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Kra–Dai-speaking peoples
The term Kra–Dai peoples or Kra–Dai-speaking peoples refers collectively to the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia, stretching from Hainan to Northeast India and from southern Sichuan to Laos, Thailand and parts of Vietnam, who not only speak languages belonging to the Kra–Dai language family, but also share similar traditions, culture and ancestry.[note 1] OriginChamberlain (2016) proposes that the Kra–Dai language family was formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle of the Yangtze basin, coinciding roughly with the establishment of the Chu state and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty.[1] Following the southward migrations of Kra and Hlai (Rei/Li) peoples around the 8th century BCE, the Yue (Be-Tai people) started to break away and move to the east coast in the present-day Zhejiang province, in the 6th century BCE, forming the state of Yue and conquering the state of Wu shortly thereafter.[1] According to Chamberlain, Yue people (Be-Tai) began to migrate southwards along the east coast of China to what are now Guangxi, Guizhou and northern Vietnam, after Yue was conquered by Chu around 333 BCE. There the Yue (Be-Tai) formed the Luo Yue, which moved into Lingnan and Annam and then westward into northeastern Laos and Sip Song Chau Tai, and later became the Central-Southwestern Tai, followed by the Xi Ou, which became the Northern Tai).[1] Tao et. al (2023), however, suggests that the Kra-Dai language family originated from coastal south China, around the Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and underwent a radial expansion into the Guizhou-Yunnan region, Hainan Island, and Mainland Southeast Asia. This language dispersal might also be associated with environmental change and demographic changes.[2] Kra–Dai peoples are thought to originate from Taiwan, where they spoke a dialect of proto-Austronesian or one of its descendant languages. The Kra–Dai-speaking peoples migrated to southern China, where they brought with them the Proto-Kra–Dai language. Like the Malayo-Polynesians, they may originally have been of Austronesian descent.[3] Unlike the Malayo-Polynesian group who later sailed south to the Philippines and other parts of maritime Southeast Asia, the ancestors of the modern Kra–Dai people sailed west to mainland China and possibly traveled along the Pearl River, where their language greatly changed from other Austronesian languages under the influence of Sino-Tibetan and Hmong–Mien language infusion.[4] However, no archaeological evidence has been identified which would correspond to this Daic expansion in its earliest phases. Aside from linguistic evidence, the connection between Austronesian and Kra–Dai can also be found in some common cultural practices. Roger Blench (2008) demonstrates that dental evulsion, face tattooing, teeth blackening and snake cults are shared between the Taiwanese Austronesians and the Kra–Dai peoples of Southern China.[5][6]
Linguistic subdivisionsThere are five established branches of the Kra–Dai languages, which may not directly correspond to ethnicity:
The Lakkia people of Guangxi Autonomous Region of China (Tai Lakka in neighboring portions of Vietnam) are ethnically of Yao, but speak a Kra–Dai language called Lakkia.[10] These Yao were likely in an area dominated by Tai speakers and assimilated an early Kra–Dai language (possibly the language of the ancestors of the Biao people).
Geographic distributionThe Kra-Dai have historically resided in China, continental Southeast Asia and parts of northeastern India since the early Kra-Dai expansion period. Their primary geographic distribution in those countries is roughly in the shape of an arc extending from northeastern India through southern China and down to Southeast Asia. Recent Kra-Dai migrations have brought considerable numbers of Kra-Dai peoples to Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Argentina as well. The greatest ethnic diversity within the Kra-Dai occurs in China, which is their prehistoric homeland. The Kra peoples are clustered in the Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Hainan provinces of China, as well as the Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces of Vietnam. The Kam–Sui peoples are clustered in China as well as neighboring portions of northern Laos and Vietnam. List of Kra–Dai-speaking peoples per countryChinaIn southern China, people speaking Kra-Dai languages are mainly found in Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangdong, and Hainan. According to statistics from the fourth census taken in China in 1990, the total population of these groups amounted to 23,262,000. Their distribution is as follows:
The following is a list of the Kra–Dai ethnic groups in China: Tai and Rauz peoples
Li/Hlai peopleThe Li/Hlai reside primarily, if not completely, within the Hainan Province of China. Kra peoplesThe Kra peoples are clustered in the Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Hainan provinces of China, as well as the Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces of Vietnam. Kam–Sui peoples
Cao Miao peopleThe Cao Miao people of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi Provinces speak a Kam–Sui language called Mjiuniang, although it is believed that the people are of Hmong–Mien descent. Kang peopleThe Kang people of Yunnan Province (referred to as Tai Khang in Laos) speak a Kam–Sui language, but ethnically descend from the Dai people. Biao peopleThe Biao people are clustered in the Guangdong Province of China.[12] Lakkia peopleThe Lakkia are an ethnic group clustered in the Guangxi Province of China and neighboring portions of Vietnam, whose members are of Yao descent, but speak a Tai–Kadai language called Lakkia.[10] These Yao were likely in an area dominated by Tai speakers and assimilated an early Tai–Kadai language (possibly the language of the ancestors of the Biao people). Lingao peopleThe Lingao people are an ethnic group clustered in the Hainan Province of China whose members are classified as Han under China's nationality policy, but speak a Tai–Kadai language called Lincheng.[11] LaosNuclear Tai peoples
Kam–Sui peoplesThe Kam–Sui peoples are clustered in China as well as neighboring portions of northern Laos and Vietnam. Saek peopleThe center of the Saek population is the Mekong River in central Laos. A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos. ThailandNuclear Tai peoples
Saek peopleThe center of the Saek population is the Mekong River in central Laos. A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos. VietnamNuclear Tai peoples
Kra peoplesMyanmar
CambodiaIndiaThe following groups are found in Assam, India: History in China
In China, Kra–Dai peoples and languages are mainly distributed in a radial area from the western edge of Yunnan Province to Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou Hunan and Hainan Provinces. Most speakers live in compact communities. Some of them are scattered among the Han Chinese or other ethnic minorities. The ancient Baiyue people, who covered a large area in southern China, were their common ancestors. The use of name Zhuang for the Zhuang people today first appeared in a book named A History of the Local Administration in Guangxi, written by Fan Chengda during the Southern Song dynasty. From then on, Zhuang would usually be seen in Han Chinese historical books together with Lao. In Guangxi, until the Ming dynasty, the name Zhuang was generally used to refer to those called Li (originating from Wuhu Man) who lived in compact communities in Guigang (the present name), the Mountain Lao in Guilin and the Tho in Qinzhou. According to A History of the Ming Dynasty – Biography of Guangxi Ethnic Minority Hereditary Headman "In Guangxi, most of the people were the Yaos and the Zhuangs, ...the other small groups were too numerous to mention individually." Gu Yanwu (a Chinese scholar in the Ming dynasty) gave the correct explanation of this point, saying "The Yao were Jing Man (aborigines from Hunan), and the Zhuang originated from the ancient Yue." The word Zhuang was the short form of Buzhuang, which was the name the ancestors of the Zhuang people living in the northeast of Guangxi, the south of Guizhou and the west of Guangdong used to refer to themselves. Later this name was gradually accepted by those who had different names, and finally became the general name for the whole group (Ni Dabai 1990). Zhuang had several variant written forms in the ancient Han historical books. The Buyi, who lived in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau since ancient times, were called Luoyue, Pu, Puyue, Yi, Yipu, Lao, Pulao, Yilai, etc., in the Qin and Han dynasties. Since the Yuan dynasty, the name Zhong, which appeared in the historical book later than Zhuang was used to refer to the Buyi. It was originally a variant form of Zhuang, referring to both the Zhuang and the Buyi in Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou. Later, it referred to the Buyi only, and always appeared in the historical books as Zhongjia, Zhongmiao, and Qingzhong, until the early 1950s. Like Zhuang, Zhong may also be the short form of Buzhuang, which Zhuang people use to refer to themselves, as the pronunciation of Zhong and Zhuang is similar, and Zhong was once a variant form of Zhuang in the Han Chinese historical books. But today, Buyi people never use Buzhuang or Buzhong to refer to themselves, therefore, the use of Zhong as the name of Buyi may have something to do with the common origin of these two groups of peoples, or the mass migration by Zhuang into Buyi areas (Zhou Guoyan 1996) Hlai (黎) people living on Hainan island were called Luoyue (雒越) during the western Han dynasty. During the period from the Sui to the Tang dynasty, Li began to appear in the Han historical books. Li (黎) was frequently used in the Song dynasty, and sometimes Lao was also used. Fan Chengda wrote in History of Local Administration in Guangxi: "On the island (Hainan island) there is a Limu Mountain; different groups of aborigines lived around it, calling themselves Li." The Kam lived in compact communities in neighboring areas across the Guizhou and Hunan Provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region until the Ming dynasty. At that time, the name Dong and Dong-Man began to be recorded, In the Qing dynasty, they were called Dong Miao, Dong Min and Dong Jia. Much earlier, during the period of the Qin and the Han dynasty, they were called Wulin Man or Wuxi Man. Later the name Lao, Laohu, and Wuhu were used to refer to a group of people who might be the ancestors of the Kam. As suggested by some scholars, the ancestors of the Sui were a group of Luoyue (雒越) who were forced to move to the adjacent areas of Guangxi and Guizhou from the Yonjiang River Valley, tracing a path along the Longjiang River because of the chaos of war during the Qin dynasty. The name Sui first appeared in the Ming dynasty. Before that, the Sui had been included in the Baiyue, Man and Lao groups. The ancestors of the Dai in Yunnan were the Dianyue (滇越) group mentioned in the Records of a Historian by Sima Qian. In Records of the Later Han Dynasty, they were called Shan, and in Records of the Local Countries in Southern China, they were called Dianpu. In the Tang dynasty, they were mentioned as Black Teeth, and as Face-Tattooed in a book named A Survey of the Aborigines by Fan Chuo. These monikers were given based on their customs of tattooing and teeth decoration. In the Song dynasty, they were called Baiyi Man, and in the Yuan dynasty were called Jinchi Baiyi. Until the Ming dynasty, they were generally called Baiyi and after the Qing dynasty, they were called Baiyi. The modern Dai people can be traced back to Dianyue, a subgroup among the ancient Baiyue groups. Common culture
LanguageThe languages spoken by the Kra-Dai people are classified as the Kra–Dai language family. The high diversity of Kra–Dai languages in southern China points to the origin of the Kra–Dai language family in southern China. The Tai branch moved south into Southeast Asia only around 1000 AD. These languages are tonal languages, meaning variations in tone of a word can change that word's meaning. FestivalsSeveral Kra-Dai groups celebrate a number of common festivals, including a holiday known as Songkran, which originally marked the vernal equinox, but is now celebrated on 13 April every year. Genetics of Kra–Dai-speaking peoples
Li (2008)The following table of Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup frequencies of modern Kra-Dai speaking peoples is from Li, et al. (2008).[18]
Full genome analysisA 2015 genetic and linguistic analysis showed great genetic homogeneity between Kra-Dai speaking people, suggesting a common ancestry and a large replacement of former non-Kra-Dai groups in Southeast Asia. Kra-Dai populations are closest to southern Chinese and Taiwanese populations.[19] A 2022 study states that Han Chinese in Fujian and Guangdong provinces show excessive ancestries from Late Neolithic Fujianese sources (35.0–40.3%), which are more significant in modern Ami, Atayal and Kankanaey (66.9–74.3%), and less significant in Han Chinese from Zhejiang (22%), Jiangsu (17%) and Shandong (8%). This suggests a significant genetic contribution from Kra-Dai-speaking peoples, or a peoples related to them, to southern Han Chinese.[20] Most Kra-Dai-speaking populations in China and Vietnam share connections with the Atayal, with the former harboring about ~3–38% Atayal-related ancestry. They also have Tibetan-related ancestry.[21] Notes
References
Works cited
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![Proposed genesis of Daic languages and their relation with Austronesian languages (Blench, 2018)[7]](File:Genesis_of_Daic_languages_and_their_relation_with_Austronesians.png)
![Kra-Dai migration route according to James R. Chamberlain (2016).[8]](File:Kra-Tai-Migration1.png)
![Kra–Dai migration route according to Matthias Gerner's Northeast to Southwest Hypothesis.[9]](File:Gerner_Tai-Kadai_migration_route.png)
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