Was there a concept of "Han people" in the Spring and Autumn Period?

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.