Han Chinese, the indigenous Chinese ethnic group comprises perhaps the largest part of the Taiwanese aboriginal population. As the single largest racial tribes surviving in the world, they are made up of a handful of diverse sub-groups.
Though residing on Taiwan mainland, Han Chinese originally belonged to the Han Dynasty in China, living all along the banks of Yellow River in Northern China. Their traditional housing comprised large, rectangular-shaped homes found scattered in Taiwan. The spacious interiors of these structures accommodated big families with sufficient ease and comfort. Living in more or less a patriarchal society, these Han Chinese earned their livelihood through agricultural activities and other handicrafts like bamboo and fabric works. The Han Chinese artisans and craftsmen in Taiwan were specially known for the intricacy of their craftworks.
As strong supporters of Confucianism, the Han Chinese adopted it as their religion. Their social strata in Taiwan included three fundamental classes, the nobles and administrators, working classes like the peasants, labors and craftsmen and the "mean people" who were the social extricates, having no social status and recognition. Commonly, the Han Chinese people used attires like long or half-length robes, with the front portions cut and enclosed with a tight-fitting belt. Normally, these dresses were made from superfluous silks or other fabrics to enhance the status and social prestige of the person concerned.
The existence of the Han Chinese people in Taiwan had considerable effect on the basic traditions and customs of the land, which got enriched through the inclusion of their achievements in diverse cultural fields. Han Chinese classical works like 'Art of War', 'Analects of Confucius' and 'the I Ching' are worth mentioning. The literary contributions in the realm of poems came from Han Chinese poets like Su Dongpo, Du Fu and Li Bo. The genre of novel in Taiwan during this period was sustained through four classical works, Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Finally, it is the immense contributions of these Han Chinese in the fields of arts, philosophy, mathematics and sciences in Taiwan that made them memorable ethnic people throughout the history of the land.
