Ethnic issues often involve complex historical factors.
Tips
usage
族 is used in: 民族 (ethnic group/nationality), 家族 (family clan), 种族 (race). Modern slang uses 族 as a suffix for social groups: 上班族 (office workers), 月光族 (moonlight clan - people who spend all their salary).
Left 方 - here it doubles as the indexing radical AND the top of a historical 㫃 'flag' graphic wrapping right. Originally 族 pictured an arrow under a clan banner: people who fought beneath one flag. Family: 旗 (flag), 旅 (band), 旋 (wheel), 旁 (side).
Right side covers 7 strokes but standalone 矢 is 5 - upper 2 are a fused remnant of the flag-flapping graphic 㫃. Bottom is the clean 矢 arrow pictograph. With 方, the picture is an arrow tucked under a banner - the warrior-clan image at the heart of 族.
