Yi people
An ethnic group in southern China with nine million people.
The Yi or Nuosu people are an ethnic group in southern China, numbering nine million and recognized as the sixth largest of the 55 ethnic minority groups by the Chinese government. They live primarily in rural, mountainous areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, with the largest population in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. A subgroup, the Lô Lô, also resides in northern Vietnam.
- population
- 9 million
- location
- Southern China (Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi) and northern Vietnam
- language_family
- Loloish languages (closely related to Burmese)
- prestige_variety
- Nuosu, written in the Yi script
- subgroups
- Nisu, Sani, Axi, Lolo, Acheh, and others
- recognized_by
- Chinese government as one of 55 ethnic minorities
Lore & Background
According to Yi legend, all life originated in water created by snowmelt, which dripped down to create a creature called the Ni, the source of all life. The common ancestor Apu Dumu had three wives, each with two sons; these six sons migrated to the Zhaotong area and created the Wu, Zha, Nuo, Heng, Bu, and Mo clans. The Yi practiced a lineage system where younger brothers were treated as slaves by elders, leading to a culture of migration as younger brothers left to create their own domains.
Historically, the Heng clan split into the Wumeng and Chele branches, while the Bu clan fragmented into four branches and the Mo clan into three. By the Tang dynasty, various Yi kingdoms emerged, including the Mu'ege kingdom (Chiefdom of Shuixi) in Guizhou, and the Luodian, Yushi, and Badedian kingdoms, which formed a Tang defensive perimeter against Nanzhao. In Yunnan, the Cuanman people split into Black Mywa (considered predecessors of the Yi) and White Mywa (predecessors of the Bai). The Mengshe tribe's chieftain Xinuluo founded the Great Meng in 649, and his great-grandson Piluoge united six zhaos to establish the Nanzhao kingdom in 737, with the support of the Tang dynasty.
Reader's Guide
The Yi people are significant as one of China's largest ethnic minorities, with a population of nine million and a distinct cultural identity preserved in mountainous regions. Their history includes the formation of several kingdoms during the Tang dynasty, such as Mu'ege, Luodian, Yushi, and Badedian, which served as buffer states between Tang China and the expansionistic Nanzhao kingdom. The Yi's origin myths, lineage system, and migration patterns have shaped their social structure and distribution across southern China. Their languages, part of the Loloish branch closely related to Burmese, and the prestige variety Nuosu written in the Yi script, highlight their linguistic uniqueness. The Yi's legacy includes ongoing debates about the ethnic composition of Nanzhao, with some scholars favoring Yi or Bai origins for its rulers, while others propose Tai involvement. Their cultural practices, such as tiger worship reflected in the name Lolo, and the historical pejorative connotations of Chinese exonyms, underscore the complexity of ethnic identity in the region.
Did You Know?
- The Yi people number nine million, making them the sixth largest of China's 55 ethnic minority groups.
- The Yi legend says all life originated from water created by snowmelt, which produced a creature called the Ni.
- The name 'Lolo' is related to the Yi people's worship of the tiger, as 'lo' in their dialects means 'tiger'.
- In Vietnam, as of 2019, there are 4,827 Lô Lô people, a subgroup of the Yi, living in northern provinces.
More in Ethnic & Indigenous Groups 1-23
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