The ethnic minorities have a great revolutionary tradition, having made significant contributions in the struggle against oppression under various dynasties, and in the struggle against foreign imperialism and colonialism.

      In the late Qin Dynasty (A.D. 265-316) in southern China, the Man people took part in the anti-Qin struggle led by Liu Bang. The Eastern Han Dynasty saw a succession of massive uprisings among the Qiangs in a struggle to fight the feudal ruling class. The great peasant uprising of the Yellow Turban at the close of the Eastern Han Dynasty included "several thousand mounted Xiongnu soldiers."     

      As a protest against Western Jin rule uprisings of the Xiongnu, Jie, Di and Qiang peoples were led by Hao San, a Xiongnu, and Qi Wannian, of Di origin; the Man and Han people in Jingzhou rose under the standard of Li Chang, a member of the Man group.

      By the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty (A.D. 386-534), Poliubaling, a Xiongnu, and Xianyuxiuli and Ge Rong led people of various nationalities in a struggle that embraced six towns in the north; people of various nationalities were fighting throughout the whole province of Hebei.

      In the Tang Dynasty came uprisings of the Man living in Xiyuan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Qinzhou, and the uprising of the Shanyue. These were followed by the great peasant uprising of Huang Chao, fought by the people of various ethnic groups in Guangdong and Guangxi in the final years of the Tang.

      In the time of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and Kuomintang rule, uprisings broke out incessantly on an ever greater scale in the fight against feudal rule. Among the best known of these were the great uprising started by the people of the Yi, Bai and Han, involving more than 100,000 people in Yunnan, the uprising by the people of the Yao in Datengxia during the Ming Dynasty, and the uprising, also during the Ming Dynasty, of the Hui and Han led by Ma Shouying of the Hui ethnic group.

      The Taiping Rebellion in the 19^th century symbolized the awakening of the Chinese people, a movement against imperialism and feudalism started by people of the Han, Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Dong and Yi ethnic groups. During the Revolution of 1911 that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, and in the May 4th Movement of 1919, there were also a great number of Zhuang, Hui, Mongolian and other ethnic minorities fighting alongside the Han people.

      In 1898 in Taiwan an armed uprising put Gaoshan people alongside their Han compatriots in fighting against occupation by Japanese imperialists. Telling blows were dealt to invading British forces by Tibetans in the Battle of Lungtushan in 1884, and the Battle of Gyangze in 1904. In their invasion of Guangxi and Yunnan, the French were fought back by the Zhuang and Yi peoples.

      Under the influence of the Russian October Revolution, some people of the ethnic minorities became members of the first batch of Marxist-Leninist groups in China. The year 1921 saw Deng Enming, of Shui origin, hailing from Guizhou, present at the First Meeting of Communist Representatives, which proclaimed the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

      Taking part in the First Revolutionary Civil War (1925-27) were fighters of the Mongolian, Hui, Zhuang, Miao, Manchu, Korean and Li ethnic groups. Party organizations were developed among Mongolian, Hui and Zhuang peoples. In the years of the Second Revolutionary Civil War (1927-37), revolutionary bases were established in the area of the Zuojiang and Youjiang rivers inhabited by the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups in Guangxi, in the Li area on Hainan Island, and in the Miao and Tujia areas in Hunan and Hubei. In 1934 the Red Army set out on the Long March, going through areas inhabited by the Miao, Dong, Bouyei, Yi, Tibetan, Qiang and Hui ethnic minorities. The revolutionary army exerted a great influence on them, helping them organize their own armed forces and establish revolutionary political power. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45), many minority nationals joined the Eighth Route and the New Fourth armies led by the Communist Party. There were also many minority youth in Yan'an, the Communist Party headquarters. In the Northeast the United Anti-Japanese Army was composed of Han, Manchu, Korean, Mongolian, Hui, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen and Hezhe ethnic groupes. On Hainan Island the Qiongya Column was formed of Han, Li and Miao peoples. In the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region a cavalry regiment of Hui people was active. In Hebei, near the Bohai Sea was a detachment composed of Hui people. In the base area of Daqingshan was a guerrilla unit of Mongolians, and in Yunnan there was a border detachment formed by people of several ethnic minorities.

      During the War of Liberation (1946-49) led by the Chinese Communist Party, people of many ethnic groups joined in the decisive battle. They fought in the People's Liberation Army, an army of people of all ethnic groups, until the whole mainland was liberated.

      But unification of the country in the 20^th century is fundamentally different from that of old. Under the various feudal dynasties and the Kuomintang government, national oppression and inequality remained the rule, and a unified multi-ethnic group state was maintained under conditions of oppression and internecine struggle, including wars between various minorities tormented by local separatist forces. But the People’s Republic of China has achieved its true unification on the basis of equality among all ethnic groups across the country.