Undistinguished ethnic groups in China
Encyclopedia
Several ethnic groups of the People's Republic of China
are not officially recognized. Taken together, these groups (未识别民族 wèi shíbié mínzú) number more than 730,000 people; if considered a single group, they would constitute the twentieth most populous ethnic group of China. There are in addition small distinct ethnic groups that have been classified as part of larger ethnic groups that are officially recognized.
Completely unrecognized ethnic groups include:
Ethnic groups that have been subsumed under the official list of 56 recognized ethnic groups:
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
are not officially recognized. Taken together, these groups (未识别民族 wèi shíbié mínzú) number more than 730,000 people; if considered a single group, they would constitute the twentieth most populous ethnic group of China. There are in addition small distinct ethnic groups that have been classified as part of larger ethnic groups that are officially recognized.
Completely unrecognized ethnic groups include:
- Bajia (八甲人)
- Lai (萊人)
- DengDeng (ethnic group)The Deng is an ethnic group that is not officially recognised by the government of People's Republic of China.They are also known as the Dengba....
(僜人) - GejiaGejiaThe Gejia is an ethnic group found in Guizhou province, southwestern China. They are officially classified as a part of the Miao ethnicity not all Gejia self-identify as such ....
(革家人) - KhmuKhmu peopleThe Khmu is one of the largest ethnic groups based in northern Laos. They can also be found in Burma, southwest China , Thailand, and Vietnam, where they are an officially recognized ethnic group...
(克木人) - MacaneseMacanese peopleThe Macanese-born Portuguese people or simply the Macanese people refer to an ethnic group which originated in Macau since the 16th century, consisting mostly of people with some Portuguese ancestry.-Culture:...
(土生葡人, people of mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry in MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
; EurasianEurasiaEurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
s) - MangMang peopleThe Mang are an ethnic group living primarily in Vietnam, where they are one of that nation's 54 officially recognized ethnic groups. There are also about 500 Mang living in the Yunnan province of southern China, where they are officially termed an undistinguished nationality.The Mang language is...
(芒人) - JewsHistory of the Jews in ChinaJews and Judaism in China have had a long history. Jewish settlers are documented in China as early as the 7th or 8th century CE, but may have arrived during the mid Han Dynasty, or even as early as 231 BCE. Relatively isolated communities developed through the Tang and Song Dynasties Jews and...
(犹太, Youtai) - EurasianEurasiaEurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
s in Hong Kong - Yamato JapaneseYamato peopleis a name for the dominant native ethnic group of Japan. It is a term that came to be used around the late 19th century to distinguish the residents of the mainland Japan from other minority ethnic groups who have resided in the peripheral areas of Japan, such as the Ainu, Ryukyuan, Nivkh, Ulta, as...
(大和民族) in Dalian - RyukyuansRyukyuansThe are the indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands between the islands of Kyūshū and Taiwan. The generally recognized subgroups of Ryukyuans are Amamians, Okinawans, Miyakoans, Yaeyamans, and Yonagunians. Geographically, they live in either Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture...
(琉球民族) in Taiwan
Ethnic groups that have been subsumed under the official list of 56 recognized ethnic groups:
- Akha people - officially a branch of Hani peopleHani peoplethumb|Typical daily attire of ethnic Hani in China. Near [[Yuanyang County, Yunnan|Yuanyang]], [[Yunnan]] Province, [[China]] The Hani people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 nationalities officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They also form one of the 54 officially...
- Aynu/Ani of ChinaÄynu peopleThe Äynu are a people native to the Xinjiang region of western China. There are estimated to be fewer than 30,000 Äynu, mostly located on the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert.- Origins :...
- officially classified as UyghursUyghur peopleThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China... - ChuanqingChuanqingThe Chuanqing people are members of the Subgroups of Han Chinese. They are said to be descended from Han Chinese soldiers who were sent to Guizhou area in the eighth and ninth centuries to quell Miao rebellions. The Chuanqings view themselves as a distinct people group. Most of them live in Anshun...
- officially classified as Han ChineseHan ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the... - DolanDolan peopleDolan refers to a people or region of what is now Xinjiang Province, China. People who call themselves Dolan can be found in the Yarkand River valley, the Tarim River valley and the Lop Nur region of present-day Xinjiang...
- officially classified as UyghursUyghur peopleThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China... - KucongKucongThe Kucong is an ethnic group in China.It is one of the poorest minorities in China.The people are considered as invisible people as they seldom let traders see them when they sell their wares to buy some necessities...
(苦聪人) - officially classified as LahuLahu peopleThe Lahu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their... - Hui'an maidensHui'an maidensHui'an maidens or Hui'an women are a group of women residing in Hui'an County of Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. They are Han Chinese, but trace their origins to the ancient Minyue people more than two thousand years ago...
- officially classified as Han ChineseHan ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the... - MosuoMosuoKnown to many as the Mosuo , but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet...
(摩梭人) - officially classified as NaxiNakhiThe Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China.... - Shan (掸族) - some classified as Buyi, others as Zhuang, and still others as undistinguished
- SherpaSherpa peopleThe Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...
(夏尔巴人), officially classified as TibetanTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
s - Tibetan MuslimsTibetan MuslimsThe Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee , form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are classified as Tibetans, unlike the Hui Muslims, who are also known as the Kyangsha or Gya Kachee...
- officially classified as TibetanTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
s, also known as the Kachee - TuvansTuvansTuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...
(图瓦人) - officially classified as MongolEthnic Mongols in ChinaMongols in China are citizens of the People's Republic of China who are ethnic Mongols. They form one of the 55 ethnic minorities officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. There are approximately 5.8 million ethnic Mongols living in China. Most of them live in Inner Mongolia,... - TankaTanka (ethnic group)The Tankas or Boat people is a special group of people in Southern China that has traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Hong Kong and Macau...
- officially classified as Han ChineseHan ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the... - Utsul - officially classified as HuiHui peopleThe Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
, though they have more in common with Malays and other Austronesian peoples. - Ben people (本人) KhitanKhitan peoplethumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
adherents in ShidianShidian CountyShidian County is located in Baoshan, Yunnan, China.Its seat is the large community Dianyang .-External links:**...
, YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
. They're not Daur people. Still use the otherwise extinct Khitan scriptKhitan scriptKhitan scripts may refer to one of two mutually exclusive scripts used by the Khitan people during the 10th-12th centuries:*Khitan small script – invented in about 924 or 925 CE by a scholar named Diela...
in their cemeteries, officially classified as Han Chinese.