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Bai people
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Bai people
The Bai or Pai (Bai: Baipho [pɛ̰˦˨xo̰˦], 白和; Chinese: 白族; pinyin: Báizú) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. The Bai constitute one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China, with a population of 2,091,543 (as of 2020).
The Bai people hold the colour white in high esteem and call themselves "Baipzix" (pɛ˦˨ tsi˧, Baizi, 白子), "Bai'ho" (pɛ˦˨ xo˦, Baihuo, 白伙), "Bai yinl" (pɛ˦˨ ji˨˩, Baini, 白尼), or "Miep jiax", literally meaning "white people" (not to be confused with the racial category of White people). Bai (白) means "white" in Chinese. Because of their strong preference for white, in 1956 the Chinese authorities named this ethnic group the Bai nationality.
The Bai were previously named the Minjia (民家) by the Chinese from the 14th century to 1949.
The Bai people are one of the most sinicized minorities in China. The Bai ruling family of the Dali Kingdom claimed to have Chinese ancestry and was recorded by the Yuan dynasty to have hailed from Wuwei, Gansu. Although the Bai are technically one of China's 56 official ethnic groups, it is difficult to qualify them as a distinct ethnic minority. As early as the 1940s, some rejected their non-Chinese origin and preferred to identify themselves solely as Chinese. The Bai ethnic label was not widely used or known until 1958. Today, the Bai people accept minority status for pragmatic reasons; however, they are culturally nearly indistinguishable from Han Chinese.
One prerequisite for creating a hybrid form of Chinese would be a unique cultural identity, distinct from the Han, but the Bai people have been said by the sinologist Charles Patrick Fitzgerald to have held no ‘strong national feeling’ even before 1949. Hence, Fitzgerald, author of an authoritative study on Bai (whom he called by their former Chinese name, the Min-kia [minjia 民家]), said that many travelers regarded them as an absorbed people hardly to be distinguished from Han Chinese.
— Duncan Poupard
The Bai predominantly reside in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, as well as in Gucheng District and Yulong County of Lijiang City, Nanhua County of Chuxiong Prefecture, Xishan District, Wuhua District, and Anning City (Taiping Town) of Kunming City, Lushui County of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Longyang District of Baoshan City, Fengqing County of Lincang City, and portions of Zhenxiong County of Zhaotong City.
The Bai also constitute a hereditary ethnic group in Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei Provinces, specifically in Bijie City, Liuzhi Special District, and Shucheng County within Liupanshui City in Guizhou; Sangzhi County in Zhangjiajie City in Hunan; and Hefeng County in Enshi Prefecture in Hubei.
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Bai people
The Bai or Pai (Bai: Baipho [pɛ̰˦˨xo̰˦], 白和; Chinese: 白族; pinyin: Báizú) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. The Bai constitute one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China, with a population of 2,091,543 (as of 2020).
The Bai people hold the colour white in high esteem and call themselves "Baipzix" (pɛ˦˨ tsi˧, Baizi, 白子), "Bai'ho" (pɛ˦˨ xo˦, Baihuo, 白伙), "Bai yinl" (pɛ˦˨ ji˨˩, Baini, 白尼), or "Miep jiax", literally meaning "white people" (not to be confused with the racial category of White people). Bai (白) means "white" in Chinese. Because of their strong preference for white, in 1956 the Chinese authorities named this ethnic group the Bai nationality.
The Bai were previously named the Minjia (民家) by the Chinese from the 14th century to 1949.
The Bai people are one of the most sinicized minorities in China. The Bai ruling family of the Dali Kingdom claimed to have Chinese ancestry and was recorded by the Yuan dynasty to have hailed from Wuwei, Gansu. Although the Bai are technically one of China's 56 official ethnic groups, it is difficult to qualify them as a distinct ethnic minority. As early as the 1940s, some rejected their non-Chinese origin and preferred to identify themselves solely as Chinese. The Bai ethnic label was not widely used or known until 1958. Today, the Bai people accept minority status for pragmatic reasons; however, they are culturally nearly indistinguishable from Han Chinese.
One prerequisite for creating a hybrid form of Chinese would be a unique cultural identity, distinct from the Han, but the Bai people have been said by the sinologist Charles Patrick Fitzgerald to have held no ‘strong national feeling’ even before 1949. Hence, Fitzgerald, author of an authoritative study on Bai (whom he called by their former Chinese name, the Min-kia [minjia 民家]), said that many travelers regarded them as an absorbed people hardly to be distinguished from Han Chinese.
— Duncan Poupard
The Bai predominantly reside in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, as well as in Gucheng District and Yulong County of Lijiang City, Nanhua County of Chuxiong Prefecture, Xishan District, Wuhua District, and Anning City (Taiping Town) of Kunming City, Lushui County of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Longyang District of Baoshan City, Fengqing County of Lincang City, and portions of Zhenxiong County of Zhaotong City.
The Bai also constitute a hereditary ethnic group in Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei Provinces, specifically in Bijie City, Liuzhi Special District, and Shucheng County within Liupanshui City in Guizhou; Sangzhi County in Zhangjiajie City in Hunan; and Hefeng County in Enshi Prefecture in Hubei.