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The Bai ethnic minority
 Of the 1,598,100 Bai people, 80 per cent live in
concentrated communities in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in
Yunnan Province, southwest China. The rest are scattered in Xichang
and Bijie in neighboring Sichuan and Guizhou provinces respectively.
The Bais speak a language related to the Yi branch of the
Tibetan-Myanmese group of the Chinese-Tibetan language family. The
language contains a large number of Chinese words due to the Bais'
long contact with the majority Chinese ethnic group--Han.
Situated on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the Bai area is crisscrossed
with rivers, of which the major ones are the Lancang, the Nujiang and
the Jinsha. The river valleys, dense forests and vast tracts of land
form a beautiful landscape and provide an abundance of crops and
fruits. The area round Lake Erhai in the autonomous prefecture is
blessed with a mild climate and fertile land yielding two crops a
year. Here, the main crops are rice, winter wheat, beans, millet,
cotton, rape, sugar-cane and tobacco. The forests have valuable stocks
of timber, herbs of medicinal value and rare animals. Mt. Diancang by
Lake Erhai contains a rich deposit of the famous Yunnan marble, which
is basically pure white with veins of red, light blue, green and milky
yellow. It is treasured as building material as well as for carving.
Origins and History
 Archaeological finds from Canger and
Haimenkou show that the Erhai area was inhabited as early as the
Neolithic Age, and artifacts of that period indicate that the people
of the region used stone tools, engaged in farming, livestock rearing,
fishing and hunting, and dwelt in caves. Possibly, they began to use
bronze knives and swords and other metal tools about 2,000 years ago.
The people in the Erhai area developed closer ties with the Han
majority in inland provinces in the Qin (221-207 B.C.) and Han (206
B.C.-A.D. 220) dynasties. In 109 B.C. the Western Han Dynasty set up
county administrations and moved a large number of Han people to this
border area. These people brought more advanced production techniques
and iron tools, contributing to the economic development of the area.
During the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the farming
there had reached a level close to that of the central plains.
Bai aristocrats backed by the Tang court unified the people of the
Erhai area and established the Nanzhao regime of Yis and Bais. Its
first chief, Piluoge, was granted the title of King of Yunnan by a
Tang emperor.
Slaves were used to do heavy labor, while "free" peasants were subject
to heavy taxation and forced to render various services including
conscription into the army. Some of them, who lost their land, were
made slaves.
The Nanzhao regime lasted for 250 years. During that period of time,
while maintaining a good relationship with the central government, the
rulers cruelly oppressed the slaves and mercilessly plundered other
ethnic nationalities through warfare. Productivity was thus seriously
harmed. This caused slave rebellions and uprisings. Nanzhao's power
came to an end in the year 902. Then a regime based on a feudal lord
system, known as the Kingdom of Dali, was established. The kingdom
adopted a series of measures such as abolishing exorbitant taxes and
removing conservative ministers. As a result, social productivity was
restored.
The kingdom lasted for over 300 years (937-1253) as a tributary to the
Song Dynasty (960-1279) court. It sent war-horses, handicrafts and
precious medicines to the court, and in return received science and
technology, as well as books in the Han language. Economic and
cultural exchanges with the Hans contributed greatly to the
development of this border area.
 The kingdom was conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, and Yuan
Dynasty (1206-1368) rule was established there. The Mongols designated
Yunnan a province while establishing Dali and Heqing as prefectures.
In order to strengthen their control over Dali, the Yuan rulers
offered former chieftains official posts and granted their families
hereditary privileges. Though land was mainly concentrated in the
hands of the local aristocracy at that time, the feudal lord system
began to give way to a landlord system.
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) took power from the Yuan rulers in 1381.
The Ming court removed local chieftains and replaced them with court
officials. This kind of reform resulted in the weakening of the
political and economic privileges of the local lords, brought freedom
to the slaves and raised the enthusiasm of the peasants for farming.
Those Bais and Hans who had emigrated were encouraged to return, while
Hans from other areas were persuaded to settle there. This measure
accelerated the development of the landlord economy of Bai society.
In addition to the continuation of the Ming policy of dispatching
officials from the central government, the Qing (1644-1911) court also
appointed local officials and chieftains to rule over the Bais.
Some Bai people in remote areas still suffered feudal exploitation and
oppression at the time of liberation. |
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