Bai population
1.85 million (2)
Bai costumes
Bai costumes are not only the product of adapting to Bai people's production, labor, living culture and climate characteristics, but also the result of the subtle influence of beautiful lakes and mountains on Bai people's aesthetic concepts, which has a unique style. In terms of clothing, Bai men and women advocate white, and white clothes are noble. Most men in Dali wear white double-breasted clothes and black collars. Men in Haidong (the eastern part of Erhai Lake) wear a deerskin collar, or several leather and satin collars, commonly known as "three drops of water", with deerskin around their waist or embroidered stomachs and blue or black trousers. Women's clothing is different from place to place. In Dali, people often wear white coats and red waistcoats, or light blue coats and coats with black velvet collars. The right button is covered with silver ornaments of "Three Beards" and "Five Beards", and the waist is embroidered with short waists, blue wide pants and embroidered "hundred shoes". Unmarried women braid their hair at the top, and married women change it to Wan Chang. Haidong combs the hairstyle of "phoenix nodding", covers it with silk screen, or shrinks it into a tube, all of which are covered with embroidered towels or black cloth. Unmarried women in Jianchuan wear small hats or "drum nail hats" or "fishtail hats" covered with jade rabbits and silver bubbles. Adults and children are happy to report sheepskin. Before the 193s, most women in mainland cities and towns were foot-bound. Later, with the evolution of social atmosphere, it has been gradually abandoned. After liberation, the economic and cultural life of the Bai people has been continuously improved, and the national costumes have also developed in a more favorable and elegant way.
Bai legends
Folk legends, such as The Origin of March Street, The Story of Torch Festival, Burning Song Ming Tower, The Legend of Butterfly Club, etc. Legend of scenery, beautiful mountains and rivers in Dali, and numerous cultural relics and historic sites, almost every scenic spot has a legendary story, such as "Wang Fuyun" and "Marble". "Jade Cabbage", "The Legend of Love", etc. Legends of place names, such as The Origin of Shi Cun League, The Legend of Jizu Mountain, The Legend of Lujiao Village in Dali, The Legend of Bird Hanging Mountain, etc. Carpenter legends mainly include the legends of Luban couple and carpenters, and the legendary areas are mainly in Jianchuan, the hometown of carpenters, such as Shipbuilding by Luban, The Origin of Saws, Male tenon and Female tenon, Trojan Horse with Three Feet, Master with Apprentices, etc. Reflect the legends of class struggle, such as The Story of the Local Officials of the Gaos, The County Order of Killing the County with Tofu, The Farmer's Complain, The Magic Flute, The Horn, etc. Historical legends include six imperial edicts reflecting the unification of Nanzhao, the battle of Tianbao in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Peacock Gallbladder and the White Flag Army (Du Wenxiu Uprising). Legends of major historical changes and struggles such as the Red Army's Long March through Dali and its anti-foreign religion.
Three Lovers become a butterfly:
The Butterfly Festival is held on April 15th of the lunar calendar every year. Legend has it that it is a folk festival to commemorate the faithful love between Xia Lang and Wen Gu, young men and women of Bai nationality. According to legend, in ancient times, there lived a Bai family in butterfly spring at the foot of Yunnong Peak in Cangshan Mountain, Dali. There were three parents and daughters, and the daughter named Wengu, and the family made a living by firewood. Daughter Wengu met Xia Lang, a young hunter of Bai nationality in Jade Bureau Peak, and fell in love. Later, the beautiful talent of Muyang Wengu, the hereditary Lord of Yucheng, killed Wengu's parents and took her into the palace to be her concubine. Wengu resisted and was locked in the palace. Xialang risked her life, climbed over the wall into the palace in the middle of the night to rescue Wengu, rode on a young deer and fled to butterfly spring. After that, the thugs of Yu Wang's family also chased her to butterfly spring. Xialang and Wenwen had no way to escape, so they jumped into the spring. After that, a pair of colorful butterflies flew out of the spring, perched on the old tree of Albizia julibrissin near butterfly spring, and colorful butterflies from all directions flew to congratulate each other, end to end, and hung straight down from the tree into the spring, forming a spectacle. It was the 15th day of April in the lunar calendar, and the surrounding Bai people came to watch it one after another, so there was an annual butterfly party.
Burning down the Song Ming Building:
It is said that after the imperial edict of Mengshe became powerful, it was built with pine branches and called Song Ming Building. Then, Piluoge forced the leaders of the five imperial edicts to come to Song Ming Tower to worship their ancestors. Except for the analysis that the imperial edict leader Yiluyuan never attended the meeting, the other four imperial edict leaders went as scheduled. At that time, taking advantage of the drunkenness of the leaders, Piluoge secretly went downstairs, ordered people to set fire to the building, and all the leaders of the four imperial edicts were burned to death. In advance, the charitable wife, the wife of the leader, decided that this was a conspiracy and advised her husband to refuse to attend the meeting. Her husband didn't listen, so the lady had to wear a shovel on her arm. After the fire was extinguished, the leaders of the three imperial edicts could not distinguish their bones, but the leader of the imperial edict was wearing a shovel and was married.