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Li people Wikipedia

Li (黎 pinyin L?) or Hlai is a minority Chinese ethnic group. They form one of the Chinese nationalities|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 minority ethnic group.

During the Sui Dynasty they were known by the name Liliao, and presently they refer to themselves as the Hlai or Sai people.

They are held in high esteem by the Beijing government because they fought on the side of the Communist Party of China|CPC against Chinese Kuomintang|nationalist rule, during the Revolutionary Chinese Civil War. http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Minorities/min-Li.html The Li suffered heavily under the Japanese occupation.

The Li have their own language, known as Hlai, which is classified as one of the Tai-Kadai languages (previously Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan). The Hlai language did not have a writing system prior to the 1950s, when the Latin alphabet was adopted. The Li people can generally understand or speak Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin.

Last Modified:   2005-11-29