"The name of the Han nationality began after Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor." [1] "China people have been called Han since the former Han emperor Xuan Di." [2] Although Qin was a unified empire, its time was short, but it had a great influence. In the Han Dynasty, all ethnic groups in the north and northwest also called the Han people "Qin people", while the Han people called themselves "Huaxia people". At that time, all ethnic groups in the frontier often referred to the people in the counties and counties of the Han Dynasty as "Han people", but it was not a national concept, but referred to "people in the Han Dynasty". However, in the Han Dynasty, general terms such as "Hu Han", "Yue Han" and "Han Yi" appeared, which probably began to have the meaning of the national title. Until the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Han people under the central government called themselves "Chinese" and "Jin people", but all ethnic groups in the border areas still called them "Han people". Obviously, at this time, the title of "Han Chinese" has a relatively clear national meaning. However, in the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the concept of "Han people" was accepted by Han people and non-Han people. At the same time, as a Han nationality who used to call themselves "China people" under the rule of the central government, it has always been enjoyed by all ethnic groups living in Han areas, including the Han nationality. This is the result of the inward migration of all ethnic groups in the frontier since the Eastern Han Dynasty and the further integration of all ethnic groups in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. According to the report, the Yellow River Valley, centered on the two capitals, accepted the advanced Han culture and called itself "imperial China" to compete with the Jinshi for orthodoxy. In this way, "China" and "China" with a sense of cultural superiority and based on regional concepts are no longer suitable for the exclusive use of Han people living in the mainland. After all ethnic groups living in the mainland enjoy "China" or "China", non-Han people, as the ruling ethnic group, use "Han" or "Han" to address Han people in order to distinguish them from Han people. In this way, "Han people" or "Han people" has become a formal national concept. In the Tang Dynasty, ethnic minorities appeared as "Fan" and were collectively called "Fan Han" with the Han nationality. After the Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, there was still the name of "Fan Han", which was also used in the Song Dynasty. By the Yuan Dynasty, due to the further integration of ethnic groups, the northern minorities who had originally entered the Central Plains had been completely sinicized and called Han people. [③]
References:
1. The Formation and Development of the Cohesion of the Chinese Nation, Ethnic Publishing House, 2000.
2. History of Pre-Qin Dynasty, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1983 edition.
3. China Ethnic Notes, Joint Publishing Company, 1950 edition.