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Han

Han

The Han (汉族, Hànzú) are the predominant civilizational group within the jianghu, whose cultural, social, and martial traditions originate from the Central Plains (中原, Zhōngyuán). Their identity is central to the social hierarchies and core conflicts of wuxia narratives.

Overview

Huaxia Ancestry

The origins of the Han people are traced to the Huaxia agricultural tribes of the Yellow River valley. Following the legendary wars of Banquan and Zhuolu, the tribes of the Yellow Emperor (黃帝, Huángdì) and Yan Emperor (炎帝, Yándì) merged, forming the Huaxia confederation, the progenitors of Chinese civilization. The name “Han” became solidified as an ethnic identifier following the long and influential Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), which established a cultural and political standard for the ages.

Southward Expansion

The Han demographic and cultural center of gravity shifted southward over centuries, driven by major upheavals such as the Uprising of the Five Barbarians and the fall of the Western Jin dynasty (4th century CE), the An Lushan Rebellion (8th century CE), and the Jingkang Incident and the wars with the Jin dynasty (12th century CE). These events triggered massive migrations (“衣冠南渡”, yì guān nán dù, “the garments and caps move south”) of Han nobility and commoners south of the Yangtze River, into regions like Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. There, they absorbed and Sinicized indigenous Baiyue populations, but maintained a distinct identity through classical language, Confucian rites, and detailed genealogies tracing their ancestry back to the Central Plains.

Names and Identity

  • Huaren (華人): Literally “People of Hua,” a term emphasizing shared cultural heritage, often used in a cultural rather than political sense.
  • Tangren (唐人): “People of Tang,” prevalent in southern China and among overseas communities, recalling the Tang dynasty, a golden age of Chinese culture and power.
  • Zhongyuan ren (中原人): A person from the Central Plains; in jianghu speech, this often implies a “culturally orthodox” Han.

Social Structure

Lineages and Surnames

Han identity is deeply tied to the patrilineal clan system, represented by the “Hundred Surnames.” Belonging to a lineage like the “Li of Longxi” or “Zhang of Qinghe” connected an individual to a specific place of origin and a shared history. Clan halls (祠堂, cítáng) maintained genealogical records, and ancestral worship was a cornerstone of social life.

The Wen-Wu Ideal

Han society valued both literary (文, wén) and martial (武, wǔ) arts. The same gentry lineages that produced scholar-officials for the imperial examinations also produced wandering knights (俠, xiá). Both groups were educated in the same classical texts, blurring the line between the Confucian scholar and the martial artist.

Dress and Appearance

Prior to the Manchu conquest and the imposition of the queue hairstyle in 1645, Han men typically wore their hair in a topknot and donned cross-collar robes (漢服, hànfú). Women wore styles like the ruqun (襦裙). In wuxia tales, a character’s attire—such as a Ming-style daopao (道袍)—could instantly mark them as a Han loyalist resisting foreign rule.

Jianghu Context

Han Orthodoxy in Martial Arts

The major orthodox martial arts schools of the jianghu—such as Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei—are presented as Han Chinese creations, their techniques flowing with “Central Plains qi” (中原氣). Styles from Tibet or the Western Regions might be respected but are often categorized as “foreign” (番, fān), maintaining the Hua-Yi distinction within the martial world.

A Motivating Force for Conflict

Following the Manchu-led Qing dynasty’s rise, Han identity became a powerful motivator for secret societies and loyalist movements. The slogan “Fan Qing Fu Ming” (反清復明, “Oppose the Qing, Restore the Ming”) was a rallying cry for countless heroes in wuxia stories, who fought for clan, justice, and the restoration of Han rule.

Behind the Scenes

Historical Foundation

The term “Han” as a unified ethnic identity evolved over centuries, crystallizing after the Han dynasty but used retrospectively by historians. Real-world institutions like clan systems, examination halls, and historical migration patterns provide the realistic backdrop that wuxia authors draw upon.

Literary Usage

Wuxia authors like Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng use “Han” as the default ethnic identity for their protagonists. Characters of Khitan, Jurchen, Mongol, or other ethnicities are defined in contrast to this Han norm, creating immediate cultural tension and narrative conflict.

Translation Notes

Early English translations often used “Chinese” for “汉人.” Modern translators, sensitive to the ethnic dynamics in stories involving conflict with non-Han groups (e.g., Mongols, Manchus), prefer “Han” or “Han people” to preserve the intended cultural and political distinctions.

See also