the Xia, Shang and Zhou nationalities. For example, Jin's "being a soldier for the state" broke the military constitution regulations since the Western Zhou Dynasty, indicating that the opposition between "state" and "state" has been eliminated, and the state was originally the "Shu Ren" conquered by the Zhou Dynasty, which also shows that the gap between various ethnic groups in Jin has been gradually bridged.
The great ethnic integration in the Spring and Autumn Period also extended to some barbarians, barbarians, Rong and Di. For example, "Guoyu Zhou Yu" said: Glory "Tedi people take their daughters as their descendants." In the twenty-eighth year of Zuo Zhuan, Duke Zhuang said, "Marry two women and let them. Darong Fox gave birth to Zhong Er, and Xiaorong gave birth to Yi Wu. " In the Spring and Autumn Period, the famous Zhong Er was a bastard. Not only that, but when he fled to Di, "Ren took the blame, won his second daughter's uncle Kui, and won his sons. The son took Ji Kui and gave birth to "Ao, Uncle Liu". Twenty-three years of Zuo Zhuan. Strangely, Sidi is another kind, and Zhong Er married Sidi. There is also a saying that Dongyi people are concubines of Lu Xigong; The baby's wife is Jin Jinggong's sister. The marriage between the Jin people of Zhou Dynasty and the Qin people of Rong nationality shows that the national boundaries including some barbarians, barbarians, Germans and Rong nationality were also broken in the Spring and Autumn Period.
All these things came together, and in the Spring and Autumn Period, a great national fusion was formed, so a new nation, the Huaxia nation, was born. This nation is neither Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu, Yue, nor brute, nor brute, nor martial. The Chinese nation is often called "Xia" or "Hua" in pre-Qin classics. Confucius regarded "Xia" and "Hua" as synonyms. As the saying goes, "Chinese people do not seek summer, and foreigners do not disturb China." Zuo Zhuan has been published for ten years. In the twenty-sixth year of Zuo Zhuan, Xiang Gong said: "Chu lost China" is the earliest record of the word "Hua". Since then, "Huaxia" has become the national name of a new nation that was formed by the integration of Xia, Shang, Zhou and Yi in the Spring and Autumn Period, with some barbarians, Rong and Di as branches.
During the Warring States period, ethnic integration continued to develop at a deeper level, in a wider scope and at a faster speed. Chu in the south, after the Spring and Autumn Period, the Chu State crisscrossed the Hanshui River and the Yangtze River Basin. After more than 800 years of expansion and management, the level of civilization is getting higher and higher, and the integration between ethnic groups is getting deeper and deeper. The most typical example is Qu Yuan's Tian Wen, which was published on murals depicting ancient history in temples. Chu painters at that time were so familiar with the history of the Central Plains that we can see the depth and breadth of national integration. Yan State in Northeast China has become a powerful country in Northeast China by the Warring States Period. Yan gave it to Donghu as a hostage. After returning home, he led the army to defeat Donghu, and established the eastern counties such as Gu, Yuyang, Youbeiping and Liao, which greatly expanded the territory of Yan.
Yan's exploration of the Liaohe River Basin not only established the territory of ancient China in the northeast, but also merged all ethnic groups in the Liaohe River Basin into another branch of the Chinese nation. In the northern state of Zhao, at the end of the Warring States period, it was a powerful country second only to Qin. The historical fact of King Wuling of Zhao's "riding and shooting in Hu clothes" is not only an example of ethnic integration during the Warring States period, but also a clear proof that Chinese culture absorbed the culture of northern minorities.
Qin, a rising star in northwest China during the Warring States period, was originally a branch of the dog army, not a clan. He was listed as a bannerman for his meritorious service in escorting Ping Dong Qian. At the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the State of Qin waged a fierce struggle with the western military families, and "hence the title of Xirong" and "Historical Records of Qin Benji". It has become the center of western ethnic integration. After Shang Yang's political reform in 395 BC, Qin came from behind and became the most powerful country among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States. Not only defeated Korea, Vietnam and Wei, but also merged the surrounding ethnic minorities, adding Qianzhong County, Wu Jun County, Nanjun County, Nanyang County, Sanchuan County and Taiyuan County. In the past, the backward Rong nationality countries in the west have become the center of ethnic integration in the west and the backbone and core of the Chinese nation.
From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, we can see that, along with the magnificent scene in the history of the formation and development of ancient nationalities in China, the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Chu and Yue nationalities rose one after another, and staged a magnificent scene of national integration in the history of the formation and development of ancient nationalities in China. In this historical drama, a brand-new nation-Huaxia nation was cast in the melting pot of national integration, and four branches, represented by Eastern Qi, Western Chu, Southern Qin, Northern Zhao and Yan, were formed, which laid the foundation for the formation of a unified Han nation, which was the second stage of the formation of the Han nation.
3. The Han nationality was formed in "great unification"
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Chinese nation, which was cast in the melting pot of ethnic integration, was a dispersed and disunited nation, and its productivity level was further developed and improved.
All these, concentrated in one point, need a unified political center. As a result, Qin Shihuang was wise, unified the six countries in ten years, ended the feudal struggle, and established a centralized "unified" feudal country-the Qin Dynasty. In the "great unification", the Chinese nation has also moved from decentralization to unity. After Qin Shihuang established the Qin Dynasty, he took a series of measures to unify and stabilize the Chinese nation, such as implementing the county system, stipulating that "books should be written in the same language", unifying currency and weights and measures, "cars on the same track" and "walking along the same road", and building the Great Wall.
It is precisely because of Qin Shihuang's "great unification" measures that the Chinese nation has become a stable people's community with greater certainty. Therefore, although the national luck of the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. Under the guidance of the thought of "great unification", politically, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty created a secretariat system, which divided the whole country into thirteen counties and implemented "compiling households for the people"; Economically, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty accepted Sang Hongyang's suggestion, promulgated the equal loss law and the equal equity law, established a national commercial network centered on the capital, and greatly developed the circulation of goods; Culturally and ideologically, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty accepted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", which made Confucianism develop into Confucian classics and gain a dominant position, making Confucianism a part of the common psychological quality of the Han nationality. All these indicate that the centralized "Great Unity" feudal country in the Western Han Dynasty was more concentrated and powerful, which made Great Unity the mainstream of China's historical development and made the Chinese nation complete its development and transformation to the Han nationality.
The symbol of the transformation of Chinese nation into Han nationality is the determination of the name of Han nationality. Huaxia was unified in the Qin Dynasty, and the clan name was once renamed as "Qin people". All countries in the western regions have the habit of calling Huaxia the "Qin people". However, the short-lived national luck of the Qin Dynasty made the title of "Qin people" quickly forgotten by people. The Han Dynasty lasted more than 400 years from the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, which provided historical conditions for the name of the Han Dynasty and the name of the Chinese nation. In addition, the Han Dynasty was a powerful country. In foreign exchanges, other nationalities call the army of the Han Dynasty "Han soldiers", the envoys of the Han Dynasty "Han envoys" and the people of the Han Dynasty "Han people". Therefore, in the unprecedented frequent exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the surrounding ethnic minorities, such as communicating with the western regions, conquering the Xiongnu, pacifying the western Qiang, recruiting and surrendering Korea, serving the southwest Yi and incorporating Fujian, Guangdong and South Guangdong, the name of the Han Dynasty was called the name of the Chinese nation by other ethnic groups. Lv Simian said: "The name of the Han nationality began after Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor." (History of Pre-Qin Dynasty, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1983), p. 22. Lv Zhenyu said: "China people have been called Han since the former Han emperor Xuan Di." (Notes on China Nationalities, Joint Publishing Company, 1950, p. 19. In short, the name of the Han nationality has been called since the Han Dynasty.
From the historical drama of the development and transformation of the Chinese nation to the Han nationality, we can clearly see that after the Chinese nation was cast in the melting pot of national integration during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, under the guidance of the idea of "great unification", it staged scenes of the history of national formation and development. Since then, the Han nationality has become one of the most populous nationalities in the world, standing in the east of the world, which is the third stage of the formation of the Han nationality.
Development of Han nationality
As soon as the Han nationality appeared in the world, it began the most magnificent historical process of national development in world history with its unique stability, rare cohesion and attraction.
The development of population is one of the important signs of a country's prosperity, as the saying goes: the country is rich and the people are safe, and the population is prosperous. In feudal society, the development of Han population experienced two periods: Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties and Song, Liao, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties to Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the Han Dynasty, the population of the Han nationality was about 50 million at the initial stage. After the development from Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties, the population in Song Dynasty exceeded 1 100 million. Teng: The population of Song Dynasty exceeded 100 million (Population Research 1986 No.6). After the development of Song, Liao, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties to Ming and Qing Dynasties, the population increased to more than 400 million in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty.
Why did the Han population in feudal society get such a huge development? Obviously, Engels said "human production, that is, the reproduction of species" (Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume IV, page 2). However, to understand and understand the great development of the Han population, we must understand and understand a prominent phenomenon in the history of Han development, that is, national assimilation. The so-called national assimilation is the problem that one nation loses its national identity and becomes another. In the history of China's ethnic development, there are cases in which the Han people assimilate ethnic minorities and cases in which ethnic minorities assimilate the Han people. But compared with the two, the former is the mainstream, which is also an important reason why the Han nationality can develop into the largest nation in the world.
After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Central Plains was in chaos, the centralized feudal country was divided, the feudal regime was divided, and disputes and wars were everywhere. During the great division, melee and turmoil, various ethnic groups or tribes migrated everywhere, and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuwan, Di and Qiang in the north successively entered the Central Plains, and some barbarians in Jianghan area also poured into the Central Plains, forming a mixed situation of Han nationality and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuwan, Di, Qiang and barbarians. The Han people in the north moved south in large numbers; In the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins, the Han nationality is intertwined with barbarians, slang, Liao and other southern minorities or tribes. However, once upon a time, why did these ethnic minorities disappear in whole or in part in history? Also, after the Tang Dynasty, in the new great division and turmoil, the ethnic minorities such as the Khitan, the Tangut, and the Jurchen, which were once prominent in the history of China, why did they all or partially disappear from history? This is because they have been assimilated by the Han nationality, lost their national characteristics and become a part of the Han nationality.
In a word, under the general trend of ethnic integration in China's history, the longer people live together, the deeper the national psychological exchange and the faster the advanced economic and cultural development of the Han nationality. The Han nationality, formed and developed by many nationalities, developed like a snowball and eventually became the largest family in the world.