Li (黎族)

Geography and Climate of Li (黎族)

The people of the Li ethnic group live on the island of Hainan, the second largest Chinese island after Taiwan. The area they occupy is so fertile that there are three rice crops a year in some places, as well as sweet potatoes and maize being grown all year round. Lemon grass, cocoa, coffee and pineapples are all grown here, as well.

• Population: 1,247,814
• Distribution:  Hainan
• Language: Li
• Religion: Polytheism

Language of Li (黎族)

Their language, which had no written script before 1957, is related to the Tibetan-Chinese family of languages.

History of Li (黎族)

The name ‘Li’ was first used to describe these people during the Tang dynasty and they are believed to have been descended from the ancient Yue ethnic group. Archaeological evidence on the island shows the Li people settled there around 3,000 years ago. They are related to the Buyei, Shui, Zhuang, Dai and Dong peoples, and their languages are similar. Together with the Han settlers, the Li people contributed to the development of the island economy. Li society was developed further in the 6th century, when a Yue political leader pledged allegiance to the Sui dynasty; during the Tang dynasty, rulers controlled the Li centrally with the establishment of five prefectures made up of twenty-two counties. By the time of the Song dynasty, irrigation and rice cultivation were developed.

Production on Hainan, as with many other ethnic groups, was dominant during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with most of the land belonging to a small number of landlords. There have been many uprisings in Li society to protest against exploitation by feudal landlords, including one after the Opium War when Hainan was invaded by imperialists. The Qiongya Worker-Peasant Revolutionary Army was established not long afterwards. The Qiongya Column formed as an anti-Japanese force in 1939.

Traditions of Li (黎族)

Some Li people have facial tattoos and they like roasted and pickled sour meat; blood relatives live together in boat-shaped bamboo houses. Marriages are monogamous and close relatives may not marry. Matches were arranged by parents before 1949, and bride prices were high. Brides would go and live with their parents until she knew she was pregnant. These customs have since fallen out of favour, however.

Religion of Li (黎族)

Before 1950, a death was announced by guns firing, the body put into a log-hewn coffin and buried in the village cemetery. Witchcraft, ancestor worship and animism, all popular beliefs among the Li people, have been abolished since the second half of the 20th century. The Li calendar works to a twelve-day cycle and each day is named after an animal.

Modern Times of Li (黎族)

In 1952, the Hainan Li-Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established, and this eliminated the feudal commune system which had dominated. The rural economy has grown in recent years, helped by the new schools which have been set up for children who can now learn to read and write.

Clinics and epidemic prevention stations have gone a long way to bringing diseases such as cholera and smallpox under control. Incidences of malaria have also been reduced.