CCP ethnic categories inherited Qing imperial border administration.

Evidence

As the political boundaries of the country recognized by the CCP corresponded largely to those of the Qing empire, minority populations in the strategically and economically vital border regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, for example, continued to be portrayed as both organically linked yet politially subordinate people in their relationship to the Han. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3343

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how directly did Qing frontier governance practice — banners, tribute systems — map onto the 56-minzu framework?