Chinese people

The term Zhōngguó zhī rén (Chinese: 中國之人; lit. 'people of China'; Manchu: ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ
ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ‍ᡳ
ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ, romanized: Dulimbai gurun-i niyalma) was used by the Qing government to refer to all traditionally native subjects of the empire, including Han, Manchu, and Mongols.^[9] In modern Chinese, there is a distinction between Huaren and Zhongguoren. The former term refers to ethnic Chinese, and is often used for those who reside overseas or those who are non-citizens. The latter term refers to people who have lived in China or are Chinese citizens.^[10][11][12] The term Zhongguoren has a more political or ideological aspect in its use, and while many in China may use Zhongguoren to mean the Chinese ethnicity, some in Taiwan would refuse to be called Zhongguoren.^[13]

People from Taiwan, which is officially called the Republic of China (ROC), may also be referred to as "Chinese" in various contexts, though they are usually referred to as "Taiwanese". The territory of Taiwan is disputed and the ROC has limited recognition of its sovereignty.

A number of ethnic groups as well as other racial minorities of China are referred to as Chinese people.^[14] Zhonghua minzu (Chinese: 中华民族), the "Chinese nation", is a supra-ethnic concept which includes all 56 ethnic groups living in China that are officially recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. It includes established ethnic groups who have lived within the borders of premodern China.^[15] The term zhonghua minzu was used during the Republic of China from 1911 to 1949 to refer to five primary ethnic groups^[a] in China.^[16] The term zhongguo renmin (Chinese: 中国人民), "Chinese people", was the government's preferred term during the early communist era; zhonghua minzu is more common in recent decades.^[17]