The Bouyei (also spelled ''Puyi'', ''Buyei'' and ''Buyi''; , or "Puzhong", "Burao", "Puman"; ; ) are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

living in Southern Mainland China. Numbering 3.5 million, they are the 10th largest of the 56

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

officially recognized by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The Bouyei primarily live in the Qianxinan and Qiannan prefectures of southern

Guizhou Province ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

, as well as in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and

Sichuan province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

s and the

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ( Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, and Quảng Ninh Provinces) and the ...

. Some 3,000 Bouyei also live in Northern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, where they are one of that nation's 54 officially recognized ethnic groups. In Vietnam, they are located in

Mường Khương District Mường Khương is a huyện, rural district of Lào Cai province in the Northeast (Vietnam), Northeast region of Vietnam. ''Mường'' is as variation of ''Mueang#Etymology, Mueang''. As of 2003, the district had a population of 48,242. The di ...

Lào Cai Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwe ...

and Quản Bạ District of

Hà Giang Province Hà Giang (, ) was formerly a Provinces of Vietnam, province in the Northeast (Vietnam), Northeast region of Vietnam. It was located in the far north of the country, and contains Vietnam's northernmost point. It shared a 270 km long China-Vi ...

Names

The Bouyei consist of various subgroups. Below are their autonyms written in the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standard written representation ...

with numerical Chao tones. *', *', *', *', *', *', *', *', Some clans within the Bouyei groups include: *', *', *', In Congjiang County, Guizhou, there is a group that refer to themselves as "Buyeyi, 布也益", but are officially classified by the Chinese government as ethnic Zhuang.

Distribution

In China by county

(Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >0.1% of China's Bouyei population.)

In Vietnam

In Vietnam, the Bố Y are recognized as one in 54 official ethnic groups. They mainly live in two localities:

Mường Khương district Mường Khương is a huyện, rural district of Lào Cai province in the Northeast (Vietnam), Northeast region of Vietnam. ''Mường'' is as variation of ''Mueang#Etymology, Mueang''. As of 2003, the district had a population of 48,242. The di ...

of Lào Cai province (Tu Dí subgroup) and Quản Bạ district of

Hà Giang province Hà Giang (, ) was formerly a Provinces of Vietnam, province in the Northeast (Vietnam), Northeast region of Vietnam. It was located in the far north of the country, and contains Vietnam's northernmost point. It shared a 270 km long China-Vi ...

Language

The Bouyei speak the

Bouyei language The Bouyei language ( autonym: Haausqyaix, also spelled ''Buyi'', ''Buyei'' or ''Puyi''; ; or ) is a language spoken by the Bouyei ethnic group of Southern Guizhou Province, China. Classified as a member of the Northern Tai group in the Tai l ...

, which is very close to

Standard Zhuang Standard Zhuang ( autonym: , ; pre-1982 autonym: ; Sawndip: ; ) is the official standardized form of the Zhuang languages, which are a branch of the Northern Tai languages. Its pronunciation is based on that of the Yongbei Zhuang dialect ...

. There is a dialect continuum between these two. The Bouyei language has its own written form, created by linguists in the 1950s based on the Latin alphabet and with spelling conventions similar to the

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

system that had been devised to romanise

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

History

The Bouyei are the native Tai peoples of the plains of Guizhou. They are one of the oldest peoples of China, living in the area for more than 2,000 years. Prior to the establishment of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, the Bouyei and Zhuang were linked together; the differences between both ethnic groups grew greater and from year 900 already they were two different groups. The

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

abolished the system of local heads and commanded in its place to officials of the army which caused a change in the local economy; from then on, the land was in the hands of a few landowners, which caused the population to revolt. During the Nanlong Rebellion (南笼起义) of 1797 led by Wang Nangxian, the Bouyei underwent a strong repression that caused many of them to emigrate to

Culture

Many Bouyei are agricultural farmers who commonly cultivate crops for consumption or sale like rice, millet, wheat, potatoes, maize, cocoa, tea, silk and many other types of crops. The Bouyei have also played a major role as intermediate merchants in the region. Due to changing economies, the Bouyei engage in both small-scale and large-scale commercial or business operations. Traditional Bouyei handicrafts and

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

s are renowned throughout the region. The Bouyei celebrate many festivals, both native and those derived from Han culture. One native festival is called the Ox King's Day(牛王节) on April 8, an annual celebration meant to honor oxen and their contribution to agricultural activities. June 6 is an important traditional Buyei holiday for ancestral worship. The story behind this tradition exists. According to Bouyei mythology, after Pangu became an expert in rice farming after creating the world, he married the daughter of the

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in ...

, and their union gave rise to the Buyei people. The daughter of the Dragon King and Pangu had a son named Xinheng (). When Xinheng disrespected his mother, she returned to heaven and never came down, despite the repeated pleas of her husband and son. Pangu was forced to remarry and eventually died on the sixth day of the sixth month of the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

. Xinheng's stepmother treated him badly and almost killed him. When Xinheng threatened to destroy her rice harvest, she realized her mistake. She made peace with him and they went on to pay their respects to Pangu annually on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. There are Christian churches among the Bouyei ethnic group in China. Most of them are in Guizhou and Yunnan. There is Catholic influence.

Notable Bouyei people

* Cen Nanqin (岑南琴), slalom canoeist * Guo Jian (郭健), artist * Huang Xiaoyun (黃霄雲), singer and actress * Wang Nangxian, leader of the anti-

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

White Lotus Rebellion * Xiao Sha (肖莎), gymnast * Cheng Lianzhen (郑幺妹), bandit leader and politician * Meng Sufen (蒙素芬), politician * Lu Ruiguang (陆瑞光), revolutionary