作为国族的中华民族何时形成

On the Formation Time of the Chinese Identity as the State Ethnicity

族群、民族和国族是三个不同的概念,长期以来学术界不自觉地将它们混淆,遂形成了关于中华民族何时形成的种种争议。汉民族只是多元一体的国族中"多元"中的一元,绝非中华民族"一体"本身。无论从概念的严谨性、还是历史的真实性而言,国族意义上的中华民族皆不可能出现于近代之前,作为民族的汉民族与作为国族的中华民族,既要看到二者之间的历史关联,又要尊重中华民族这一国族中其他民族和族群的历史存在与文化尊严。

Ethnic groups , nationalities and state ethnicities are three separate concepts , yet for a long time they have been confused and made synonymous , thus creating much debate on when and how the Chinese nation came into being.The Han nationality is only one of the multitude of nationalities that make up China , and can by no means represent China in its entirety.Whether approaching the question conceptually or historically , one can not say that the Chinese nation , in the sense of a unified ethnic plurality , existed before the modern times.When considering the Chinese identity as a whole and its relationship to the dominant Han nationality , we must not only look at their historical relationship but also the role of all the ethnic minorities.