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Minzu (anthropology)

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In China, the word minzu (Chinese: 民族; pinyin: mínzú) means a community that inherits culture (文化) or consanguinity (血缘). Depending on the context, the word has various meanings, such as "nation", "people", or "ethnicity". In modern Chinese languages, minzu has a stronger cultural meaning than ethnic meaning.[1][2]

Minzu-based nationalism is associated with nationalism in Northeast Asia and Vietnam, usually in the form of cultural or ethnic nationalism, in contrast to state nationalism.[3] Minzu-based nationalism in China and Taiwan is close to multi-ethnic nationalism.[4]

Etymology

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In Chinese, the term minzu has several meanings; it can be confused with concepts such as "zhǒngzú" (种族, lit. "race"), "guózú" (国族, lit. "nation"), "zúqún" (族群, lit. "ethnic group"). For example, 民族主义 (pinyin: mínzú zhǔyì, lit. "minzu-ism") means "nationalism", but 民族学 (pinyin: mínzú xué, lit. "minzu-study") means "ethnology".

The term "minzu" is found in Xiao Zixian's book 《南齐书·高逸传》 during the Liang dynasty ("今诸华士女, 民族弗革"), and in the book 《太白阴经》 during the Tang dynasty ("愚人得之, 以倾宗社, 灭民族"). However, these terms are closer to the meaning of "people" (民众) than they are to today.[5][6]

Minzu is a loanword from Japanese.[7]: 109  During the Meji period, Japanese translators rendered "nation", "ethnic group", and "Volk" into minzoku (Japanese: 民族) when translating European books, which was introduced to China.[8]

"Nationalism" or "Ethnic nationalism"

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The term 民族主義 has somewhat different meanings in China, Japan, and Korea:

  • In China, the term 民族 does not necessarily refer to a single ethnicity, and a distinction is made between 民族 (as "nation") and 族群 (as "ethnic group"). For these reasons, "nationalism", "ethnic nationalism", and "civic nationalism" are translated into Chinese as 民族主義, 族群民族主義, and 公民民族主義, respectively.[9]
  • In Japanese and Korean, the meaning of 民族 (Korean: 민족) as a single ethnicity is much stronger than in Chinese; the term 族群 is rarely used in Japan or Korea. Accordingly, the term 民族主義 (Korean: 민족주의) in both languages is strongly associated with "ethnic nationalism".[n 1] Consequently, the broader concept of "[civic] nationalism" is rendered in both languages using phonetic loanwords from English (Japanese: [市民]ナショナリズム; Korean: [시민] 내셔널리즘).[14][15][16][17]

Zhonghua minzu

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Before the 1911 Revolution, the members of the Chinese Revolutionary Party were hostile to the Qing dynasty ("Anti-Qing sentiment") and tried to build a nation-state around the Han Chinese; at this time the concept of Zhonghua minzu (中华民族 / 中華民族, zhōnghuá mínzú, lit. "Chinese nation") was about the same meaning with Han minzu (汉民族 / 漢民族, hàn mínzú, lit. "Han nation") or Hanzu (汉族 / 漢族, hànzú, "Han ethnic group").

After the 1911 Revolution, the concept of "Five Races Under One Union" was introduced, and later Zhonghua minzu united various ethnic groups in China. Today, Zhonghua minzu is concept is related to multi-ethnic nationalism, and therefore distinct from Han minzu or Hanzu.

Other countries

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民族 is not a word spoken only in China and Japan, and can be used in countries throughout Chinese cultural sphere where Chinese characters are spoken. The "dân tộc" in the Vietnamese language, and "민족" in the Korean language are 民族 and lexical cognates.[18]

In the modern Japanese language, minzoku (民族) is mainly used to express "ethnic group", instead "nation" is translated into kokumin (国民).[19]

National symbolism

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In many Northeast Asian countries, 民族 is often related to official national symbol as well.

The word appears in People's Republic of China's official national anthem ("March of the Volunteers"), Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army, and the National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China (Taiwan). In South Korea, the word was used in the Pledge of Allegiance until 2007.

National liberation movements

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民族, 国民, and 国族 all mean "nation". Among them, 民族 is often used to describe anti-imperialist left-wing nationalism centered on ethnic identity, especially stateless nationalism; 国民 or 国族, means "nation", which can be established only on the premise of 'state' (国/國), so in Northeast Asia, when it comes to words like "national self-determination" (民族自決, mínzú zìjué) and "national liberation" (民族解放, mínzú jiěfàng), the word "nation[nal]" translates to the 民族, not the 国民 or 国族. Because of this, in Northeast Asia, 'minzu-based nationalism' (民族主義) and 'state-based nationalism' (国族主義, 国民主義 or 国家主義) are applied in different contexts.[20]

From the 1930s to 1945, the Japanese imperialists proclaimed the idea of "national liberation" (民族解放, minzu jiefang) and "national self-determination" (民族自決, minzu zijue) to encourage the separation of Northeast China and North China from the rest of the country. This is also related to local ethnic nationalism; minzu may mean "nation" but may also mean "ethnic group".[21]

In postwar Japan, liberal nationalists like Masao Maruyama emphasized "国民主義" (kokumin shugi, lit. "state-based nationalism" or "civic nationalism"[22]) while left-wing nationalists who supported Marxism and anti-imperialism emphasized "民族主義" (minzoku shugi, lit. "ethnic nationalism").[23]

Today, in South Korea, left-liberals tend to value minjok (the Korean ethnicity) over the North–South ideological and political divide. In a broader sense, left-liberals embrace "ethnic nationalism" (民族主義, Korean: 민족주의); the notion that sharing the same bloodline is superior to temporary national partition. Conservatives on the other hand support "regime-based nationalism" (國民主義 or 國家主義, Korean: 국민주의 or 국가주의), which puts emphasis on being South Korean and stresses the differences in social and political values between the two Koreas.[24][25] In 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un officially declared that North Korea was abandoning reunification as a goal. In January 2024, he said that "independence, peace, and solidarity on the basis of minjok [must] henceforth be erased from the [North Korean] constitution", adding that "the very concepts of unification, reconciliation, and a shared [Korean] minjok must be eliminated".[26] According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, minjok-based nationalism has been decreasing among younger generations of South Koreans, who have taken more in pride from the country's democratic system, technological innovation, and cultural soft power.[27]

Hong Kong nationalists reject the concept of "Chinese minzu" (中華民族) and define themselves as "Hong Konger minzu" (香港民族). "Hong Kong [ethnic] nationalism" (民族主義 or 香港民族主義) is often opposed to Chinese state nationalism (國家主義 or 中國國家主義),[28] because many Chinese state nationalists support reducing Hong Kong's autonomy.[29] During Taiwan's KMT one-party dictatorship, the Kuomintang (KMT) defended Chinese state nationalism, in opposition to which liberal/progressives, including the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), defended Taiwanese-based liberal ethno-nationalism (emphasizing Hoklo-Identity and local-centered nativism);[30][31] moderate Taiwanese [ethnic] nationalism has an impact on Taiwanese politics even after democratization.[30]

When modern Vietnamese nationalism was emerging during the French Indochina period, "nation" was defined as both dân tộc (民族) and quốc dân (國民). Dân tộc was commonly used across all political strands, including among far-left circles such as the Indochinese Communist Party and the Trotskyists. Quốc dân was also employed in nationalist discourses, from centre-left to right-wing, such as Việt-Nam Quốc-dân Đảng, Tự-lực Văn-đoàn, and Đại-Việt Quốc-dân Đảng, signifying the civic role and participation of the populace in nation-building. Since the 1930s, another term, quốc gia (國家),[32] also gained popularity, as seen in names like Đại-Việt Quốc-gia Liên-minh, Việt-Nam Quốc-gia Độc-lập Đảng, and Mặt-trận Quốc-gia Liên-hiệp.[33][34]

In the early years of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), the term quốc dân was also used to appeal to a broader audience. Subsequently, the national communists (the DRV, the Viet Minh, and the Viet Cong) settled on the term dân tộc, while the anticommunist nationalists (the attentistes, the State of Vietnam and, later, the Republic of Vietnam) aligned themselves with the term quốc gia. The term chủ nghĩa quốc gia thus came to refer exclusively to anticommunist nationalism.[35] Additionally, in matters concerning ethnic minorities, North Vietnam adopted the same term dân tộc (民族), whereas South Vietnam preferred sắc tộc (色族) to denote ethnicity.[33][34][36]

Racial pride

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Some Northeast Asia's nationalists value the 'blood purity' when defining 民族, showing racial nationalism.[37] Yamato nationalism during Empire of Japan, and today's North Korea's Juche are linked to racial nationalism.[38]

According to some scholars, Northeast Asia's "nationalism" (民族主義) has right Hegelians and 19th century notions of blood and soil.[39][n 2]

Three Principles of the People

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"Mínzú" (民族, nationalism) is a core principle of the Three Principles of the People, along with "Mínquán" (民權, democracy) and "Mínshēng" (民生, socialism).

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ In postwar Japan, 民族主義 (minzokushugi) has primarily denoted "ethnic nationalism". In contrast, in Korean, 민족주의 (minjokjuui) serves as the general term for "nationalism" in a broad sense, while also carrying strong "ethnic nationalism" connotations depending on the context.[10][11][12][13]
  2. ↑ In Northeast Asia, "Nationalism" is often translated into 民族主義, but there are criticisms that it should be translated into 國民主義 because it is mistranslation;[40][41] in pre-modern Chinese language (including Japan's Kanji and Korea's Hanja), 族 also means an lineage or clan.[42]

References

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  1. ↑ "民族 (mínzú)". MDBG English to Chinese Dictionary. Retrieved 8 October 2026. nationality; ethnic group
  2. ↑ 민족 (民族). National Institute of Korean Language's: Korean-English Learners' Dictionary (in Korean). Retrieved 14 February 2024. people; ethnic group
  3. ↑ Hankwon Kim (2022). Cultural and State Nationalism: South Korean and Japanese Relations with China. American University.
  4. ↑ Gunter Schubert; Jens Damm (2012). Taiwanese Identity in the 21st Century: Domestic, Regional and Global Perspectives. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 270. In the multi-ethnic nationalism approach, the Taiwanese nation is conceptualized as a harmonious, democratic and ...
  5. ↑ 邸永君. “民族”一词见于《南齐书》. 民族研究. 2004, (3): 98–99.
  6. ↑ 茹莹. 汉语"民族"一词在我国的最早出现. 世界民族. 2001, (6): 1.
  7. ↑ Qian, Ying (2024). Revolutionary Becomings: Documentary Media in Twentieth-Century China. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231204477.
  8. ↑ Shiyuan Hao (30 November 2015). How the Communist Party of China Manages the Issue of Nationality: An Evolving Topic. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 39. ISBN 978-3-662-48462-3. ... minzu to translate the German word volk and the English words ethnos and nation. After the Japanese philosopher Enryou Inoue founded the magazine Nihonjin in 1888, the term minzu became widely used in Japan and influenced the whole news ...
  9. ↑ 族群與社會 [Ethnic groups and Society]. 五南圖書出版公司. 2006. p. 80–81. 「民族」是目前最常用的中文辭彙之一(#),另一個中文辭彙「族群」則是近年來才開始出現在學術文獻中,前者的對應英文辭彙應當為 nation,後者 所對應的英文辭彙則是 ethnic group (或ethnicity)。當我們同時使用「中華民 族」與五十六個「民族」的提法時,因為前者包含了後者,實際上是把兩個層 面上的東西用同一個辭彙來表述,混淆了兩者之間在概念層次上的差別。 [Minzu (民族) is one of the most commonly used Chinese terms, whereas zuqun (族群) has only recently emerged in academic literature. The former corresponds to the English term 'nation', while the latter corresponds to 'ethnic group' (or 'ethnicity'). When using the terms Zhonghua minzu (中华民族) and the fifty-six minzu simultaneously, the former encompasses the latter. Using a single term to express both levels conflates two conceptually distinct ideas.]
  10. ↑ '시민민족주의'가 답이다 ['Civic nationalism' is the answer.]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 17 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  11. ↑ 인종·언어·영토, 민족 구성 요건 아니다: 에르네스트 르낭 《민족이란 무엇인가》 [Race, language, and territory are not the constituent requirements of the nation: Ernest Renan "What Is a Nation?"]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). 7 March 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2024. 르낭은 "공동체 삶을 지속하려는 욕구, 각자가 받은 유산을 발전시키고자 하는 의지가 중요하고, 이런 것이 존중될 때 '열린 민족주의'가 된다"고 강조했다.
  12. ↑ 민족주의 (民族主義) [Nationalism]. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 15 August 2024. 'nation'과 'nationalism'의 번역어는 국민과 국민주의, 국가와 국가주의, 민족과 민족주의 등 다양할 수 있는데 이 중에서 민족과 민족주의가 지배적 번역어로 채택된 사정은 한국의 식민화 과정과 밀접하게 관련되는 것이었다. [The translations of 'nation' or 'nationalism' can be diverse, including 국가 or 국가주의, 국민 or 국민주의, and 민족 or 민족주의, the situation in which 민족 or 민족주의 were adopted as the dominant translation language was closely related to the colonization process of Korea.]
  13. ↑ 민족주의 (民族主義). National Institute of Korean Language's: Korean-English Learners' Dictionary (in Korean). Retrieved 15 August 2024. nationalism
  14. ↑ 民族主義 Eijirō. "民族主義: ethnic nationalism"
  15. ↑ 이제봉 (2012). 한국의 민족주의와 다문화주의 [Ethnic Nationalism and Multiculturalism in Korea]. vol.5, no.1, pp. 199-215 (17 pages)
  16. ↑ Nakano, Kotaro. "アメリカ市民ナショナリズムの変容―1970年代における社会再編の歴史学的分析" [Transformation of American Civic Nationalism: Historical Analysis of Social Restructuring in the 1970s]. CiNii (in Japanese). KAKEN (JSPS). Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "영국의 '영국적 가치' 교육의 맥락과 논쟁: 시민 내셔널리즘 혹은 인종 제국주의?" [Context of and Controversy over ‘British Values’ Education: Is it Civic Nationalism or Racial Imperialism?]. DBpia (in Korean). 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Lydia H. Liu (1995). Translingual Practice: Literature, National Culture, and Translated Modernity-China, 1900-1937. Stanford University Press. pp. 285–289.
  19. ↑ Kevin M. Doak (2007). A History of Nationalism in Modern Japan: Placing the People. Brill. pp. 1–15.
  20. ↑ John Fitzgerald (1996). Awakening China: Politics, Culture, and Class in the Nationalist Revolution. Stanford University Press. pp. 120–145.
  21. ↑ Wei Wang; Lisong Jiang (July 19, 2021). Ethnic Identity of the Kam People in Contemporary China: Government Versus Local Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-000-41288-8.
  22. ↑ Andrea Castiglioni; Carina Roth; Fabio Rambelli (12 November 2020). Defining Shugendo: Critical Studies on Japanese Mountain Religion. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-17941-7. ... civic nationalism (kokuminshugi 国民主義) in an attempt to forcibly construct the identity of Japanese society (Hayashi 2010: 34). ...
  23. ↑ Gayle, Curtis Anderson (2003-08-29). Marxist History and Postwar Japanese Nationalism. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203217771. ISBN 978-1-134-43159-5.
  24. ↑ Cloudy forecast for Moon’s ‘Sunshine Policy 2.0’ Archived 31 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine East Asia Forum (2017. 07. 20). "In South Korean politics, liberal political parties often support a policy of engagement with North Korea. This is because left-wing politicians tend to value miunjok (the Korean race) over the North–South ideological and political divide. In a broader sense, liberals embrace ethno-nationalism; the notion that sharing the same bloodline is superior to temporary national partition. Conservatives on the other hand support regime-based nationalism, which puts emphasis on being South Korean and stresses the differences in social and political values between the two Koreas."
  25. ↑ Myers, Brian Reynolds (December 28, 2016). "Still the Unloved Republic". Sthele Press. Retrieved June 26, 2019. ... Someone who is asked by a pollster whether he is prouder of the Taehan minguk or of the minjok therefore knows which answer is better, more progressive-sounding. In all likelihood he is not prouder of the republic than of his Koreanness. One should be wary of polls on this issue that were not conducted precisely and clearly.
  26. ↑ Lee, Kwangbaek; Adams, Rose (2 September 2024). "Kim Jong Un Abandoned Unification. What Do North Koreans Think?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  27. ↑ Draudt-Véjares, Darcie (2025-05-29). "The Transformation of South Korean Progressive Foreign Policy". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  28. ↑ Daniel Cetrà; Coree Brown Swan (2022). State and Majority Nationalism in Plurinational States. Taylor & Francis. p. 135. ... Hong Kong nationalism, or at least opposition to Chinese state nationalism.
  29. ↑ Chang, Che (1 December 2020). "The Nazi Inspiring China's Communists". The Atlantic.
  30. 1 2 Drover, Glenn; Graham Johnson; Julia Lai Po-Wah Tao (2001). Regionalism and Subregionalism in East Asia: The Dynamics of China. Nova Science. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-56072-872-6. In response to the rise of 'liberal ethno-nationalism' and the DPP, it has increasingly promoted the discourse and practices of a 'Taiwanized' KMT.
  31. ↑ Brasnett, Jonathan (17 March 2022). "POLITICS AND CULTURAL NATIVISM IN 1970s TAIWAN: Youth, Narrative, Nationalism". Pacific Affairs (UBC Journal). University of Ottawa. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  32. ↑ "Lá cờ vàng: Tinh thần của tổ quốc; Biểu hiệu của quốc gia" [The yellow flag: Spirit of the fatherland; Symbol of the country-nation]. Tràng An báo (in Vietnamese). No. 243. Huế. 3 August 1937. p. 1.
  33. 1 2 Christopher E. Goscha (2012). Thailand and the Southeast Asian Networks of the Vietnamese Revolution, 1885-1954. Routledge. pp. 32–35.
  34. 1 2 Mark Philip Bradley (2000). Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919-1950. UNC Press Books. pp. 58–62.
  35. ↑ Tran, Nu-Anh (2023). "Denouncing the 'Việt Cộng': Tales of revolution and betrayal in the Republic of Vietnam". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 53 (4): 694. doi:10.1017/S0022463422000790.
  36. ↑ Shawn Frederick McHale (2004). Print and Power: Confucianism, Communism, and Buddhism in the Making of Modern Vietnam. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 150–165.
  37. ↑ Ko-wu Huang, Max (15 March 2008). The Meaning of Freedom: Yan Fu and Origins of Chinese Liberalism. Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. p. 97. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1x0kc5b. ISBN 978-962-996-278-4. JSTOR j.ctv1x0kc5b. S2CID 261749245. ... racial nationalism (minzu zhuyi 民族主義) was characteristic of any race, but he asked: "Will racial nationalism strengthen our race? In my opinion, it definitely will not."...
  38. ↑ B. R. Myers (2010). The Cleanest Race.
  39. ↑ Kelly, Robert E. (24 May 2010). "More on Asian Multiculturalism: 5 Masters Theses to be Written". Retrieved 10 February 2024. Northeast Asians (NEA – Chinese, Koreans, Japanese) strike me as quite nationalistic, and nationalism up here is still tied up in right-Hegelian, 19th century notions of blood and soil.
  40. ↑ "藍弋丰／歐陽娜娜聽四川話長大？歐陽家的根到底打哪來" [Lan I-feng / Did Ouyang Nana Grow Up Listening to Sichuanese? Where Do the Ouyang Family's Roots Really Lie?]. ETtoday新聞雲 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 25 July 2026. 民族主義的英文，正確的翻譯應是國民主義，當初日本學者自歐洲引進此一名詞時，認為以國民為身份認同，有別於傳統以宗族為認同，是以國民為新的族群認同，所以漢字下為「民」「族」，國民主義就成了「民族主義」。 [Translating 'nationalism' as 民族主義 (minzuzhuyi; lit. people-tribe-ism) is technically a misnomer; it should properly be translated as 國民主義 (guominzhuyi; lit. state-people-ism). When Japanese scholars first imported the term from Europe, they viewed identity based on the citizenry (kokumin / 國民) as distinct from traditional clan-based identities, establishing a new group identity rooted in the nation-state's people. By combining the characters for 'people' (民) and 'clan/tribe' (族), the concept of guominzhuyi (國民主義) ultimately became translated into Chinese characters as minzuzhuyi (民族主義, today commonly rendered as 'nationalism').]
  41. ↑ 진태원 / Tae-Won Jin (2011). 어떤 상상의 공동체? 민족, 국민 그리고 그 너머 [Which Imagined Community? Ethnie, Nation and Beyond]. vol., no.96, pp. 169-201 (33 pages) "셋째, 이러한 이해에 기초할 때 내셔널리즘을 민족주의로 번역하고 이해하는 것 역시 문제가 있으며, 내셔널리즘은 오히려 국민주의로 번역하는 것이 더 좋다고 생각한다." [Third, if we understand the modern nation like it, nationalism as an organic ideology of the nation should be translated as Kukminjuyi rather than Minjokjuyi.]
  42. ↑ Contributions to Southeast Asian Ethnography: Issue 9. Board of Editors, Contributions to Southeast Asian Ethnography. 1990. p. 67.
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