Is Li Shimin a Han Chinese?

Judging from today's ethnic division, it is the Han nationality, because his ancestors and his descendants are already an important part of today's Han descent.

Judging from the ethnic division at that time, he was a Han Chinese, because his paternal ancestors were all Han Chinese, and his family also recognized China culture.

From the bloodline, he is a hybrid of Han Chinese and Xianbei people, because Li's ancestors were nobles during the reign of Xianbei people in the Northern Dynasties. According to the law of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is forbidden to marry between Xianbei nobles in the paternal line, but they must marry Han Chinese. So Li has been married to Xianbei for generations. His grandmother Dugu, his mother Dou and his wife Shi were all Xianbei families, and his Xianbei lineage was more dominant, but the etiquette at that time was calculated according to the paternal line.

Of course, in the Northern Dynasties, Li changed his surname to Xiao Ye, and later he changed it back. According to the tradition that prairie people do not attach importance to lineage and tribal affiliation, they can also be classified as Xianbei people at that time. However, considering that the descendants of Xianbei people who are related to Li have all been integrated into the Han people today, Li should still be classified as Han people.

Generally speaking, a large part of the royal family in the Tang Dynasty is of Xianbei descent. Because historical records record that Xianbei people are a nation with white appearance characteristics (Su Shi's poem says "Old Xianbei has red beard and blue eyes"), this can also explain Li Shimin's appearance characteristics of high nose and deep eyes, wide mouth and thin lips, and curly hair, but from a historical point of view, Xianbei people who entered the Central Plains at that time have been completely sinicized. So, the final verdict-Li Shimin is Han nationality.