Bai people

The Bai, or Pai (Bai: Baipho, /pɛ̰˦˨xo̰˦/ (白和); ; endonym pronounced pɛ̀tsī), 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. They constitute one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. They numbered 1,933,510 as of 2010. 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". Bai literally means "white" in Chinese. In 1956, the Chinese authorities named them the Bai nationality according to their preference. Historically, the Bai had also been called Minjia (民家) by the Chinese from the 14th century to 1949. The origin of the name Bai is not clear, but scholars believe that it has a strong connection to the first state Bai people built in roughly the 3rd century AD. This state, called Baizi Guo (白子國, State of Bai), was not documented in Chinese orthodox history but was frequently mentioned in the oral history of Yunnan Province. It was believed to be built by the first king, Longyouna (龍佑那), who was given the family name "Zhang" (張) by Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the state of Shu Han (221–263 CE). Zhuge Liang conquered the Dali region at that time and picked up Longyouna and assisted him in building the State of Bai. The State of Bai was located in present-day Midu County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. The Bai people are one of the most sinicized minorities in China. Although technically one of China's 55 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 but are culturally nearly indistinguishable from Han Chinese.