Talk:Chinese (Age of Empires II)/@comment-192.214.230.49-20161013232614/@comment-46.21.221.148-20170415083902

Hm, I think you're talking about the concept of Chong Hua (a initial merge of five major cultures of former Qing dynasty: Han, Manchu, Mongols, Muslims (more a culture), and Tibetians, under influence of Western nationalism and many factors). I think the concept of Han has already been there (though true that it has not really developed when compared to early Republican times) at least as early since the Song dynasty and the Yuan dynasty, when the Middle Kingdom has to compete with her neighbors and faced colonization. As far as I can recall, within the realm of the Yuan dynasty ran by the Mongols, the Han people are considered the third tier.

The fact that compulsory hair-shaving and forced "Manchufication" (if that is a word) only further fortifies the acknowledgement of the differences between the ruling class of the Manchu and the lower class Han people. The concept of Han has never truly been based on genetics but rather acknowledging a certain form of traditions and way of life which has define the backbone of the culture.