- Li people
Infobox Ethnic group
group = Li (or Hlai)
poptime = 1.3 million (estimated)
popplace =Hainan inChina
langs = Hlai
rels =Animism ,Theravada Buddhism Li (;
pinyin Lí) or Hlai is a minority Chineseethnic group . They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by thePeople's Republic of China . 94% of the Li live off the southern coast of mainlandChina onHainan , where they are the largest minority ethnic group.During the
Sui Dynasty they were known by the name Liliao, and presently they refer to themselves as the Hlai or Sai people.They are held in high esteem by the
Beijing government because they fought on the side of the CPC against Chinese nationalist rule, during the RevolutionaryChinese Civil War . [http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Minorities/min-Li.html] The Li suffered heavily under the Japanese occupation.The Li have their own language, known as Hlai, which is classified as one of the
Tai-Kadai languages (previously Sino-Tibetan). The Hlai language did not have a writing system prior to the 1950s, when theLatin alphabet was adopted. The Li people can generally understand or speak Mandarin. Because many Hlais in Hainan relocate to Cantonese-speaking areas in southern China, Hlais may learn Cantonese during their childhood.Culture
The Li play a traditional wind instrument called "kǒuxiāo" (口箫), [http://www.hongxiao.com/dy/Article/musicnatural/chianUSA/minyuechuiguanlei/huangshe/200509/422.html] , and another called "lìlāluó" (利拉罗).
External links
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lic Ethnologue entry for Hlai language]
Ethnic groups in China
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