Why are people in China called Han people instead of Qin people?

The Han nationality was called from the Western Han Dynasty. The appellation of the Han nationality was inseparable from the historical development. It was still called Huaxia in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and after the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, but it was called Han nationality in the later development process because of the prosperity of the Han Dynasty and other reasons.

after the unification of Qin dynasty, the ethnic names of Huaxia are still in use. However, the people who originally belonged to six countries in Shandong (east of Lushan Mountain) were both "leaders of Guizhou" in the Qin Dynasty. Although the state of Qin was short, the nationalities in the western regions (including present-day Xinjiang) and the Xiongnu to the Han Dynasty still called the Central Plains Qin people. The Han Dynasty lasted for more than 4 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 ethnic groups called the troops of the Han Dynasty "Han soldiers", the envoys of the Han Dynasty "Han envoys" and the people of the Han Dynasty "Han people". As a result, the name of the Han dynasty was called the name of the Chinese nation by other ethnic groups in the unprecedented frequent exchanges between the Han dynasty and the surrounding ethnic minorities, such as communicating with the western regions, conquering the Xiongnu, pingxi Qiang, recruiting North Korea, serving Southwest Yi, collecting Fujian and South Guangdong.

Extended information:

Formation and development of the Han nationality

In the history of social development of the Han nationality, the long feudal society is a prominent feature. Although the academic discussion on the stages of ancient society in China has been going on for almost half a century, there is still no completely consistent conclusion, but when Qin Shihuang unified China, he entered the feudal society, and he has basically got a unified understanding.

On the question of when the Han nationality was formed, there is a general view in academic circles that the Han nationality took Huaxia nationality in the pre-Qin period as the core, and formed into a unified nationality in the Qin and Han dynasties. By 184, it had experienced a development process of more than 2, years under the feudal monarchy system. From 184 to 1949, it achieved new development in the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle; After the founding of New China in 1949, it gradually developed into a socialist nation with the people of all ethnic groups in China. ?

in 221 BC, Qin Shihuang annexed six countries, and in the "great unification", the Chinese nation also moved from decentralization to unification. After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang adopted a series of measures to unify and stabilize the Chinese nation, such as promoting the county system, stipulating that "books are written in the same language", unifying currency, weights and measures, "cars are on the same track" and "traveling in the same way", and building the Great Wall. For the first time in the history of China, a unified autocratic centralized feudal state was established. Under the condition of national unity, the Han nationality has formed a unified nation.

after the unification of Qin dynasty, the ethnic names of Huaxia are still in use. However, the people who originally belonged to six countries in Shandong (east of Lushan Mountain) were both "leaders of Guizhou" in the Qin Dynasty. Although the state of Qin was short, the nationalities in the western regions (including present-day Xinjiang) and the Xiongnu to the Han Dynasty still called the Central Plains Qin people. The Han Dynasty lasted for more than 4 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 ethnic groups called the troops of the Han Dynasty "Han soldiers", the envoys of the Han Dynasty "Han envoys" and the people of the Han Dynasty "Han people". As a result, the name of the Han dynasty was called the name of the Chinese nation by other ethnic groups in the unprecedented frequent exchanges between the Han dynasty and the surrounding ethnic minorities, such as communicating with the western regions, conquering the Xiongnu, pingxi Qiang, recruiting North Korea, serving Southwest Yi, collecting Fujian and South Guangdong. In a word, the name of the Han nationality has been called since the Han Dynasty.

after the eastern Han dynasty, the central plains was in chaos, and the centralized feudal country was divided, with feudal separatist regimes and disputes and wars everywhere. In the midst of great division, melee and turmoil, various ethnic groups or tribes migrated everywhere, and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuwan, Di and Qiang from the north entered the Central Plains in succession, which was called "Five Wild Flowers" in history, and some barbarians from Jianghan area also poured into the Central Plains.

In the Central Plains, the Han people live in a mixed place with Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuwan, Di, Qiang and barbarians. And the Han people in the north moved southward in large numbers; Known in history as "the south crossing through the Yiguan", the Han nationality and the southern minorities or tribes such as barbarians, slang and Liao lived together in the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins. However, most of them have been assimilated by the Han nationality, lost their national characteristics and become a part of the Han nationality.

Baidu encyclopedia-Han nationality