What are the reasons for calling China Tang people?

Tang people refer to Tang people. During the Tang Dynasty, China was unprecedentedly powerful and exerted great influence overseas. After the Tang Dynasty, Japanese, European, American, Southeast Asian and other overseas countries called China Tang people.

Due to the great influence of the Tang Dynasty on overseas countries, by the Song Dynasty, "Tang" had already become China's address for southeast overseas countries [1]. [1-2] During the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, foreign countries called China or things related to China "Tang". Not only the Tang Dynasty was regarded as the land of China, but also China people were called Tang people [2-6].

Because there are a large number of overseas immigrants in Cantonese, this title of Tang people is especially commonly used in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and their immigrants who use Cantonese. Cantonese is nicknamed Tang dialect overseas [7]; Chinatown, a Cantonese-speaking neighborhood in the Tang Dynasty, is now widely used by overseas Chinese. Some countries, such as Japan, still called China Tang Dynasty until modern times. It is precisely because the Tang Dynasty is a powerful and representative dynasty in the history of China that it is actually related to the cultural opening and frequent foreign exchanges in the Tang Dynasty. This Tang appellation became popular after the middle of19th century.

After the 20th century, although it is not as common as China and China, it is still used in place names of various countries, such as Chinatown. In addition, overseas Chinese are used to calling it Tang or Tangshan.

brief introduction

People in the Tang Dynasty often call themselves Tang people, so the overseas Chinese settlement is also called "Chinatown".

Due to the great influence of the Tang Dynasty on overseas, by the Song Dynasty, "Tang" had already become a synonym for China in southeast overseas countries. [ 1] [2]

Throughout the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, all over the world, especially in Southeast Asia, anything related to China or China is always called "Tang". Tang Dynasty is not only regarded as the land of China [3], but also China people are called Tang people [3] [4] [5] [6], China's surname is Tang [4], China's clothing is Tang clothes [3], and China's merchant ships are Tang boats or Tang boats. Even the "Chinese" used in modern times was called "Tang dialect" by overseas countries in the Song Dynasty [4]. China people staying abroad for one year are not called "living in Tibet", while foreigners staying in China for more than one year are called "living in Tang" [1]. Up to now, some overseas Chinese still call themselves "Tangren", and their settlement in overseas cities is called "Chinatown", while overseas Chinese call their motherland "Tangshan". For thousands of years. [2]

history

The word Tang people originated from the prosperity of economic and cultural exchanges in the Tang Dynasty. Starting from Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan, he gradually expanded his territory and opened his borders, which shocked countries in Central Asia, West Asia and the South China Sea. Emperor Taizong was honored as "Tiankhan", and his position in nomadic semantics was higher than that of Emperor Yangdi. Tengger means noble and powerful in Turkish. Later, Yehu of Tuhuoluo was also called Tang Gaozu and Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. After the Anshi Rebellion, Tang Daizong was also called "Tiankhan" by Uighurs. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ruled Kaiyuan, Tang Gaozong ruled Yonghui and ruled five states. At its peak, people from far and near countries sent tributes. Since then, the world has added the word "Tang" to everything in the Tang Dynasty, such as "Tang" and "Tangshan", and this situation has continued to this day.

Until Antu Taoshan era, Japanese still called China "the land of Tang people" and "the country of Tang people".

Han people and the evolution of Tang people

The word "Han people" refers exclusively to Han people, and has been given the meaning of "Han people" since the middle period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

After the disaster of Yongjia, the nomadic tribes in the north entered the Central Plains for the first time on a large scale and established a series of separatist regimes, especially in the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Eastern Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties. Most of the founders are Xianbei people, who collectively refer to the residents of the Central Plains under their rule as "Han people".

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, due to the monarch's efforts, it gradually reached a peak, so a new name "Tang people" appeared in the Tang Dynasty to refer to the Han nationality. But from the early Tang Dynasty, the boundary between Han people and Hu people began to blur.

Documentary record

It turns out that Shen Xiaxian's "Selected Works" said that the Chinese people were called "Tang people": "From Hanhai, Shenniao, Dunhuang, Zhangye and Jiuquan in the east, Jincheng and Huining in the east, and Shangying, Qingshui, Fifty Counties, Six Towns and Fifteen Armies in the west, all descendants of the Tang people, born as slaves.

When Liu sent his envoy Tubo through Lanzhou, he saw that "Lanzhou is rich in japonica rice, peaches, plums and willows, and every household is from the Tang Dynasty. See the messenger cover and watch the road. "

It is recorded in the Preface to Yidao in the Yuan Dynasty: "Since then, after the failure of business in the Tang Dynasty, foreigners have been waiting for orders and envoys."

Biography of Foreign Real Wax in the History of the Ming Dynasty: "People in the Tang Dynasty were often called China people. All overseas countries are definitely. " In the Qing Dynasty, I talked about red equipment: "I met four ambassadors in the Ministry of Rites, who translated tributes, or called China Han Chinese or Tang people. People lived in the Tang Dynasty, such as Holland and Rollo countries. Gai has been in China since the Tang Dynasty, so it is along the clouds. "

language

In East Asia, people in China, a country dominated by Han people, generally speak Chinese (including Chinese dialects) and can also use Chinese characters (simplified or traditional). Outside Asia, except for the first generation of Chinese immigrants, most of the second and third generation Chinese (including mixed-race Chinese) can hardly write Chinese characters, or can only speak spoken Chinese and read simply, or even know nothing about Chinese, so they can only communicate in the local language. However, based on perfect Chinese education, Chinese in Malaysia can generally speak fluent Chinese and Chinese dialects (mainly Minnan dialect, Fuzhou dialect, Hakka dialect and Cantonese), while Chinese in Singapore can generally speak Chinese.

"Tang people"

After the demise of the Tang Dynasty, due to the influence of the Tang Dynasty on the world economy and culture, the habit of foreigners calling China "Tangren" has not changed, from the Song and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Biography of True Wax in the Ming Dynasty said: "The people of the Tang Dynasty are also called China people by many fans, and all overseas countries are complete." The older generation of overseas Chinese still like to call themselves "Tangren" and China "Tangshan". As for the places where overseas Chinese live together, almost everyone knows.