Five Races Under One Union was one of the major principles upon which the Republic of China was founded in 1911 at the time of the Xinhai Revolution. Its central tenet was the harmonious existence under one nation of what were considered the five major ethnic groups in China: the Han, the Manchu, the Mongols, the Hui (including the Uyghurs), and the Tibetans. Description This principle emphasized harmony between what were considered the five major ethnic groups in China, as represented by the colored stripes of the Five-Colored Flag of the Republic: the Han (red); the Manchus (yellow); the Mongols (blue); the Hui (white); and the Tibetans (black). The term , , primarily referred in this context to Muslims, as a whole, and as such for a certain period of time (before the Xinhai Revolution) the term also referred to the Uyghurs in Western China, since the term "Muslim Territory" (; ) was an older name for Xinjiang during the Qing dynasty. The meaning of the term "Hui people" gradually shifted to its current sense—a group distinguished from Han Chinese by their Muslim faith and distant foreign ancestry—around 1911–49 in the Republic of China. History Historical records from the Sui dynasty show a system of military banners using the five colors to represent the Five Elements: red for fire, yellow for earth, blue for wood/wind, white for metal, and black for water. The Tang dynasty inherited this system, and has arranged the colors in a united flag according to the above order of the elements, for military use. In the Liao and Song periods, the Khitan people used the same flag design, as depicted in Chinese painting. During the reign of the Mongol Yuan dynasty the five colors started to symbolize ethnicities () in a multiethnic state. In later historical periods, this "flag of the five united elements" was altered and readapted for military and official uses. A Qing dynasty painting depicting the Banners victory over the Muslim Du Wenxiu rebellion in Yunnan, includes a Qing military flag with the five elements arranged in the order of yellow, white, black, green and red. After the Wuchang uprising, the Qing dynasty regime was replaced by the Republic of China. Prior to the adoption of the five colors flag by the Republic, a number of different flags were promoted by revolutionaries. For example, the military units of Wuchang wanted a 9-star flag