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Hlai people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Sai people" redirects here. For the ancient Iranian-speaking tribe that inhabited northwest China, seeSaka.

Hlai
Lê tộc
Li, Lizu
Total population
1,463,064 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Hainan,Guangdongand islands in theSouth China Sea
Languages
Hlai languages,Jiamao,HainaneseandMandarin
Religion
Animism,Theravada Buddhism[citation needed]
Related ethnic groups
OtherTai–Kadaipeoples and populations from Mainland Southern China[2]
Hlai people
ChineseLê
Literal meaning[phonetic]
Alternative Chinese name
ChineseLê tộc
Literal meaningLiEthnicity

TheHlai,also known asLiorLizu,are aKra–Dai-speakingethnic group,one of the 56ethnic groupsofficially recognized by thePeople's Republic of China.The vast majority live off the southern coast ofChinaonHainan Island,[3]where they are the largest minority ethnic group. Divided into the five branches of the Qi (Gei), Ha, Run (Zwn), Sai (Tai, Jiamao) and Meifu (Moifau),[4]the Hlai have their own distinctive culture and customs.

Traditional weaving methods of the Hlai on Hainan Island, China. The worker uses her feet to stretch the handloom.

Names[edit]

Lê (Lí), which was pronounced /lei/ inMiddle Chineseis the Chinese transcription of their native name, which is Hlai. They are sometimes also known as the "Sai" or "Say".[5]During China'sSui Dynasty,their ancestors were known by various names, includingLǐliáo(Lý liêu), a general term encompassing several non-Han ethnic groups inSouthern China.The name Li first is recorded during theLater Tangperiod (923–937CE).[6]

History[edit]

Liang & Zhang (1996:18–21)[7]believe that the original homeland of the Hlai languages was theLeizhou Peninsula,and estimate that the Hlai had migrated across theHainan Straitto Hainan island about 4,000 years before present.[7]According to Schafer, the Li people were originally spread out across the continental coastline, covering Northern Vietnam and the area west of Guangzhou, including Hainan. Their names were converted into the Chinese clan name Li.[8]The earliest mention of the term Li as an ethnonym was in the Han dynasty, referring to people of the highlands of Central Vietnam atJiuzhen(Vietnamese: Cửu Chân). After the Han dynasty these people were primarily located in Guangxi and western Guangdong.[9]

The 3rd centuryNanzhou Yiwuzhimentioned bandits calledLǐ( lý ) who lived south ofGuangzhouin the five commanderies: Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Ningpu and Gaoliang. They lived in villages with no walls and took refuge in the mountains and narrow passes. They did not have commanders or lords.[10][11]In the early 6th century, theLiang dynastywagedwar on the Li people,calling it the "pacification of the Lidong".[12]In the Tang dynasty, the Li people of northern Vietnam were assigned a separate administrative status among the populace of theAnnan protectorate,only paying half the taxes of ordinary subjects.[13]By the 11th century, records no longer mention the Li on the mainland.[14]

State administration ofHainan's lowlands was indirect until theSong dynastyand state control of the inland mountains was indirect until the 1950s. By the 11th century, Chinese records state that Hlai people were living close to Chinese settlements and paid taxes to the central state.[15]However by the end of theMing dynastyin the mid-17th century, virtually all areas of Hainan capable of intense cultivation had been settled byHan Chinese,while the Hlai filled the niche of supplying mountain products. By 1700, theQing dynastyhad re-established administration over Hainan. Migrant merchants started entering Hainan and threatened the economic niche of the Hlai, who broke out in violent protest against these "guest merchants" in 1766.[16]

TheshuLi live in the foothills of the Five-Fingers mountains, and although their nature differs from that of Han people, still they plow and plant and pay taxes and perform corvée service. They have been marinated in Han culture for a very long time. Therefore there are many Li people in every area who have shaved their heads and want to become regular citizens[qimin].But it has not been made a clear order, and there are manyshuLi who have not shaved their heads. There is really no uniformity. We should order the Li leaders to clearly order all shu Li to shave their heads... by requiring them universally and gradually to comply, we will make shaven heads the prevailing custom, and they will not be able to pretend to beshengLi and cause trouble. It will gradually and imperceptibly rid them of their violent tendencies and habits.[17]

— Yang Tingzhang

In 1751, He Xiang wrote an essay titled "Arguments against Settling the Li and Establishing Counties." In it he explained that Hainan was dangerous not because the Hlai people were fierce, but because of malaria and poisonous animals. He mocked previous campaigns against the Hlai for conquering hamlets of no value or significance while several thousand troops died of malaria. The highlands inhabited by the Hlai were also not economically valuable, and therefore had not yet been transformed. While many Chinese generals had made a name for themselves by "settling Guangdong", they all left the Hlai alone.[18]

While its indigenous inhabitants, known in Chinese as the Li people, have frequently clashed with Han Chinese on the island, Hainan has never produced a noteworthy political or military movement that sought independence from China. There has never been a question as to Hainan’s allegiance and belonging. This sets Hainan apart from other troublesome border regions of China, including Tibet, Xin gian g, Manchuria, Mongolia, and Taiwan.[19]

— Jeremy A. Murray

During theJapanese occupation of Hainan(1939–1945), the Hlai suffered extremely heavily due to their communist resistance activities especially in western Hainan. Hlai villages were frequently targeted for extermination and rape byKuomintangand Japanese soldiers. In four towns alone, the Japanese slaughtered more than 10,000 Hlai people.[20]The Hlai were persecuted by the Nationalists partly due to their support of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[21]Nationalist forces massacred over 7,000 Hlai in a village. Nationalist officers had 9,000 Hlai and 3,000 Miao executed after tricking them to the war fronts during a fake conscription campaign. As the Nationalists retreated with over 1.5 million civilians that they evacuated to the hills with, they massacred and stole food from the ethnic Hlai as well as other tribal peoples. The Nationalists executed 2,180 Miao women and children ofBaishaandBaotinguprising origin.[22]

Because the Hlai sided with the CCP during the Chinese Civil War against the Nationalists, the Hlai are looked upon favorably by the government of thePeople's Republic of China.[21]

Language[edit]

The Hlai speak theHlai languages,a member of theKra–Dai language family,[23]but most can understand or speakHainaneseandStandard Chinese.TheJiamao languagespoken natively by the Sai (also known as Tai or Jiamao) subgroup has been noted for its dissimilarity to the dialects or languages spoken by the other subgroups of the Hlai.

A Qing dynasty report on the Hlai dated 1756 claimed that they did not have a writing system.[24]

Culture[edit]

Women were able to become political leaders in Hlai society. In 1171, a Hlai woman by the name of Wang Erniang was bestowed the title of "Lady of Suitability" by theSong courtand given the post of commander-general over 36 ethnic groups in the south. She was the headwoman of the Hlai people and had a husband but nobody knew his name. She was very wealthy and adept at keeping order over her people. The Song dynasty communicated with non-Chinese southerners by relaying their orders through her. In 1181, her daughter inherited her position, and in 1216, another daughter inherited the position.[25]

Among the Hlai, the women have a custom of tattooing their arms and backs after a certain age is reached. The Hlai play a traditional wind instrument calledkǒuxiāo(Khẩu tiêu)[26]and another calledlìlāluó(Lợi kéo la). The Hlai in Wenchang assimilated into the local population and admixed with the Hainanese while most of the Hlai population was exterminated in most other parts of Hainan only a small portion of the Hlai survived and fled to the mountains where they still maintain a Hlai identity[citation needed].

The land of theshengLi is not governed by officials[bushu guan],but they all have leaders. Among them are some who receive pawned goods, and they use a piece of bamboo as a receipt. The Li have no writing, and the bamboo they use is split into three parts, and upon it is carved the price and amount of “hill” land. The two parties and a mediator each carry off one part as proof of the transaction. There is not one who dares to cheat. Lately, however, dishonest, sneaky people frequently make counterfeits, which starts fights.... The Li people do not store grain. After the harvest they tie up the grain and save it and hang it over their stoves using the stove’s smoke to cure it, and eat it after a certain number of days.... They see this as very convenient. Among the Li there are no markets, and there have never been sellers of grain there. Poor people who lack food borrow from those who have rice. They do not calculate interest. Whether they pay back or not is also not a weighty matter. Lately there are many dishonest, greedy people who lend in the spring and expect repayment in the fall. They get profits from very high interest; their hearts do not follow the ways of the ancients![24]

— Zhang Qingchang

Religion[edit]

The Hlai were primarilyanimists.According to Hlai legends, their clans each originated from the marriage of a woman and an animal. The most prominent animal is the snake. Leigong, the God of Thunder, laid a snake on Li Mountain. From the egg hatched a woman named Limu (literally "mother of the Li" ) who lived off of wild fruits and nested in the trees. Eventually she married and their descendants became the Hlai people. Another version says that the woman arrived on a ship and married a dog, giving birth to the Hlai. The Hlai also worshiped other animals such as the ox, which was represented in each house by a stone that they called the "soul of the ox." The "Oxen's Festival" was celebrated on the eighth day of the third lunar month every year. On that day the oxen were forbidden to be killed or worked. They stayed at home and were fed liquor believed to protect the ox and guarantee plentiful harvest. The "najiaxila" bird of legend was worshiped as a protector god for taking care of an ancestor woman of the Hlai. Dragons and cats were worshiped as well since they are considered to be ancestors.[27]

Genetics[edit]

The Hlai are believed to be descendants of theRau people,Kra–Dai-speaking tribes of ancient China, who settled on the island thousands of years ago.[28]DNA analysiscarried out amongst the modern Hlai population indicate a close relationship with populations in the Southern Chinese province ofGuangxi,[2]most of them have Y-DNA O1a and O1b.

Notable people[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Hồ hồng bảo; trương lệ mai (2009).Dân tộc phân biệt nguyên tắc biến hóa cùng dân tộc dân cư.Southwest University for NationalitiesUniversity Press(4).
  2. ^abPeng, Min-Sheng; He, Jun-Dong; Liu, Hai-Xin; Zhang, Ya-Ping (15 February 2011)."Tracing the legacy of the early Hainan Islanders – a perspective from mitochondrial DNA".BMC Evolutionary Biology.11:46.doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-46.PMC3048540.PMID21324107.
  3. ^Original from Indiana UniversityViscount James Bryce Bryce (1904). Hans Ferdinand Helmolt (ed.).The World's History: Oceania, Eastern Asia and the Indian Ocean.Vol. 2 of The World's History: A Survey of Man's Record. LONDON: William Heinemann. p. 60.Retrieved20 December2011.extended as far as the Han River, and the Man lived on the central and upper Yangtsze, chiefly on the right bank. But the number of the tribes that had not then been subdued must have been much greater; even at the present day, more than two thousand six hundred years later, tribes of original inhabitants in complete or partial independence are constantly found in the southern and western provinces of the empire. That such tribes as the Hlai (Limin or Limu, probably descendants of the Miaotsze to whom Kublai Khan [Shi Tsu] is said to have assigned a part of Formosa in 1292) should have held their ground in the interior of Formosa and Hainan is the less remarkable, in view of the fact that even at the present day whole tribes of original inhabitants have been able to maintain their independence in the provinces on the mainland, where the Chinese supremacy has endured for hundreds or thousands of years.
  4. ^"Chinese Nationalities (Li Minority)".Retrieved18 February2011.
  5. ^"MyTHOLOGIES OF THE LI/HLAI PEOPLE".Indigenous Peoples Literature.9 April 2023.Retrieved12 December2023.
  6. ^"Lê tộc (The Li People)"(in Chinese). Quốc gia dân ủy trang web (State Ethnic Affairs Commission). 14 April 2006.Retrieved22 March2020.Ở quốc gia của ta sách cổ thượng rất sớm liền có quan hệ với Lê tộc trước dân ghi lại. Tây Hán trước kia đã từng lấy "Lạc càng", Đông Hán lấy "Lí"," man ", Tùy Đường lấy" lý "," liêu "Chờ tên, tới gọi chung quốc gia của ta phương nam một ít dân tộc thiểu số, trong đó cũng bao gồm đảo Hải Nam Lê tộc viễn cổ tổ tiên." Lê "Này nhất tộc xưng sớm nhất chính thức xuất hiện ở thời Đường hậu kỳ văn hiến thượng...... Nam triều lương đại đồng trung (540—541 năm ), bởi vì đam nhĩ địa phương lý liêu ( bao gồm Lê tộc trước dân ) 1000 nhiều động" quy phụ "Tiển phu nhân, từ" thỉnh mệnh với triều ", mà trọng trí Nhai Châu.
  7. ^abLiang, Min lương mẫn; Zhang, Junru trương đều như (1996).Dòng tái yǔzú gàilùnĐồng đài ngữ hệ khái luận[An Introduction to the Kam–Tai Languages] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe.ISBN9787500416814.
  8. ^Schafer, Edward (1967).The Vermillion Bird.University of California Press. p. 58.
  9. ^Nola Cooke, Li Tana, and James Anderson (2011).The Tonking Gulf Through History.University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 70.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^Taiping Yulan"vol. 785 Four Barbarians – Nanman I: Li"quote: "《 Nam Châu dị vật chí 》 rằng: Quảng Châu nam có tặc rằng lý. Này tặc ở Quảng Châu chi nam, thương ngô, úc lâm, Hợp Phố, ninh phổ, cao lạnh năm quận trung ương, địa phương mấy ngàn dặm. Thường thường thôn khác các có trường soái, vô quân chủ, cậy ở thế núi hiểm trở, không cần thành."
  11. ^Churchman 2015,p. 65.
  12. ^Churchman 2015,p. 70.
  13. ^Churchman, Michael (2010). "Before Chinese and Vietnamese in the Red River Plain: The Han–Tang Period".Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies.4:25–37.
  14. ^Churchman 2015,p. 75.
  15. ^Csete 2006,p. 229.
  16. ^Csete 2006,p. 230.
  17. ^Csete 2006,p. 247.
  18. ^Csete 2006,p. 238.
  19. ^Murray 2017,p. 2.
  20. ^"Zhonghua min guo shi lu: Min guo yuan—san shi ba nian (1912.1.1.-1949.9.30)". 1998.{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url=(help)
  21. ^ab"An Introduction to China's Li People".30 May 2018.
  22. ^(China), trung nam dân tộc học viện (1989). "Journal of South Central College for Nationalities: Philosophy and social sciences".{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url=(help)
  23. ^Norquest, Peter K. 2007.A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Hlai.Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona.
  24. ^abCsete 2006,p. 241.
  25. ^Bangwei, Zhang (2016)."Women: Ethnic Women Living in the Territories of Liao, Western Xia, Jin and Dali, and Ethnic Settlements under the Jurisdiction of Song".A Social History of Medieval China.Cambridge University Press. p. 218.ISBN978-1-107-16786-5.
  26. ^"Khẩu tiêu - Trung Quốc dân tộc nhạc cụ giới thiệu".Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2007.Retrieved3 December2007.
  27. ^"LI MINORITY: THEIR HISTORY, RELIGION AND FESTIVALS | Facts and Details".
  28. ^"Li | Asian people".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved24 October2018.

Bibliography[edit]

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