Most of the people in China identify as Han Chinese. This is an ethnicity that binds people together with common history, language, and culture. There are regional and religious differences among the Han, and they are a minority in the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, but the Han identity seems strong and meaningful among the people I met and the places I visited. There are almost one and a half billion people in Mainland China, and 90% of them are Han. Everyone is Han Chinese.
I spoke with the principal at Huaxin Primary School in Jiangbei, Chongqing on Monday after we returned from Chengdu. They had a big lunch for me and other educational leaders during the talk/workshop that we did there. Remind me to tell you about that lunch. It was quite a scene, man. I asked the principal about ethnic minorities in the school. She told me that there were occasionally Thai or Malaysian students, or students with Western parents—expats or temporary workers, but even they were a very small fraction. Minority groups in China, such as Tibetans, Mongols, and Tatars, are mostly in their ancestral regions, and so there are very few in parts of Southwest China I visited and at Huaxin Primary School.
The Han trace their ancestry from the Huaxia people who lived along the Yellow River.
The name comes from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 BCE), a relatively long-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, and one under which art and music developed abundantly and there was significant expansion of influence.
After the fall of the dynasty, this native population began to be referred to as “the people of Han” to separate them from steppe nomads. They generally have ruled China since the Han dynasty, as areas of China underwent “sinicization”. You like that? I just learned that word doing some background research for this blog. It’s the process by which other cultures are assimilated into Han Chinese state, society, culture, and language.
Really the only period in which another people ruled all of China was during the time of the Mongols. The Mongol ruler Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty in 1271, which is about the time Marco Polo purportedly visited him. The Mongols ruled all of China from 1279-1368. Incidentally, Marco Polo described visiting Chengdu on his travels.
That last morning in Chengdu, Rachel, Li Qin and I visited the Wuhou Shrine, the Temple of 
the Marquis Wuhou, (武侯祠 ). It is a set of temples, statues, and gardens dedicated t Liu Bei (161-223),
Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period, and Zhuge Liang (181-234), prime minister of the kingdom. It was supposedly begun around 1,800 years ago when Liu Bei’s mausoleum was first built in 223 AD. The modern site mostly dates from the early Ming dynasty (17th century).
I don’t feel like I have the same kind of deep history as my Chinese friends. If you are Chinese and you live in China you
have
this deep, shared identity that is connected also to the land. It must be like belonging to one large family that has continued to inhabit the same homestead. I was surprised to learn from my young Chinese friends that most of them don’t know anything about their families beyond their grandparents. Maybe this is just because they’re young and they don’t have that yearning yet to “Know Where I Come From”. Or maybe they do know where they come from. They come from China. They come from the Han. Maybe if you Know Where You Come From it’s not as important to find out more.
It’s surprising because the Chinese people I met also have a deep reverence for, and a deep connection to their grandparents. Kitty’s mother lives with her family and takes care of Xiǎo hétáo (Little Walnut) when Kitty needs to work. Kitty was also close to her grandparents, and I discovered that her English name doesn’t only derive from her love of Hello Kitty. Apparently, her grandfather called her Xiǎo māo (little cat—kitty), playing off of her name Xiaowei (which Rachel claims means “little special one” – Kitty scoffed at that and I can’t find easy translational confirmation for it. Wei has many possible meanings, and it could mean gorgeous. Don’t miss my post on Chinese language!)
I should add that after the Wuhou Shrine Rachel, Li Qin, and I went to the loveliest place for lunch, which we all decided was our favorite so far. After that we took the train back to Beibei. The next morning was my talk and workshop at Huaxin, and we had to get moving bright and early for the hour long taxi ride to Jiangbei.
Darwin's Apostle 