Editing Han Chinese (section)

==== Three Kingdoms to Jin ====
{{Main|Three Kingdoms|Sixteen Kingdoms|Northern and Southern dynasties|Sui dynasty|Tang dynasty}}
[[File:China, 742.svg|upright=1.45|thumb|Map of [[:File:Tang Dynasty circa 700 CE.png|Tang Empire]] in 742, showing the [[Administrative divisions of the Tang dynasty|major provinces]] of the empire|alt=]]
The fall of the Han dynasty was followed by an age of fragmentation and several centuries of disunity amid warfare among rival kingdoms. There was a brief period of prosperity under the native Han Chinese dynasty known as the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin]] (266–420 BC), although protracted struggles within the ruling house of Sima (司馬) sparked off a protracted period of fragmentation, rebellion by immigrant tribes that served as slaves and indentured servants, and extended non-native rule.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

'''Non-native rule'''

{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}

[[File:晋太保建昌公谢安.jpg|thumb|[[Xie An]], who led the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] army defeated the [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]] (one of the [[Five Barbarians]]) ruled [[Former Qin]] army in the [[Battle of Feishui]] was honoured in the [[Wu Shuang Pu|Table of Peerless Heroes]].]]

During this time, areas of northern China were overrun by various [[Five Barbarians|non-Han nomadic peoples]], which came to establish kingdoms of their own, the most successful of which was the [[Northern Wei]] established by the [[Xianbei]]. From this period, the native population of China proper was referred to as Hanren, or the "People of Han" to distinguish them from the nomads from the steppe. Warfare and invasion led to one of the first great migrations of Han populations in history, as they fled south to the [[Yangtze|Yangzi]] and beyond, shifting the Chinese demographic center and speeding up sinicization of the far south. At the same time, most of the nomads in northern China came to be sinicized as they ruled over large Chinese populations and adopted elements of their culture and administration. Of note, the Xianbei rulers of Northern Wei ordered a policy of systematic sinicization, [[Change of Xianbei names to Han names|adopting Han surnames]], institutions, and culture, so the Xianbei became Han Chinese.

'''Sui and Tang'''[[File:Figures in a cortege, tomb of Li Xian, Tang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|252x252px|<small>Cortege of Emperor Li Xian, Emperor of the Tang</small>]]Han Chinese rule resumed during the Sui and Tang dynasties, led by the Han Chinese families of the Yang (杨) and Li (李) surnames respectively. Both the Sui and Tang dynasties are seen as high points of Han Chinese civilization. These dynasties both emphasized their aristocratic Han Chinese pedigree and enforced the restoration of Central Plains culture, even the founders of both dynasties had already intermarried with non-Han or partly-Han women from the Dugu and Yuwen families.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties saw continuing emigration from the Central Plains to the south-eastern coast of what is now China proper, including the provinces of [[Fujian]], [[Guangdong]], and [[Hainan]]. This was especially true in the latter part of the Tang era and the Five Dynasties period that followed; the relative stability of the south coast made it an attractive destination for refugees fleeing continual warfare and turmoil in the north.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}