Han chauvinism (Chinese: 汉沙文主义, 漢沙文主義, Hàn shāwénzhǔyì) is a term coined by Mao Zedong in 1956 to criticize sinocentrism and Han ethnocentrism. In his speech, titled Ten Major Relations, Mao stated that "on the relationship between the Han nationality and the minority nationalities.... we put the emphasis on opposing Han chauvinism." This notion is part of the People's Republic of China's zhonghua minzu ideology, which conceives that China is a multi-ethnic nation, both historically and in the present, consisting of 56 ethnic minorities. This is expressed in the constitution of the People's Republic of China, which states that China is a "unitary multinational state created jointly by the people of all its nationalities" and that "it is necessary to combat big nation chauvinism, mainly Han chauvinism, and to combat local national chauvinism."
The PRC's notions of Han chauvinism and China as a "multinational state" have been subject to criticism. One critical view is that the Han Chinese "are less homogeneous than official policy recognizes." Zhonghua minzu has been criticized as an invention of the 20th century, and was only adopted by the Communist Party to criticize the failures of the rival Kuomintang, which officially promoted zhonghua minzu as part of its nationalist ideology, but was unable to implement successful reforms that benefited minorities.
It is sometimes also known as Hanism ( 汉本位, 漢本位, Hàn běnwèi), or Greater Han nationalism ( 大汉族主义, 大漢族主義, Dàhànzúzhǔyì).
The term is used widely in mainland China, but not in the West, where Han ethnocentrism is referred to as Sinocentrism.
Read more about Han Chauvinism: Ancient History, Modern History
Famous quotes containing the words han and/or chauvinism:
“men may wel often finde
A lordes sone do shame and vileinye;
And he that wol han prys of his gentrye
For he was boren of a gentil hous,”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“Is it impossible not to wonder why a movement which professes concern for the fate of all women has dealt so unkindly, contemptuously, so destructively, with so significant a portion of its sisterhood. Can it be that those who would reorder society perceive as the greater threat not the chauvinism of men or the pernicious attitudes of our culture, but rather the impulse to mother within women themselves?”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)