The Yi people celebrating the Torch Festival in Bijie, Guizhou Province in 2024 Photo: IC PHOTO

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The Yi people, one of Southwest China’s ethnic groups, have a rich literary tradition preserved in their script. Central to this tradition are creation epics, widely circulated in oral and written forms. Despite regional variations, these epics share a common theme: multiple ethnic groups, linked by a shared ancestry, trace their origins to human survivors chosen by the gods after a great flood.

Shared bloodline

The concept of a shared ancestry and bloodline is a central motif in the Yi people’s creation epics. One example is the Yi creation epic Le E Te Yi: The Flood That Covered the World (Le E Te Yi, meaning “A Text of History” in the Yi language), which originates from Sichuan. It narrates that after a great flood, only the kind-hearted Jumu Wuwu survived. He married a woman from Heaven, and together they had three mute sons. To help them speak, the couple burned bamboo from deep valleys, believing the cracking sounds it produced would restore their sons’ voices. When burned, the eldest son uttered “E Di E Duo” while kneeling, becoming the ancestor of the Tibetan people. The second son, saying “A Zi Ge Ye,” sat on a bamboo mat and became the progenitor of the Yi people. The youngest son, after exclaiming “Bi Zi De Ge,” sat on a doorstep and became the ancestor of the Han people. This tale symbolizes the shared origins of the Tibetan, Yi, and Han peoples, presenting them as siblings with a common maternal lineage.

Another version of the creation epic, Cha Mu: The Origin of the Ethnic Groups, passed down in Chuxiong and Honghe prefectures in Yunnan, recounts that after a great flood, only a brother and sister from the Apu Dumu family survived. They married and had thirty-six mute children. A god instructed the parents to cure their children by burning bamboo and placing it in a fire. The cracking sounds and sparks from the bamboo touched the mute children, enabling them to speak. The words they uttered, such as "A Jiejie,” “A Zhazha,” and “A Yaya,” became the origins of the Yi, Hani, Han, and other languages.

In the Yi creation epic Meige: The Origins of Humanity, widely known in Chuxiong, Yunnan, a similar story unfolds. After the flood, only a brother and sister survived and gave birth to a mysterious gourd. When the gourd was opened, it released various ethnic groups, including the Han, Dai, Yi, Lisu, Miao, Tibetan, Bai, and Hui peoples. A parallel tale from Mile, Honghe, titled A Xi Xian Ji: The Ancient Times, describes how a brother and sister, the sole survivors of the flood, planted melon seeds brought by a swallow. When the melon ripened and was split open, it gave rise to different ethnic groups. Another variation from Xinping, Yuxi, known as The Flooding of the Earth, tells of the survivor Dumu, who married three maidens from the heavenly realm. Their union produced the ancestors of various ethnic groups, including Shan Su (a Yi branch), Nie Su (another Yi branch), Te Ni (Han), Mu Ta (Hani), Ke Da (Lahu), and Bai Yi (Dai). These narratives collectively emphasize the interconnectedness of the region’s diverse ethnic communities.

In these versions of the Yi creation epics from Sichuan and Yunnan, along with those of related ethnic groups in Southwest China, a common theme emerges: these groups share a single ancestral origin. These narratives also demonstrate that these ethnic groups coexisted in the same geographic region during early times. Epics like Meige, Cha Mu, and A Xi Xian Ji depict how the Han and Dai peoples settled in lowlands or riverbanks, the Hani at the foot of mountains, the Yi on hillsides, the Lisu on ridges, the Wa in forests, the Miao on high mountains, and the Tibetans on plateaus. These stories highlight the historical interconnection of these groups as an inseparable community of shared destiny, bound by blood ties and kinship.

Cultural connections 

The cultural connections among these groups are evident in shared elements such as language and traditional festivals. Language, as a key marker of ethnic identity, often preserves phonetic similarities, vocabulary, and patterns of evolution among groups with common ancestry. These shared linguistic features offer valuable insights into interethnic communication and integration.

The Yi creation epics Le E Te Yi and Cha Mu describe how mute ancestors, upon being burned by fire, instinctively uttered words in various languages: “A Yaya” and “Bi Zi De Ge” in Han, “E Di E Duo” in Tibetan, “A Zi Ge Ye” and “A Jiejie” in Yi, and “A Zhazha” in Hani. These words reflect the distinct phonetic traits of the Han, Tibetan, Yi, and Hani languages, all of which belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family. Excluding the Dai language, which belongs to the Zhuang-Dai sub-branch of the Zhuang-Dong language family, Tibetan, Yi, and Hani languages are all part of the Tibeto-Burman language family. Further classification reveals that Tibetan belongs to the Tibetan sub-branch, while both Yi and Hani fall under the Yi sub-branch. Other languages in this sub-branch include Lahu, Lisu, Naxi, Bai, and Jino. The shared linguistic roots among these languages underscore the deep kinship ties that link these ethnic groups.

In today’s multi-ethnic Southwest China, many people speak multiple languages fluently and can easily switch between them in daily interactions. For instance, during research in Yuanyang County, Honghe Prefecture, in 2022, I observed that most villagers spoke Han, Hani, and Yi, with some even fluent in Zhuang and Dai. In the home of Yang Zhengzhong, a Bimo (a traditional Yi religious priest) from Laofeng village, I discovered a scripture written in Han characters that recorded the Hani language. Yang was proficient in Yi, Han, Hani, and Dai and was frequently invited to perform rituals in both Hani and Dai villages. This suggests a mutual recognition of cultural and religious practices among the Yi, Hani, and Dai communities.

Emotional ties 

The ethnic groups of Southwest China have long coexisted in harmony and cooperation. The Yi texts Yan Yuan (Origins of Salt) and Zhi Yan (Salt Production) record the shared history of salt extraction and production among these diverse groups.

The Yi creation epic Meige: The Salt Source recounts how an elderly shepherd, following the tracks of his sheep, discovered a salt spring at Shiyang, an ancient county in present-day Chuxiong, Yunnan. The Lisu and Han peoples succeeded in extracting salt by boiling it after several attempts. Once salt was produced, people from surrounding regions migrated to the area, where they cultivated crops and enjoyed bountiful harvests.

Shiyang, also known as “Bai Jing” (White Well), was originally developed for salt production by the Bai Man, the ancestors of the Bai ethnic group. The Bai Man people, who held the color white in high regard, named the salt well “Bai Jing.” Between 742 and 756 CE, after the Bai Man migrated to Dali, the Wu Man (ancestors of the Yi people) continued to develop the Bai Jing salt. Historical records indicate that salt was discovered in Shiyang as early as the Western Han Dynasty, and salt extraction from brine began at that time. By the Tang Dynasty, the local salt industry expanded rapidly, with 72 wells across five major salt production areas. The peak of salt production occurred during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Yi and Han historical records confirm that salt production in Shiyang was initially developed by the Bai and Yi ancestors, and with later contributions from other ethnic groups such as the Han, Lisu, Dai, Bai, and Hui joined in. These diverse ethnic groups gathered in Shiyang for the salt, contributing to the area’s development and prosperity.

The Yi classics illustrate that through long-term interactions and integration, the various ethnic groups of China not only share a common ancestral heritage but also maintain their own vibrant cultural traditions. This reflects the core concept of national development in China, emphasizing unity amidst diversity. 

Cai Fulian is a professor from the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Southwest Minzu University.

Edited by REN GUANHONG