Since Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms began in the early 1980s, the People's Republic of China has rejoined global politics as a world power. The country is likely to become more open and its internal politics will no doubt affect the rest of the world. With more than 1.2 billion people divided into hundreds of ethnic groups, all dominated by the Han people, China's politics and its foreign policy are bound to be affected by ethnicity and ethnic rivalry. This book is designed to give librarians, students, scholars, and educated readers a ready reference for background information of interpreting ethnic events in China.

Generally defining ethnicity in terms of language, this book provides individual essays on hundreds of Chinese ethnic groups, including ethnic groups living in the Republic of China on Taiwan. The book also includes a chronology, bibliography, and a breakdown of the People's Republic of China's ethnic political subdivisions.