Yi people


The Yi or Nuosu people are an ethnic group in southern China. Numbering nine million people, they are the sixth largest of the 55 ethnic minority groups recognized by the Chinese government. They live primarily in rural areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, usually in mountainous regions. The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is home to the largest population of Yi people within China, with two million Yi people in the region. In neighbouring Vietnam, as of 2019, there are 4,827 Lô Lô people living in the Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, and Lào Cai provinces, in the country's north.
The Yi speak various Loloish languages, closely related to Burmese. The prestige variety is Nuosu, which is written in the Yi script.

Location

Of the more than 9 million Yi people, over 4.5 million live in Yunnan Province, 2.5 million live in southern Sichuan Province and 1 million live in the northwest corner of Guizhou Province. Nearly all the Yi live in mountainous areas, often carving out their existence on the sides of steep mountain slopes far from the cities of China.
The altitudinal differences of the Yi areas directly affect the climate and precipitation of these areas. These striking differences are the basis of the old saying that "The weather is different a few miles away" in the Yi area. Yi populations in different areas are very different from one another, making their living in completely different ways.

Names and subgroups

Although different groups of Yi refer to themselves in different ways and sometimes speak mutually unintelligible languages, they have been grouped into a single ethnicity by the Chinese and the various local appellations can be classified into three groups:
  • Ni. The appellations of Nuosu, Nasu, Nesu, Nisu and other similar names are considered derivatives of the original autonym Nip appended with the suffix -su, indicating 'people'. The name Sani is also a variety of this group. Further, it is widely believed that the Chinese name Yí were derived from Ni.
  • Lolo. The appellations of Lolo, Lolopu, etc. are related to the Yi people's worship of the tiger, as lo in their dialects means 'tiger'. Lo is also the basis for the Chinese exonym Luóluó. The original character, with the "dog radical" and a guǒ phonetic, was a graphic pejorative, comparable to the Chinese name guǒran. Languages reforms in the PRC replaced the character in Luóluó twice—first by Luó, with the "human radical" and the same phonetic, but that was a graphic variant for luǒ, and later by Luó. Paul K. Benedict noted, "a leading Chinese linguist, has remarked that the name 'Lolo' is offensive only when written with the 'dog' radical."
  • Other. This group includes various other appellations of different groups of Yi. Some of them may be of other ethnic groups but are recognised as Yi by the Chinese. The "Pu" may be relevant to an ancient ethnic group Pu. In the legends of the Northern Yi, the Yi people conquered Pu and its territory in the northeastern part of the modern Liangshan.
Groups listed below are sorted by their broad linguistic classification and the general geographic area where they live. Within each section, larger groups are listed first.
ClassificationApproximate total populationGroups
Southern1,082,120Nisu, Southern Nasu, Muji, A Che, Southern Gaisu, Pula,
Boka, Lesu, Chesu, Laowu, Alu, Azong, Xiuba
Southeastern729,760Poluo, Sani, Axi, Azhe, Southeastern Lolo, Jiasou, Puwa,
Aluo, Awu, Digao, Meng, Xiqi, Ati, Daizhan, Asahei, Laba,
Zuoke, Ani, Minglang, Long
Central565,080Lolopo, Dayao Lipo, Central Niesu, Enipu, Lopi, Popei
Eastern1,456,270Eastern Nasu, Panxian Nasu, Wusa Nasu, Shuixi Nosu,
Wuding Lipo, Mangbu Nosu, Eastern Gepo, Naisu, Wumeng,
Naluo, Samei, Sanie, Luowu, Guopu, Gese, Xiaohei Neisu,
Dahei Neisu, Depo, Laka, Lagou, Aling, Tushu, Gouzou,
Wopu, Eastern Samadu
Western1,162,040Mishaba Laluo, Western Lolo, Xiangtang, Xinping Lalu,
Yangliu Lalu, Tusu, Gaiji, Jiantou Laluo, Xijima, Limi, Mili,
Lawu, Qiangyi, Western Samadu, Western Gepo,
Xuzhang Lalu, Eka, Western Gaisu, Suan, Pengzi
Northern2,534,120Shengba Nosu, Yinuo Nosu, Xiaoliangshan Nosu, Butuo Nosu,
Suodi, Tianba Nosu, Bai Yi, Naruo, Naru, Talu, Mixisu, Liwu,
Northern Awu, Tagu, Liude, Naza, Ta'er
Unclassified55,490Michi, Jinghong Nasu, Apu, Muzi, Tanglang, Micha,
Ayizi, Guaigun

History

Origin myth

According to Yi legend, all life originated in water and water was created by snowmelt, which as it dripped down, created a creature called the Ni. The Ni gave birth to all life. Ni is another name for the Yi people. It is sometimes translated as black because black is a revered color in Yi culture. Yi tradition tells us that their common ancestor was named Apu Dumu ꀉꁌꅋꃅ or ꀉꁌꐧꃅ. Apu Dumu had three wives, each of whom had two sons. The six sons migrated to the area that is now Zhaotong and spread out in the four directions, creating the Wu, Zha, Nuo, Heng, Bu, and Mo clans. The Yi practiced a lineage system where younger brothers were treated as slaves by their elders, which resulted in a culture of migration where younger brothers constantly left their villages to create their own domains.

Guizhou kingdoms

The Heng clan divided into two branches. One branch, known as the Wumeng, settled along the western slope of the Wumeng Mountain range, extending their control as far west as modern day Zhaotong, Yunnan. The other branch, known as the Chele, moved along the eastern slope of the Wumeng Mountain range and settled to the north of the Chishui River. By the Tang dynasty, the Chele occupied the area from today Xuyong county in Sichuan to Bijie city in Guizhou. The Bu clan fragmented into four branches. The Bole branch settled in Anshun, the Wusa branch settled in Weining, the Azouchi branch settled in Zhanyi, and the Gukuge branch settled in northeast Yunnan. The Mo clan, descended from Mujiji, split into three branches. One branch known as the Awangren, led by Wualou, settled in southwest Guizhou and formed the Ziqi Kingdom. Wuake led the second branch, the Ayuxi, to settle near Ma'an Mountain south of Huize. Wuana led the third branch to settle in Hezhang. In the 3rd century AD, Wuana's branch split into the Mangbu branch in Zhenxiong, led by Tuomangbu, and Luodian in Luogen, led by Tuoazhe. By 300, Luodian covered over much of the Shuixi region. Its ruler, Moweng, moved the capital to Mugebaizhage, where he renamed his realm the Mu'ege kingdom, otherwise known as the Chiefdom of Shuixi.
KingdomRuling clanModern area
BadedianMangbuZhenxiong
Luodian/LuoshiBoleAnshun
Mu'egeLuoDafang
Ziqi/YushiAwangrenSouthwest Guizhou

After the Eastern Han dynasty, the Shu of the Three Kingdoms conducted several wars against the ancestors of Yi under the lead of Zhuge Liang. They defeated the king of Yi, ꂽꉼ and expanded their conquered territory in Yi area. After that, the Jin Dynasty succeeded Shu as the suzerain of Yi area but with weak control.

Yunnan kingdoms

Some historians believe that the majority of the kingdom of Nanzhao were of the Bai people, but that the elite spoke a variant of Nuosu, a Tibeto-Burman language closely related to Burmese. The Cuanman people came to power in Yunnan during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign in 225. By the fourth century they had gained control of the region, but they rebelled against the Sui dynasty in 593 and were destroyed by a retaliatory expedition in 602. The Cuan split into two groups known as the Black and White Mywa. The White Mywa tribes, who are considered the predecessors of the Bai people, settled on the fertile land of western Yunnan around the alpine fault lake Erhai. The Black Mywa, considered to be predecessors of the Yi people, settled in the mountainous regions of eastern Yunnan. These tribes were called Mengshe, Mengxi, Langqiong, Tengtan, Shilang, and Yuexi. Each tribe was known as a zhao. In academia, the ethnic composition of the Nanzhao kingdom's population has been debated for a century. Chinese scholars tend to favour the theory that the rulers came from the aforementioned Bai or Yi groups, while some non-Chinese scholars subscribed to the theory that the Tai ethnic group was a major component, that later moved south into modern-day Thailand and Laos.
In 649, the chieftain of the Mengshe tribe, Xinuluo, founded the Great Meng and took the title of Qijia Wang. He acknowledged Tang suzerainty. In 652, Xinuluo absorbed the White Mywa realm of Zhang Lejinqiu, who ruled Erhai Lake and Cang Mountain. This event occurred peacefully as Zhang made way for Xinuluo of his own accord. The agreement was consecrated under an iron pillar in Dali. Thereafter the Black and White Mywa acted as warriors and ministers respectively.
In 704 the Tibetan Empire made the White Mywa tribes into vassals or tributaries.
In the year 737 AD, with the support of the Tang dynasty, the great-grandson of Xinuluo, Piluoge, united the six zhaos in succession, establishing a new kingdom called Nanzhao. The capital was established in 738 at Taihe,. Located in the heart of the Erhai valley, the site was ideal: it could be easily defended against attack and it was in the midst of rich farmland. Under the reign of Piluoge, the White Mywa were removed from eastern Yunnan and resettled in the west. The Black and White Mywa were separated to create a more solidified caste system of ministers and warriors.
Nanzhao existed for 165 years until A.D. 902. After 35 years of tangled warfare, Duan Siping of the Bai birth founded the Kingdom of Dali, succeeding the territory of Nanzhao. Most Yi of that time were under the ruling of Dali. Dali's sovereign reign lasted for 316 years until it was conquered by Kublai Khan. During the era of Dali, Yi people lived in the territory of Dali but had little communication with the royalty of Dali.
Kublai Khan included Dali in his domain. The Yuan emperors remained firmly in control of the Yi people and the area they inhabited as part of Kublai Khan's Yunnan Xingsheng at current Yunnan, Guizhou and part of Sichuan. In order to enhance its sovereign over the area, the Yuan dynasty set up a dominion for Yi, Luoluo Xuanweisi, the name of which means local appeasement government for Lolos. Although technically under the rule of the Yuan emperor, the Yi still had autonomy during the Yuan dynasty. The gulf between aristocrats and the common people increased during this time.

Ming and Qing dynasties

Beginning with the Ming dynasty, the Chinese empire expedited its cultural assimilation policy in Southwestern China, spreading the policy of . The governing power of many Yi feudal lords had previously been expropriated by the successors of officials assigned by the central government. With the progress of gaitu guiliu, the Yi area was dismembered into many communities both large and small, and it was difficult for the communities to communicate with each other as there were often Han-ruled areas between them.
The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty defeated Wu Sangui and took over the land of Yunnan and established a provincial government there. When Ortai became the Viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou during the era of Yongzheng Emperor, the policy of and cultural assimilation against Yi were strengthened. Under these policies, Yi who lived near Kunming were forced to abandon their convention of traditional cremation and adopt burial, a policy which triggered rebellions among the Yi. The Qing dynasty suppressed these rebellions.
After the Second Opium War, many Christian missionaries from France and Great Britain visited the area in which the Yi lived. Although some missionaries believed that Yi of some areas such as Liangshan were not under the ruling of Qing dynasty and should be independent, most aristocrats insisted that Yi was a part of China despite their resentment against Qing rule.

Modern era

, a Yi, was the military governor of Yunnan, during the Republic of China rule on mainland China.
The Fourth Front Army of the CCP encountered the Yi people during the Long March and many Yi joined the communist forces.
During the 1939-1941 construction of the Leshan-to-Xichang road, which connected Sichuan to the Yunnan-Burma highway, Yi people were an important source for guides and workers. The Yunnan-Burma highway was an important transportation connection between the Nationalist government in Chongqing and the World War 2 Allied Forces.
After the establishment of the PRC, several Yi autonomous administrative districts of prefecture or county level were set up in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. With the development of automotive traffic and telecommunications, the communications among different Yi areas have been increasing sharply.
Yi people face systematic discrimination and abuse as migrant laborers in contemporary China.

Yi polities throughout history

Language

The Chinese government recognizes six mutually unintelligible Yi languages, from various branches of the Loloish family:
Northern Yi is the largest with some two million speakers and is the basis of the literary language. It is an analytic language. There are also ethnically Yi languages of Vietnam which use the Yi script, such as Mantsi.
Many Yi in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi know Standard Chinese and code-switching between Yi and Chinese is common.

Script

The Yi script was originally logosyllabic like Chinese and dates to at least the 13th century, but seems to be completely independent of any other known script. Until the early 20th century, usage of this script was primarily the domain of bimo priests for transmitting ritual texts from generation to generation. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that elite families in Liangshan began to use the script for non-religious purposes, such as letter writing.
There were perhaps 10,000 characters, many of which were regional, since the script had never been standardized across the Yi peoples. A number of works of history, literature and medicine, as well as genealogies of the ruling families, written in the Old Yi script are still in use and there are Old Yi stone tablets and steles in the area.
An attempt to romanize the script was made in the 1950s but it failed to gain traction. In the 1970s and 1980s, the traditional script was standardized into a syllabary. Syllabic Yi is widely used in books, newspapers, street signs, and education, although with increasing influence from Chinese.

Culture

Gender

Descent and inheritance in Yi society was traditionally patrilineal and men were generally considered superior to women. Men practiced polygamy and levirate marriage. Women were excluded from oral genealogies. In certain locales, Yi women still lag behind men in terms of primary education and very few Yi women become educational instructors or political leaders. Yi women noticeably drank and smoked more than Han Chinese women.

Names

The Yi use what has been described as a father-son patronymic naming system. According to the popular conception of the Yi patronymic naming system, the last character of the father's name transfers to become the first character of the son's name. The last character of the son's name is then used as the first character of the grandson's name. However this is not strictly a name per se but rather a shortening of the genealogical system which links the father and son across generations. A complete Yi name is composed of the clan name, the branch clan name, the father's name, and the person's own name. Aho is the name of a tribe, Bbuji is the name of a clan, Jjiha is the father's name, and Lomusse is a personal name. The name therefore means Lomusse the son of Jjiha of the Bbujji clan of the Aho tribe. Within the clan he would just be called Lomusse and within the tribe he would be called Jjiha Lomusse. Yi names use the suffixes -sse and -mo to express maleness and femaleness respectively. When the genealogy of a person is recited, only the father-son linkage is used to make it easier: Aho Ddezze—Ddezze Zuluo—Zuluo Jjiha—Jjiha Lomusse—Lomu Shuogge. This caused the assumption that the Yi practiced a father-son linkage system when it was actually a traditional genealogical recitation pattern.
The names of Nanzhao rulers have been transcribed according to this system with the first character representing the father's name:
  • nuluo
  • sheng
  • luopi
  • luoge
  • luofeng
  • jiayi
  • mouxun
  • gequanfengyou – sought to imitate Chinese practices and only went by Fengyou; broke tradition and named his son Shilong
  • Shilong
  • shun
  • huazhen
This is a tradition closely tied to Tibeto-Burman traditions and suggests that the rulers of Nanzhao were not Tai people.

Slavery

Traditional Yi society was divided into four castes, the aristocratic nuohuo/''nzymo Black Yi, the commoner qunuo/quho White Yi, the ajia/mgajie, and the xiaxi/gaxy. The Black Yi made up around 7 per cent of the population while the White Yi made up 50 per cent of the population. The two castes did not intermarry and the Black Yi were always considered of higher status than the White Yi, even if the White Yi was wealthier or owned more slaves. The White and Black Yi also lived in separate villages. The Black Yi did not farm, which was traditionally done by White Yi and slaves. Black Yi were responsible only for administration and military activities. The White Yi were not technically slaves but lived as indentured servants to the Black Yi. The Ajia made up 33 per cent of the population. They were owned by both the Black and White Yi and worked as indentured laborers lower than the White Yi. The Xiaxi were the lowest caste. They were slaves who lived with their owners' livestock and had no rights. They could be beaten, sold, and killed for sport. Membership of all four castes was through patrilineal descent. The prevalence of the slave culture was so great that sometimes children were named after how many slaves they owned. For example: Lurbbu, Lurda, Lurshy, Lurnji, Lurpo, Lurha,, Jjinu.
Cases of the caste slavery system's influence could be found as late as the 1980s and early 1990s, when nuohuo clans prevented marriage with qunuo'' or punished members who did.

Folklore

The most famous hero in Yi mythology is Zhyge Alu. He was the son of a dragon and an eagle who possessed supernatural strength, anti-magic, and anti-ghost powers. He rode a nine-winged flying horse called "long heavenly wings." He also had the help of a magical peacock and python. The magical peacock was called Shuotnyie Voplie and could deafen the ears of those who heard its cry, but if invited into one's house, would consume evil and expel leprosy. The python, called Bbahxa Ayuosse, was defeated by Zhyge Alu, who wrestled with it in the ocean after transforming into a dragon. It was said to be able to detect leprosy, cure tuberculosis, and eradicate epidemics. Like the Chinese mythological archer, Hou Yi, Zhyge Alu shoots down the suns to save the people. In the Yi religion Bimoism, Zhyge Alu aids the bimo priests in curing leprosy and fighting ghosts.
Jiegujienuo was a ghost that caused dizziness, slowness in action, dementia and anxiety. The ghost was blamed for ailments and exorcism rituals were conducted to combat the ghost. The bimo erected small sticks considered to be sacred, the kiemobbur, at the ritual site in preparation.

Torch Festival

The Torch Festival is one of the Yi people's main holidays. According to Yi legend, there were once two men of great strength, Sireabi and Atilaba. Sireabi lived in heaven while Atilaba on earth. When Sireabi heard of Atilaba's strength, he challenged Atilaba to a wrestling match. After suffering two defeats, Sireabi was killed in a bout, which greatly angered the bodhisattavas, who sent a plague of locusts to punish the earth. On the 24th day of the 6th month of the lunar calendar, Atilaba cut down many pine trees and used them as torches to kill the locusts, protecting the crops from destruction. The Torch Festival is thus held in his honor.

Music

The Yi play a number of traditional musical instruments, including large plucked and bowed string instruments, as well as wind instruments called bawu and mabu. The Yi also play the hulu sheng, though unlike other minority groups in Yunnan, the Yi do not play the hulu sheng for courtship or love songs. The kouxian, a small four-pronged instrument similar to the Jew's harp, is another commonly found instrument among the Liangshan Yi. Kouxian songs are most often improvised and are supposed to reflect the mood of the player or the surrounding environment. Kouxian songs can also occasionally function in the aiqing form. Yi dance is perhaps the most commonly recognized form of musical performance, as it is often performed during publicly sponsored holidays and/or festival events.

Literature

Artist Colette Fu, great-granddaughter of Long Yun has spent time from 1996 till present photographing the Yi community in Yunnan Province. Her series of pop-up books, titled We are Tiger Dragon People, includes images of many Yi groups.

Religion

Other religions

In Yunnan, some of the Yi have adopted Buddhism as a result of exchanges with other predominantly Buddhist ethnic groups present in Yunnan, such as the Dai and the Tibetans. The most important god of Yi Buddhism is Mahākāla, a wrathful deity found in Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism. In the 20th century, many Yi people in China converted to Christianity, after the arrival of Gladstone Porteous in 1904 and, later, medical missionaries such as Alfred James Broomhall, Janet Broomhall, Ruth Dix and Joan Wales of the China Inland Mission. According to missionary organization OMF International, the exact number of Yi Christians is not known. In 1991 it was reported that there were as many as 1,500,000 Yi Christians in Yunnan Province, especially in Luquan County where there are more than 20 churches.

Medicine

The Yi are known for the extent of their inter-generational transmission of traditional medicine through oral tradition and written records. Their traditional medicine system has been academically inventoried. Since the prefecture the Yi medicinal data was collected from also contains the cave containing human-infectable SARS clades and it is known that people living in the vicinity SARS caves show serological signs of past infection, it has been suggested that the Yi were repeatably exposed to coronavirus over their history, passively learned to medicinally fend off coronavirus infection centuries ago, and committed the results into their inter-generational record of medicinal indications.

Distribution

;County-level distribution of the Yi 2000 census in China.
County/cityYi %Yi populationTotal population
Sichuan province2.582,122,38982,348,296
Panzhihua city10.11110,3261,091,657
Dong district1.253,945315,707
Xi district1.843,148170,862
Renhe district19.0638,907204,170
Miyi county13.2127,381207,300
Yanbian county19.0836,945193,618
Leshan city3.53117,3553,324,139
Jinkouhe district10.155,37352,916
Ebian Yi autonomous county30.6543,269141,166
Mabian Yi autonomous county39.1566,723170,425
Pingshan county2.005,004250,620
Yaan city2.0431,0131,522,845
Hanyuan county4.5115,686347,471
Shimian county11.1713,769123,261
Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture2.5622,946897,239
Luding county4.403,42477,855
Jiulong county37.0118,80650,816
Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture44.431,813,6834,081,697
Xichang city16.48101,369615,212
Muli Tibetan autonomous county27.7134,489124,462
Yanyuan county47.67149,568313,765
Dechang county23.1843,810188,980
Huili county17.3375,064433,185
Huidong county6.9124,279351,310
Ningnan county21.8537,134169,962
Puge county76.55106,521139,156
Butuo county95.44132,285138,604
Jinyang county78.42109,813140,028
Zhaojue county96.75200,951207,712
Xide county85.74118,048137,676
Mianning county33.39108,289324,332
Yuexi county72.54172,505237,800
Ganluo county68.66120,445175,426
Meigu county97.81172,356176,214
Leibo county51.36106,757207,873
Guizhou province2.39843,55435,247,695
Baiyun district1.041,961187,695
Qingzhen city1.657,761471,305
Liupanshui city9.56262,3082,744,085
Zhongshan district5.6425,549453,293
Liuzhi special district11.3261,319541,762
Shuicheng county11.7079,339678,228
Pan county8.9796,1011,070,802
Qianxi'nan Bouyei Miao autonomous prefecture2.0558,7662,864,920
Xingyi city2.0214,521719,605
Xingren county2.4410,372425,091
Puan county2.666,905259,881
Qinglong county6.7617,436258,031
Anlong county2.289,094399,384
Bijie prefecture7.41468,8006,327,471
Bijie city4.2648,0941,128,230
Dafang county10.8492,295851,729
Qianxi county8.6760,420697,075
Jinsha county4.1720,696496,063
Zhijin county3.8131,420825,350
Nayong county5.7237,840661,772
Weining Yi Hui Miao autonomous county9.0695,6291,056,009
Hezhang county13.4882,406611,243
Yunnan province11.114,705,65842,360,089
Kunming city6.65384,5315,781,294
Wuhua district2.5610,580413,420
Panlong district1.595,468344,754
Guandu district3.3847,3111,398,305
Xishan district5.0730,617603,363
Dongchuan district3.268,984275,564
Chenggong county1.222,202180,685
Jinning county7.6420,443267,739
Fumin county7.4410,422140,046
Yiliang county6.0624,051396,677
Shilin Yi autonomous county32.4972,779223,978
Luquan Yi Miao autonomous county22.4596,388429,355
Xundian Hui Yi autonomous county8.9142,934481,721
Anning city3.349,872295,173
Qujing city3.85210,3515,466,089
Qilin district2.1614,041648,956
Malong county3.416,326185,766
Shizong county6.2121,718349,770
Luoping county6.4433,159515,211
Fuyuan county7.1647,076657,474
Huize county2.0016,910844,485
Zhanyi county2.168,406389,838
Xuanwei city4.4657,7081,292,825
Yuxi city19.32400,4122,073,005
Hongta district9.0236,905409,044
Jiangchuan county5.4814,087257,078
Chengjiang county1.822,726149,748
Tonghai county5.8216,017275,063
Huaning county21.2941,844196,519
Yimen county26.7545,362169,581
Eshan Yi autonomous county52.3679,289151,426
Xinping Yi Dai autonomous county46.20122,259264,615
Yuanjiang Hani Yi Dai autonomous county20.9741,923199,931
Zhaotong prefecture3.23148,5214,592,388
Zhaotong city2.5818,758727,959
Ludian county2.518,686345,740
Qiaojia county2.8613,183461,034
Daguan county1.984,667235,802
Yongshan county4.7217,130362,943
Zhenxiong county5.7863,4631,097,093
Yiliang county4.2420,269477,811
Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture26.31668,9372,542,530
Chuxiong city19.0595,959503,682
Shuangbai county43.1066,110153,403
Mouding county22.0343,032195,322
Nanhua county36.0782,223227,970
Yaoan county25.3850,526199,071
Dayao county29.5282,620279,838
Yongren county49.4451,223103,606
Yuanmou county24.2549,179202,779
Wuding county30.1879,254262,601
Lufeng county16.6168,811414,258
Honghe Hani Yi autonomous prefecture23.57973,7324,130,463
Gejiu city20.2791,902453,311
Kaiyuan city33.0996,647292,039
Mengzi county29.3899,917340,051
Pingbian Miao autonomous county18.5127,596149,088
Jianshui county29.02149,071513,712
Shiping county53.67148,987277,580
Mile county30.92153,235495,642
Luxi county7.9929,202365,585
Yuanyang county24.0187,137362,950
Honghe county14.2338,086267,627
Jinping Miao Yao Dai autonomous county11.9737,837316,171
Lüchun county4.929,894201,256
Hekou Yao autonomous county4.424,22195,451
Wenshan Zhuang Miao autonomous prefecture10.62347,1943,268,553
Wenshan county17.2874,255429,639
Yanshan county21.1192,356437,508
Xichou county3.959,332236,120
Malipo county2.256,036267,986
Maguan county9.1632,056350,002
Qiubei county18.0578,327434,009
Guangnan county5.8442,675730,376
Funing county3.1712,157382,913
Pu'er city16.58411,1202,480,346
Simao district15.1234,904230,834
Ning'er Hani Yi autonomous county19.4536,589188,106
Mojiang Hani autonomous county9.2332,812355,364
Jingdong Yi autonomous county39.92140,556352,089
Jinggu Dai Yi autonomous county20.5959,476288,794
Zhenyuan Yi Hani Lahu autonomous county27.2856,119205,709
Jiangcheng Hani Yi autonomous county13.4713,503100,243
Menglian Dai Lahu Va autonomous county2.404,999208,593
Lancang Lahu autonomous county6.7431,255464,016
Ximeng Va autonomous county1.0590786,598
Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture5.6155,772993,397
Jinghong city5.5624,673443,672
Menghai county2.287,175314,068
Mengla county10.1523,924235,657
Dali Bai autonomous prefecture12.94426,6343,296,552
Dali city2.9515,385521,169
Yangbi Yi autonomous county46.0948,565105,380
Xiangyun county7.2631,733437,371
Binchuan county6.2720,332324,412
Midu county8.3524,791296,860
Nanjian Yi autonomous county47.2499,159209,887
Weishan Yi Hui autonomous county34.07100,879296,124
Yongping county26.5647,391178,438
Yunlong county5.4510,739196,978
Eryuan county3.009,443315,003
Jianchuan county2.884,771165,900
Heqing county5.4013,446249,030
Baoshan prefecture3.2375,8772,348,315
Baoshan city4.6139,025846,865
Shidian county3.6211,360314,187
Longling county1.834,758260,097
Changning county6.0420,123333,241
Lijiang prefecture18.68210,4311,126,646
Lijiang Naxi autonomous county2.428,871366,705
Yongsheng county12.4346,703375,769
Huaping county8.2612,808154,968
Ninglang Yi autonomous county61.97142,049229,204
Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture1.999,805491,824
Lushui county2.283,915171,974
Lanping Bai Pumi autonomous county2.915,727196,977
Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture3.2911,616353,518
Zhongdian county6.509,586147,416
Weixi Lisu autonomous county1.382,016146,017
Lincang prefecture15.77367,8802,332,570
Lincang county5.4315,478285,163
Fengqing county27.61117,883426,943
Yun county37.96158,099416,507
Yongde county8.6829,521339,918
Zhenkang county17.1931,334182,258
Shuangjiang Lahu Va Blang Dai autonomous county1.572,605165,982
Gengma Dai Va autonomous county3.5711,193313,220
Longlin autonomous county 1.033,563347,462

Notable people