Ethnic group is a category of cultural elements.

Ethnic group or nation refers to a group of people whose members identify with each other, usually based on assumed * * * descent or ancestors. [1] Race is also defined as a unique group [2], defined by the same culture, language, religion, behavior or biological characteristics. [ 1][3]

Some people think that "race is a basic factor in human life: it is an inherent phenomenon in human experience." [3] However, some people think that national identity can only be formed under certain conditions. [4] The process leading to this kind of identity judgment behavior is summarized as ethnogenesis. Generally speaking, members of a ethnic group claim to have cultural continuity across time, although historians and cultural anthropologists have proved in the literature that many values, practices and norms that mean the continuation of the past are relatively new inventions. [5]

Define race

Sociologist Max? Max Weber once commented that "the whole concept of ethnic group is so complicated and ambiguous that it may be best to give it up completely." [6]

But in any case, Weber put forward a definition of ethnic group accepted by many social scientists: "It refers to those human groups who subjectively think that they have the same lineage because of the similarity of body shape or living customs, or the memory of colonization and immigration; Moreover, whether there is an objective blood relationship is not important. " [6]

Anthropologist Ronald? Ronald Cohen, commenting on the research on ethnic groups in anthropology and sociology since Weber, said that although many ethnic groups subjectively assert that they have the same lineage and cultural continuity, there is often evidence to the contrary objectively. [7] Harold? Harold Issacs recognized the phonetic symbols (distinctive marks) of the origin of other races, including body shape, name, language, history and religion; [8] This definition has been included in some dictionaries. [9] Therefore, social scientists pay attention to how, when and why different signs of racial identity become obvious. Therefore, anthropologist Joan? Joan Vincent noticed that racial boundaries often have the same characteristics. [10] Ronald? Cohen concluded that racial division is "a series of nested dichotomies of inclusion and exclusion". [7] He agrees with Joan? Vincent's observation, in his own words, is "racial" ... the border can be wide or narrow, depending on the specific needs of political mobilization. [7] This may be the reason why bloodline is sometimes a sign of race, and sometimes it is not: which pronunciation sign of race stands out depends on whether people narrow or expand racial boundaries, and narrowing or expanding boundaries usually depends on the political situation.

Ethnicity and race

Nation and race are two related concepts, because they are usually defined according to the pedigree of * * * *. [1 1] Usually, race also means that * * * has cultural, linguistic, behavioral or religious characteristics. In contrast, race refers to "some concentrated expressions of genetic particles (genes) and physical characteristics (relative to their frequency and distribution), which appear, fluctuate and often disappear due to geographical and/or cultural differences." 1950, written by some internationally renowned scholars at that time (including Ashley? Montague, Claude? Claude Levi Strauss, Gunnar? Madar, Julian? Sir Julian Sorell Huxley and others signed the UNESCO statement "Race". It is pointed out that "ethnic, religious, geographical, linguistic and cultural groups are not necessarily consistent with ethnic groups: the cultural characteristics of these groups are not genetically related to their ethnic characteristics. Because the word' race' is widely used in daily communication, it is customary to make such a serious mistake. When talking about human race, it is best to completely abandon the word' race' and use the word' ethnic group'. " [ 12]

Race and nationality

In some cases, especially when it comes to transnational migration or ethnic expansion, race is linked with nationality. Many anthropologists and historians, in Ernest? Geller [13] and Benedict? On the basis of Benedict Anderson's work [14], he thinks that nationality and nationalism developed with the rise of modern state system in17th century, and reached its peak in the rise of "nation-state", in which the assumed national boundaries coincide with national boundaries (or in an ideal state). Therefore, in the west, the concept of race, like the concepts of race and nation, was developed under the background of European colonial expansion. Mercantilism and capitalism at that time promoted the global movement of population, and at the same time, the national boundaries were more clearly and strictly defined. In the19th century, modern countries generally seek legitimacy by claiming to represent a "nation". However, the nation-state always contains people who are excluded from national life for various reasons. Therefore, members of the excluded groups either demand integration on the basis of equality, or seek autonomy, and sometimes even demand complete political separation and establish their own nation-state. [15] In this case-when people move from one country to another [16], or when a country occupies and colonizes people outside its borders-ethnic groups are composed of people who identify with a certain nationality but live in another country.

Racial-ethnic conflict

Sometimes, ethnic groups are harmed by unfavorable attitudes or actions of the state or its institutions. In the twentieth century, people began to argue that conflicts between ethnic groups or between ethnic members and the state can and should be resolved in one of the following two ways. Some people-like You Ergen? Jurgen habermas and Bruce? Bruce Barry)-believes that the legitimacy of modern countries must be based on the concept of independent individual political rights. According to this view, the state should not recognize ethnic, national or racial identity, but implement political and legal equality for all individuals. Others-like Charles? Charles Taylor and Will? On the other hand, Will Kymlicka believes that autonomous individuals are a kind of cultural construction. According to this view, the state must recognize ethnic identity and establish such procedures, through which the specific interests of ethnic groups can be taken care of within the nation-state.

19th century witnessed the development of political ideology of racial nationalism. At that time, the concept of race was associated with nationalism, which was first put forward by German theorists including Johann Gottfried von Herder. The emergence of a society that pays attention to racial ties and advocates excluding historical or historical background has led to the justification of nationalist goals. In this regard, two historical periods are often cited as examples, namely, the consolidation and expansion of the German Empire19th century and the Third Reich period, both of which were developed on the basis of such a pan-racial concept, that is, the government was only confiscating the land directly under the Germans in race. Those latecomers who follow the nation-state model, such as the countries in the Near East and Southeast Europe after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the countries formed after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, all show the characteristics of ethnic conflicts. These conflicts usually occur within multi-ethnic countries in other parts of the world, not between them. Therefore, these different conflicts are often wrongly labeled as "civil war" and portrayed as "civil war".

In the last decades of the 20th century, large-scale migration occurred in most countries in the northern hemisphere. The legal system and official ideology emphasize racial equality and prohibit racial discrimination.

Racial division in a particular country

In the United States, groups related to ethnic groups are specifically referred to as "ethnic groups". All kinds of Latin American ethnic groups, plus Hispanic or Portuguese hybrids, are always structured into two groups, either Hispanic or Hispanic, depending on where you live in this country, which is most obvious in the United States. Many ethnic groups formerly known as "Orientals" are now known as Asian ethnic groups and are generally regarded as "Asians". Although different, the words "black" and "African-American" are usually used to describe the descendants of Africans, who were born in Africa and generally dominated. Even the racial expression "white Americans" generally refers to those who originally came from Europe and now live in North America. "Middle Easterners" are those who come from the Middle East, that is, southwest Asia and North Africa. These countries include Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. (See Race (U.S. Census) for the official racial classification of the U.S. Census Bureau. )

In Britain, the classification of ethnic groups has caused controversy in the past, especially in the 200 1 census. The existence and nature of this classification appeared on the census registration form and was widely known. Britain uses different classification standards, including formal and informal. Perhaps the most acceptable is the classification of national statistics, that is, the classification used in the 200 1 census of England and Wales (see race (UK) for the list). Contrary to official policy, there is an important difference in the application of terminology. In Britain and Europe, the word "Oriental" is widely used without negative meaning, while in Britain, Asians usually refer to people from the Indian subcontinent (see Oriental and British Asians for details).

China officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Han nationality. Many ethnic minorities maintain their own unique culture and language, although many ethnic groups are more and more like the Han nationality. Some ethnic groups suffered destruction during the Cultural Revolution. The Han nationality is dominant in China, except Tibet and Xinjiang, the Han nationality is still a minority. Sometimes, people can choose the nationality they want to belong to, but "mixed-race" is not one of them. In China, all identity cards indicate the nationality of the identity card holder. (For details, please refer to the Directory of Ethnic Minorities in China and Ethnic Minorities in China).

At present, the most ethnically diverse city in the world is Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

study

The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) has tried to map human DNA, which varies from person to person, but the difference is less than 1%. These data will give people a clearer understanding of the origin of some ethnic groups.