language
The language of the Han nationality is Chinese, which is written in Chinese characters. Chinese belongs to Sino-Tibetan language family. According to the classification methods commonly used in academic circles, it can be divided into seven dialects: Northern Dialect (Mandarin), Wu Dialect, Xiang Dialect, Gan Dialect, Hakka Dialect, Min Dialect and Cantonese (see Chinese Dialect Entry for many different classification methods). In recent years, many scholars believe that Guangxi Pinghua and Shanxi Jin dialect should be juxtaposed with the other seven dialects. In different areas where Han people live, the provisions of standard Chinese are different. Chinese mainland, Taiwan Province Province and Singapore are regarded as standard Putonghua (languages developed on the basis of Beijing dialect in Putonghua areas are called Putonghua, Mandarin and Mandarin respectively due to different locations), and Hong Kong is regarded as standard Cantonese (Cantonese). Chinese is written in traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese respectively.
In addition, some scholars divide Fujian dialect into Minnan dialect and northern Fujian dialect. These dialects have their own distribution areas, and the interior of each dialect can be subdivided, thus forming a complex language state of Chinese dialects, and the north and the south are not connected with each other. Nevertheless, due to the high unity of Chinese characters, it has a strong cohesive effect on the Han nationality, so it seems no exaggeration to say that there would be no Han nationality without Chinese characters.
Building type
Due to the vast distribution area of Han nationality, its traditional folk houses have different styles due to different regions. Most of the traditional houses of the Han nationality living in the North China Plain are brick-and-wood bungalows, and most of the courtyards are quadrangles, represented by Beijing quadrangles. The traditional houses of the Han nationality living in the northeast are basically similar to those in North China, but the difference lies in the walls and roofs. The houses here are generally thick, mainly to keep warm. Han people living in northern Shaanxi dig caves to build houses according to the characteristics of thick soil layer and low groundwater level in the Loess Plateau. Caves are not only warm in winter and cool in summer, but also do not occupy cultivated land. The traditional houses of the Han nationality living in the south are mainly wooden structures, which pay attention to the eaves and pavilions and the structure of law. Due to the different customs and natural conditions in southern China, the layout of residential buildings is also different. For example, buildings in hilly areas are built on mountains, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang water towns pay attention to the front street and the back river. The earth buildings in Fujian are big and beautiful, while the pavilions in Suzhou are small and beautiful.
Regardless of the Han nationality in the south or the north, traditional folk houses have a common feature: sitting north facing south, paying attention to indoor lighting; Wood beam bearing, brick, stone, soil wall; Focusing on the main hall, he is good at carving beams and painting buildings, decorating roofs and cornices.
eating habits
staple
The staple food of Han nationality is rice and wheat, supplemented by vegetables, meat and bean products. Tea and wine are traditional drinks of the Han nationality. The main way to eat rice is rice, as well as porridge, rice noodles, rice cakes, glutinous rice balls, zongzi, rice cakes and other foods. Wheat is eaten with steamed bread, noodles, flower rolls, steamed stuffed buns, jiaozi, wonton, fried dough sticks, spring rolls, fried cakes and pancakes. Han people pay attention to and are good at cooking. Han people in different regions have formed different local flavors through cooking methods such as frying, roasting, frying, boiling, steaming, roasting and cold salad. Chinese cuisine is generally divided into eight major cuisines: Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan, Zhejiang and Jiangsu.
tea
It is said that Han people began to drink tea in Shennong era, with a history of at least 4,700 years. Until now, Han compatriots in China still have the custom of replacing wine with tea. Han people have various methods of making tea: smoked bean tea in Taihu Lake, scented tea in Suzhou, ginger tea in Hunan, Gaiwan tea in Chengdu, frozen top tea in Taiwan Province Province, Longjing tea in Hangzhou, oolong tea in Fujian and so on.
The basic diet structure of Han nationality is based on food crops and various animal foods and vegetables as non-staple foods. This is in sharp contrast with the diet structure of ethnic groups in western China, Tibetans and Mongolians. In addition, the habit of eating three meals a day has been formed in the long-term national development. The collocation of staple food, dishes and drinks in three meals a day not only has certain similarity, but also forms a series of specific characteristics due to different geographical and climatic environment, economic development level, production and living conditions and other reasons.
Holiday food
Festival food is rich and colorful. It often skillfully combines rich nutrition, pleasing artistic forms and profound cultural connotations to become a typical festival food culture. It can be roughly divided into three categories:
One is as a sacrifice. In ancient times, it occupied an important position in special ceremonies such as sacrifices and celebrations of courts, officials, clans and families. In most areas of contemporary Han nationality, this phenomenon has long since ended, and only in a few remote areas or on certain occasions, there are still some symbolic activities left.
The second is the specific food that people eat in festivals. This is the mainstream of holiday food and eating customs. For example, on New Year's Eve, every household in the north has the habit of wrapping jiaozi, while the custom of playing and eating rice cakes prevails in all parts of the south of the Yangtze River. In addition, in many areas of the Han nationality, fish is often indispensable for family banquets in the New Year, which symbolizes "more than one year". The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival has been circulating for thousands of years. Moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival contain blessings for family reunion and human harmony. Others, such as spring cakes and spring rolls eaten in early spring, Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, Laba porridge and cold food at the Cold Food Festival on the eighth day of the twelfth month, eating pig's head, eating broad beans and tasting new grains on the second day of the twelfth month, toasting at wedding celebrations, and birthday peaches, peaches and cakes at birthday banquets, are all special food and eating customs with special connotations.
Beliefs and taboos in diet
Most Han people avoid eating raw food on the first, second and third days of the first month, that is, the food on the first day of the New Year's Day is much more cooked than before the old calendar year, and it only takes three days to return to the pot. I think it's ripe and smooth, but my life is reverse. Therefore, in some places, everything is ready before the Spring Festival, and there is a saying that the knife can't be cut for three days. For another example, in some areas of Henan, the third day of the first month is Xiaomi's birthday, and rice is not eaten on this day, otherwise it will lead to millet production reduction; In the past, women had many dietary taboos during childbirth. For example, women in many areas of the Han nationality do not eat rabbit meat during pregnancy, and think that children who eat rabbit meat will have rabbit lips; In other places, it is forbidden to eat fresh ginger, because fresh ginger has many fingers, so as to prevent children from growing six fingers on their hands and feet. In the past, most childless women of Han nationality avoided eating dog meat, thinking that it was unclean and easy to cause dystocia.
Dress
Han people have their own long and colorful costumes. Behind the splendid costume culture, there are originality, integration and conflict, and many styles have changed, but the characteristics of wide robes and big sleeves have not changed despite the wind and rain.
The mainstream style of Han costumes can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor, "bowing down"; Qu Yuan is the man who developed this style to the extreme. "I am young and like this strange dress, but I am old and will never lose my age." Finally, in the Han Dynasty, due to the establishment of the Han Dynasty, the Han nationality was basically formed, and the original form of its clothing was also finalized, mainly the right collar, wide robe and big sleeves. Since then, its costumes have evolved and absorbed all kinds of collar clothes from other ethnic groups. What has changed greatly is that the round neck gown was introduced in the Tang Dynasty, and the Xianbei Hu Feng was also introduced into women's wear, which basically broke away from the single clothing system; Secondly, the Qing army entered the customs, requiring men to adopt Manchu costumes. Although some literati protested, it was quickly accepted. The collar suit was only allowed to exist between actors and monks, and there was no large-scale resistance and bloody conflict caused by shaving. After the development of the Qing Dynasty, although the long gowns of the Han nationality are half-collared, they have maintained the consistent mainstream clothing characteristics of the Han nationality, such as wide robes and big sleeves. Moreover, due to the reasons of multi-ethnic countries, the types of clothing have increased, even divorced from the original characteristics of the Han nationality, such as mandarin jackets and cheongsam. However, the widespread spread of these clothing has become another clothing image of the Han nationality.
Although the recently popular "Hanfu" was used to distinguish nationalities in ancient times, it never formed a definite concept. Nowadays, people miss the handover system and take the popular concept "Hanfu" as the definition, with the intention of restoring this ancient system.
Cultural practices
The culture of Han nationality is rich and colorful. In the historical process of its formation and development, it is open and eclectic, forming regional cultures with different characteristics, such as Qilu, Zhongyuan, Zhao Yan, Guanzhong, Bashu, Jingchu, wuyue, Lingnan, Yunnan-Guizhou, Fujian-Taiwan, Songliao and Gan Hui, which embodies the diversity and diversity of Chinese culture.
Since ancient times, the Han people have adopted an inclusive attitude towards various religious beliefs. Lotte know life (self-determination, self-seeking) and respect for ancestors (no ancestor worship) are the main traditional concepts of the Han nationality. Historically, some Han people believed in Taoism and Buddhism; Later, Catholicism and Christianity were introduced to China, and some people began to believe in these religions. For thousands of years, Confucianism, which focuses on benevolence and attaches importance to ethical education, has had a far-reaching impact on the Han nationality.
traditional festival
Description of the name and date of the festival
New Year's Eve/Spring Festival The first day of the first lunar month is usually called China New Year. Traditionally, it lasts from New Year's Eve at the end of the year and the first day of the first month to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month. )
On April 5th in the Gregorian calendar, Tomb-Sweeping Day worships ancestors and sweeps graves.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanyang Festival, is on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, with the theme of eating zongzi.
China Valentine's Day, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, is also called the week, that is, China's love story, Valentine's Day, the day when the bridge meets in myths and legends.
The Mid-Autumn Festival on July 15th of the lunar calendar, also known as Magnolia Festival, is commonly known as July 30th, Ghost Festival, and there are folk customs such as offering sacrifices to souls.
Mid-Autumn Festival: A family reunion festival on August 15 of the lunar calendar, with the theme of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes.
Double Ninth Festival, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.
The Han nationality has a large population and different customs. Nowadays, most marriages between men and women are changing customs and adopting simple and lively weddings. However, in some rural areas of the Han nationality, traditional folk customs are still preserved.
Han people have always been known for their simplicity and creativity. The Han people have made many brilliant achievements in politics, military affairs, philosophy, literature, history, art and natural science.
In the history of Han nationality, the economy was dominated by agriculture, which was a typical natural economy of men plowing and women weaving. The agricultural production of the Han nationality has been very developed in history, especially known for irrigation and intensive cultivation. Handicraft and various technologies of the Han nationality had maintained the leading level in the world before the Qing Dynasty.