Zhonghua minzu (中華民族) is the pseudo-ethnic group introduced by Chinese nationalists to justify the integration of various ethnic groups. It includes not only the Han Chinese but the subjects of the former Qing Dynasty such as the Mongols and Tibetans.
The concept has been advocated by Chinese nationalists such as Sun Yat-sen and Liang Qichao since 1895. They planed to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and establish the Chinese nation state modelled after Japan. At the same time, they had territorial ambition for Outer China, where languages, religions, cultures and administration systems are completely different from the Han Chinese's. The concept of nation state would have dissolved the Empire into several different nations. To resolve the contradiction, the concept of Zhonghua minzu was introduced.
The concept of Zhonghua minzu has continued to be invoked and remains a powerful concept among Chinese nationalists into the twenty-first century.
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