Li people

Li (黎 pinyin Lí) is a minority Chinese ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The majority of the Li live off the southern coast of mainland China on Hainan, where they are the largest indigenous people.

During the Sui Dynasty they were known by the name Liliao, and presently they refer to themselves as the Sai people. They had fought on the side of the CPC against Chinese nationalist rule, during the Chinese Civil War. [1]

Li have their own language which is classified as one of the Sino-Tibetan languages. The Li language did not have a writing system prior to the 1950s, but it adopted the Latin alphabet as its writing system during the 1950s. The Li people have regular contact with Han Chinese; therefore, the majority of Li people can understand or speak Mandarin.

Chinese ethnic groups (classification by PRC government)

Achang - Bai - Blang - Bonan - Buyi - Dai - Daur - De'ang - Dong - Dongxiang - Drung - Evenks - Gaoshan - Gelao - Gin - Han - Hani - Hezhen - Hui - Jingpo - Jino - Kazakh - Kirghiz - Koreans - Lahu - Lhoba - Li - Lisu - Manchu - Maonan - Monpa - Miao - Mongols - Mulam - Naxi - Nu - Oroqin - Pumi - Qiang - Russian - Salar - She - Shui - Tajik - Tatars - Tibetan - Tu - Tujia - Uyghur - Uzbek - Wa - Xibe - Yao - Yi - Yugur - Zhuang

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