Bouyei people
The Bouyei, otherwise known as the Zhongjia, are an ethnic group living in Southern Mainland China. Numbering 2.5 million, they are the 11th largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Some Bouyei also live in Vietnam, where they are one of that nation's 54 officially recognized ethnic groups. Despite the Chinese considering them a separate group, they consider themselves Zhuang.
The Bouyei live in semi-tropical, high-altitude forests of Guizhou Province, as well as in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces and speak a Tai language.
Names
The Bouyei consist of various subgroups. Below are their autonyms written in the International Phonetic Alphabet with numerical Chao tones.- ', 濮越
- ', 濮夷
- ', 布侬
- ', 补笼
- ', 布那
- ', 布土、布都
- ', 布央
- ', 布笼哈
- ', 布武
- ', 布韦
- , 布鲁
Distribution
In China by county
;County-level distribution of the Bouyei, from the 2000 Chinese censusProvince | Prefecture | County | Bouyei Population | % of China's Bouyei Population |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Dushan | 194,468 | 6.54% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Duyun | 190,347 | 6.41% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Wangmo | 174,806 | 5.88% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Luodian | 158,494 | 5.33% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Ceheng | 158,019 | 5.32% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Anlong | 139,930 | 4.71% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Huishui | 135,943 | 4.58% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Zhenning Buyei and Miao | 131,962 | 4.44% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Zhenfeng | 125,058 | 4.21% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Xingyi | 124,901 | 4.2% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Pingtang | 107,473 | 3.62% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Libo | 93,681 | 3.15% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Guiding | 92,607 | 3.12% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Ziyun Miao and Buyei | 86,513 | 2.91% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Changshun | 81,022 | 2.73% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Guanling Buyei and Miao | 68,967 | 2.32% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Qinglong | 64,001 | 2.15% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Xixiu | 62,497 | 2.1% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Xingren | 50,210 | 1.69% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Sandu Shui | 49,877 | 1.68% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Huaxi | 41,446 | 1.4% |
Guizhou | Liupanshui | Shuicheng | 41,255 | 1.39% |
Guizhou | Liupanshui | Liuzhi | 35,772 | 1.2% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Longli | 34,259 | 1.15% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Majiang | 33,958 | 1.14% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Pingba | 29,452 | 0.99% |
Yunnan | Qujing | Luoping | 25,152 | 0.85% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Qingzhen | 25,017 | 0.84% |
Guizhou | Qianxinan Buyei and Miao | Pu'an | 23,639 | 0.8% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Wudang | 23,597 | 0.79% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Kaiyang | 22,611 | 0.76% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Nanming | 20,608 | 0.69% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Fuquan | 19,520 | 0.66% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Qianxi | 17,447 | 0.59% |
Guizhou | Liupanshui | Pan | 16,072 | 0.54% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Baiyun | 15,116 | 0.51% |
Guizhou | Anshun | Puding | 15,083 | 0.51% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Zhijin | 14,512 | 0.49% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Yunyan | 14,293 | 0.48% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Xiaohe | 12,138 | 0.41% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Weining Yi, Hui, and Miao | 7,484 | 0.25% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Nayong | 7,222 | 0.24% |
Guangxi | Hechi | Nandan | 6,822 | 0.23% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Xiuwen | 6,397 | 0.22% |
Yunnan | Wenshan Zhuang and Miao | Maguan | 6,085 | 0.21% |
Guangdong | Dongguan | none | 5,584 | 0.19% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Dafang | 5,294 | 0.18% |
Guizhou | Liupanshui | Zhongshan | 4,075 | 0.14% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Jinsha | 3,804 | 0.13% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Guandu | 3,582 | 0.12% |
Yunnan | Zhaotong | Qiaojia | 3,063 | 0.1% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Hezhang | 2,773 | 0.09% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Kaili | 2,573 | 0.09% |
Sichuan | Liangshan Yi | Ningnan | 2,353 | 0.08% |
Yunnan | Honghe Hani and Yi | Hekou Yao | 2,190 | 0.07% |
Zhejiang | Ningbo | Cixi | 2,155 | 0.07% |
Guizhou | Guiyang | Xifeng | 1,846 | 0.06% |
Guangxi | Hechi | Huanjiang Maonan | 1,833 | 0.06% |
Guangdong | Foshan | Shunde | 1,796 | 0.06% |
Guangdong | Shenzhen | Bao'an | 1,777 | 0.06% |
Guangdong | Shenzhen | Longgang | 1,745 | 0.06% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Xishan | 1,668 | 0.06% |
Sichuan | Liangshan Yi | Huidong County, Sichuan | 1,534 | 0.05% |
Zhejiang | Jinhua | Yongkang | 1,363 | 0.05% |
Guizhou | Zunyi | Honghuagang | 1,323 | 0.05% |
Guangdong | Huizhou | Huiyang | 1,227 | 0.04% |
Zhejiang | Jinhua | Dongyang | 1,222 | 0.04% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Dongchuan | 1,150 | 0.04% |
Yunnan | Qujing | Fuyuan | 1,097 | 0.04% |
Zhejiang | Ningbo | Yuyao | 1,059 | 0.04% |
Guizhou | Qiannan Buyei and Miao | Weng'an | 1,019 | 0.03% |
Guangxi | Hechi | Tian'e | 1,017 | 0.03% |
Sichuan | Liangshan Yi | Mili Tibetan | 988 | 0.03% |
Guangdong | Huizhou | Boluo | 983 | 0.03% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Rongjiang | 981 | 0.03% |
Zhejiang | Quzhou | Jiangshan | 854 | 0.03% |
Zhejiang | Jinhua | Yiwu | 846 | 0.03% |
Jiangsu | Wuxi | Yixing | 820 | 0.03% |
Zhejiang | Huzhou | Changxing | 797 | 0.03% |
Yunnan | Yuxi | Hongta | 790 | 0.03% |
Guizhou | Bijie | Qixingguan | 789 | 0.03% |
Zhejiang | Shaoxing | Shangyu | 785 | 0.03% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Danzhai | 778 | 0.03% |
Zhejiang | Taizhou | Wenling | 760 | 0.03% |
Guangdong | Foshan | Nanhai | 737 | 0.03% |
Guangdong | Guangzhou | Baiyun | 641 | 0.02% |
Guangdong | Guangzhou | Panyu | 638 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Hangzhou | Fuyang | 632 | 0.02% |
Fujian | Quanzhou | Jinjiang | 596 | 0.02% |
Yunnan | Xishuangbanna Dai | Mengla | 596 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Wenzhou | Rui'an | 594 | 0.02% |
Yunnan | Qujing | Qilin | 589 | 0.02% |
Guangdong | Zhongshan | none | 585 | 0.02% |
Guizhou | Zunyi | Renhuai | 575 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Jinhua | Pujiang | 548 | 0.02% |
Guangxi | Bose | Tianlin | 538 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Wenzhou | Ouhai | 506 | 0.02% |
Guangxi | Yulin | Rong | 506 | 0.02% |
Guangxi | Hechi | Jinchengjiang | 501 | 0.02% |
Yunnan | Honghe Hani and Yi | Gejiu | 501 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Shaoxing | Shaoxing | 498 | 0.02% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Wuhua | 483 | 0.02% |
Guizhou | Zunyi | Zunyi | 465 | 0.02% |
Zhejiang | Wenzhou | Yueqing | 453 | 0.02% |
Jiangsu | Changzhou | Liyang | 440 | 0.02% |
Guangxi | Bose | Leye | 439 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Yulin | Xingye | 423 | 0.01% |
Hebei | Tangshan | Luannan | 416 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Bose | Xilin | 410 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Yulin | Yuzhou | 400 | 0.01% |
Guangdong | Chaozhou | Xiangqiao | 398 | 0.01% |
Guangdong | Maoming | Gaozhou | 397 | 0.01% |
Zhejiang | Ningbo | Yinzhou | 395 | 0.01% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Anning | 391 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Liuzhou | Liunan | 389 | 0.01% |
Zhejiang | Hangzhou | Xiaoshan | 388 | 0.01% |
Fujian | Zhangzhou | Longhai | 382 | 0.01% |
Guangdong | Maoming | Dianbai | 381 | 0.01% |
Guizhou | Tongren | Shiqian | 376 | 0.01% |
Zhejiang | Shaoxing | Zhuji | 373 | 0.01% |
Hebei | Tangshan | Qian'an | 351 | 0.01% |
Beijing | none | Haidian | 348 | 0.01% |
Yunnan | Kunming | Panlong | 347 | 0.01% |
Guizhou | Tongren | Bijiang | 338 | 0.01% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Liping | 337 | 0.01% |
Zhejiang | Hangzhou | Yuhang | 336 | 0.01% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Congjiang | 336 | 0.01% |
Hebei | Baoding | Yi | 334 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Guigang | Gangbei | 331 | 0.01% |
Zhejiang | Jinhua | Lanxi | 330 | 0.01% |
Guizhou | Qiandongnan Miao and Dong | Huangping | 329 | 0.01% |
Jiangsu | Wuxi | Jiangyin | 312 | 0.01% |
Guangxi | Bose | Longlin | 305 | 0.01% |
Guangdong | Shenzhen | Nanshan | 301 | 0.01% |
Other | 73,219 | 2.46% |
In Vietnam
;Province-level distribution of the Bố Y, from the 2009 CensusProvince | Bố Y Population | % of Vietnam's Bố Y Population |
Lào Cai | 1,398 | 61.5% |
Hà Giang | 808 | 35.5% |
Other | 67 | 2.9% |
Language
The Bouyei speak the Bouyei language, which is very close to Standard Zhuang language. There is a dialect continuum between these two. The Bouyei language has its own written form which was created by linguists in the 1950s based on the Latin alphabet and with spelling conventions similar for the Pinyin system that had been devised to romanise Mandarin Chinese.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 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 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 of 1797, the Bouyei underwent a strong repression that caused many of them to emigrate to faraway Vietnam.