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In antiquity there was little to no diversity in China. One of the only ethnicities in Ancient China were han (who speak strictly sinitic). For the most part, the sinitic practiced religious things like polyethism, aimis, and shamanism (the belief that there are a select few intelligent/wise persons that have prophetic abilities.) These religions used things such as *Ancestor veneration. -
Buddhism was brought to China by Indian monks in 150 CE during the latter part of the Han Dynasty. It took about a century to really spread through China. Buddhism had a very large impact on Chinese culture. In fact, people in China revered the religion so much to the point where even the emperor and other high power figures in China knew a lot about the religion. It’s one of the most popular religions in China, rivaling Confucianism and Taoism. -
Many Muslims went to China to trade, and these Muslims began to have a great economic impact and influence on the country. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Muslims in China dominated foreign trade and the import/export industry to the south and west. -
Another ethnicity and culture that was exposed to China and therefore heavily influenced the country was the Mongolians. In certain regions of China Mongolians are extremely common, with some businesses and buildings even having accommodations for them such as their own language, etc. It changed China because now Mongolians and Chinese live amongst each other. -
Today, China has a lot more diverse ethnicities. The main ethnic group of China is still Chinese with 95.6%. Officially, the recognized language of China is still Mandarin Chinese however there's variants. About 60-70% of China’s language is Chinese and mongolian and 30% other languages. In China the ccp has suppressed religion in china, making the official religion of China being atheist. Still, there people believe in Buddhism and Islam. 15.2% of Chinese are buddhist and 1.8% are Islam.