The Chinese and Ngai ethnic groups in Vietnam and the Han ethnic group in China

The Lagu people in China are people who live mainly in the dense forests, and their lives are extremely difficult. LaGu is also the self-proclaimed name of this ethnic group. According to Chinese ethnic documents, the word "la" means tiger, and the word "gu" has many different explanations. Some people think that it means collective eating. Accordingly, in the past, the Lagu people were hunters, and when they hunted a tiger, everyone ate together, "lagu" means eating tiger meat together. The Lagu people in China have two main groups: "La gu xi" and "La gu na". "Lagu xi" is also known as "yellow Lagu" and "La gu na" is also known as "black Lagu". The main farming method of the Lagu people is to burn forests to make fields for cultivation.

Like the Hani and Yi peoples, the Lagu people in China originated from the ancient Jiang people in the Qing, Tibet, and Gan plateaus. An ancient Jiang group in the process of constantly migrating south formed the Lagu people. Since the Warring States period, this ancient Jiang group has been present in the present-day Yunnan province. According to archaeological documents, during the Warring States period, the ancestors of the Lagu people had escaped from primitive society and entered the slave-owning society stage. From the Three Kingdoms, Two Jins to the Tang Dynasty, the ancestors of the Lagu, Yi, and Hani people were collectively called "Oman" in Chinese books. Throughout their history, the Lagu people have always been dependent on the subject tribes of the Yi and Dai people and have implemented the annual tribute system. That is why the Lagu people have constantly migrated to all regions and even neighboring countries to escape oppression and exploitation. According to historical records, during the late Song Dynasty, the Lagu people migrated on a large scale at least three times (Luo Xian You 2009). By the Qing Dynasty, the Lagu people were basically distributed as they are in the current period. It was also due to the continuous migration process that the Lagu people formed two different development paths, and the banks of the Lancang River accidentally became the boundary between the Eastern and Western groups. The continuous migration process also brought the Lagu people to Vietnam, and just like in China, the La Hu were identified as an independent ethnic group of Vietnam, with the official ethnic name La Hu.

The La Hu ethnic group (Khu Xung, Co Sung, Kha Quy, Xa Tong Luong, Xa La Vang, Xa Puoi, Xa Khao) in Vietnam mainly migrated from Kim Binh and Luc Xuan districts of Yunnan province. The La Hu ethnic group in Vietnam currently has a population of 6,874 people (in 1999), mainly distributed in the communes of Pa Ve Su, Pa U, Ca Lang, Bum To and Nam Khao.

belonging to Muong Te district, Lai Chau province. The La Hu people have many different names: Xa Toong Luong, Xa poi, Kha quy but the name Ku Sung or Khu Sung is the most common name. The La Hu ethnic group in Vietnam is divided into 3 groups: La Hu Su (yellow leaf La Hu), La Hu Na (black La Hu), La Hu Phung (white La Hu), in which La Hu Su is the majority group. The La Hu people in Vietnam are described as typical nomadic residents. The La Hu people appeared in Vietnam about 150 years ago (Khong Dien 2000). According to Khong Dien (2000), La Hu is a new name that appeared during the Qing Dynasty, written in Sino-Vietnamese as La U and the author affirmed the change in the way of transcribing Chinese characters from Lu U to La u, and this shows that the ethnic name has not changed much in the historical period of nearly 200 years. The meaning of this ethnic name has not been clearly explained until now, most of the translations are based on the name. However, in the whole region of China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, La Hu is still the self-proclaimed name of this ethnic group and has become a relatively unified ethnic name.

Regarding the migration process to Vietnam, through field data, Vietnamese scientists have confirmed that the La Hu Na group currently living in Bum To has recently migrated from different locations in Pa U commune, but they still affirm that their ancestors have been present in Muong Te since ancient times. This group is not much influenced by Han culture but has close social relations with the local Thai people. Currently, they hardly maintain any ethnic relations with the other side of the border.

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Most of the other La Hu people belonging to the La Hu Tsu group residing in Pa U, Pa Ve Su, and Ca Lang communes believe that their ancestors have only moved to Muong Te for 5-6 generations. When they came to live in Pa U, they still saw terraced fields left by the Ha Nhi people who had migrated elsewhere. This certainly means that the La Hu people belonging to this group still maintain close ties with their fellow ethnic groups in Luc Xuan District, China, in terms of bloodline and marriage.

3.3.7. The Chinese and Ngai ethnic groups in Vietnam and the Han ethnic group in China

In the ethnic composition classification made by the Institute of Ethnology in 1978, the Ngai ethnic group was classified as a group of the Northern Chinese community in general, along with the Black Fish people, the Bac Va-speaking Chinese people, the Suong Phong people, the Liem Chau people, the Thong Nham people, the Dan people, and the Sin people.

The Han ethnic group is the main ethnic group of China with a population of more than 1.2 billion people, widely distributed throughout the territory of China. Currently, the Han people have created a widespread distribution network throughout the world. The Han ethnic group in China was originally the Huaxia ethnic group in the Yellow River area around 5000 years BC. Later, this ethnic group gradually grew and expanded its residential area everywhere. The name Han began to appear and become popular from the Han Dynasty. In the traditional culture of the Han people, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are popular. The Han ethnic group is also the ethnic group with the most developed economic, political and cultural level among the ethnic groups in China. The Han people have a unique cultural tradition and a long history, which is the driving force for this ethnic group to develop to greater heights (Luo Xian You 2009:434).

Studies on the Chinese in Vietnam today mainly focus on these northern Chinese groups, which are classified based on differences in language, customs, time and place of migration (Institute of Ethnology 1978: 388). The Chinese population is not only people of Han origin but also representatives of other ethnic minorities who have been Sinicized in terms of language and part of their lifestyle, such as the Ngai, San Diu, and Tu Di people (Tran Khanh 1993: 28). The ethnic name Hoa is probably not accurate because this term itself does not define ethnic composition but is often used to refer to the Chinese in general. Furthermore, the Hakka group residing in Hong Kong and Taiwan do not consider themselves Han but an independent ethnic group. However, in Vietnam, the name Hoa has been used as an ethnic name and has become familiar and difficult to change.

In the community structure of Chinese origin in Vietnam, there is also a group of mixed Chinese-Vietnamese people, historically known as the Minh Huong people. The Nguyen Dynasty from the 20s of the 19th century legalized Vietnamese citizenship for these people and they were not allowed to return to China to live or participate in other Chinese guilds or communities. In the work Chinese Community Groups in Vietnam , Chau Hai quoted Victor Puxen's opinion that the Chinese had been present in Vietnam since the 3rd century BC (Chau Hai 2003).

One of the outstanding characteristics of the Chinese is that they often gather together to settle in groups according to their hometown, share the same dialect, and form compatriot guilds. Unlike other Southeast Asian countries, the Chinese in Vietnam are mostly

people of Cantonese origin. According to statistics, by the mid-1950s, the number of Cantonese-speaking Chinese people accounted for 45% of the total Chinese population in South Vietnam, and by the 1970s, this number had reached 60% (Tran Khanh 2001).

The Ngai people in Vietnam were formed from different small groups including the Hakka, Dan, Le, Thuong Phuong (Han group in Yunnan, China)….

The group with the self-name Hakka (Khach Gia) is classified as the Han ethnic group in China, but this group mainly resides in mountainous areas and in their language still preserves many characteristics of ancient Chinese. Because when speaking, the sound "ai" is not pronounced as a separate sound but is always said with other sounds, the surrounding residents call them the Ngai people. In fact, the word "Ngai" according to the explanation of the people means "first people". Their self-name is "Khach Gia" or "Khach Gia Nhan". The Ngai people used to live in the Central Plains of China, later to avoid war they migrated to the South through the provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and to other countries. According to the documents of Chinese ethnologists, it is possible that a part of the Ngai people migrated and resided in Vietnam about 300 years ago. Previously, the Ngai "Hakka" group in Vietnam lived relatively concentrated in the Quang Ninh province area, but due to various reasons, they moved overseas.

The Dan people or "Dan people" are boat dwellers who make a living by fishing and rowing boats. The Dan people in China are also classified as Han people. In the past, this group mainly lived along large and small rivers in the Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi regions, living along the riverbanks and coasts, and gradually migrated to Vietnam.

These small ethnic groups, during the migration and residence process, intermingled with each other, thereby having similar economic and cultural characteristics. Through surveys and delimitations by Vietnamese ethnologists, in 1979 they were classified separately as the Ngai ethnic group. By 1999, according to the general population census, the Ngai people in Vietnam had 4,841 people.

3.3.8. Tay, Nung, Pu Peo, La Chi ethnic groups, Cao Lan group in Vietnam and Zhuang ethnic group in China

The Zhuang ethnic group is a large ethnic minority group in China with a population of 16,178,811 (2000 census). They mainly reside in the Guangxi Autonomous Region and the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous County of Yunnan Province. The Zhuang ethnic group has many different self-names. The Zhuang people in Guangxi have up to 20 different self-names including: buzhuang , buliao , buyanong, bunong . The old name of

The Zhuang ethnic group is ―Tong‖ (僮). This name first appeared during the Southern Dynasty.

Song. Ly Nhan Tong in "Tau Nghia" mentioned Nghi Son area.

―Tong ding‖ (僮丁). Song Renzhou in ―The Laughing River and the Laughing River‖ has pointed out more clearly

The "Dong ming" (洞明) group includes 5 types: Bai Miao (White Cat), Bai yao (White

Dao), Kou Liao (Khâu Liêu), BaiTong (Bạch Đồng), bai kelao (Bạch Cờ Lao). From then on, the word ―Tong' or ‗zhang‖ (僮or獐) became popular. During the Ming Dynasty, the name ―Zhang‖ (獐) was commonly used, but it was always used in conjunction with ―yao‖ (瑶) . During the Qing Dynasty, the name ―Tong' or ‗zhang‖ (僮

or獐) is used to refer to residents in the Guangxi region. After 1949, through the work of ethnic composition demarcation, the names of the groups of people were unified.

― Buzhuang ‖ (Zhuang father), ― butu ‖ (Tu father), ― bo nong ‖ (Nung father), bu tai (Thai father), Bu ruo (Thai father), ― bu yue ‖ (Viet father) in the provinces of Guangxi, Guangxi

Dong, Yunnan became a unified common name of the "Tông" (僮) ethnic group but

Because the meaning of the word僮is unclear and not easy to read and write, in 1965, according to the main

Zhou Enlai's Zhang changed the name to the Zhuang (壮) ethnic group (Huang Xian Fan, 1987). The Zhuang people in China have many branches, according to their self-proclaimed names, there are more than 30 groups, including groups such as Bu Tai, Bu Nong, Laji, Pupeo, Gaolan, which are groups identified by Vietnam as the Tay, Nung, La Chi, Pu Péo ethnic groups, and the Cao Lan group of the San Chay ethnic group (Fan Hong Gui, 1999).

The Tay ethnic group in Vietnam is also a large ethnic group, mainly distributed in districts along the Vietnam-China border such as Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen. Before 1959, the government and the people called them Tho people or Tho ethnic group. In the 10th century, in documents and books, these groups of people were also called Tho people. In the Huu Giang and Thach Giang river basins, Nanning of

In Guangxi, most of the residents here call themselves "kan tho" which means Tho people or indigenous people. In 1956, after the establishment of the Viet Bac autonomous region, this group of people still called themselves Tho people. Among the Tho people, there is a group of people who call themselves "Tay". In 1959, the name "Tay" was used to replace the name "Tho", but they can still be called Tho people, meaning one ethnic group has two names. In 1974, it was determined that Nghe An area also has Tho people, calling themselves Tay people, not Tho people anymore. The Zhuang ethnic group in China, the group of people calling themselves Tay people only has more than 10,000 people in Kim Long town, Long Chau district, in Van Son district, Yunnan province, there is also a group of people calling themselves "Tay".

When introducing the history of these ethnic groups Tay - Nung in Vietnam, scientists all agree that the Tay - Nung are residents with a common historical origin, belonging to the ancient Bach Viet block and having a common ancestor, the Zhuang people in China (Institute of Ethnology, 1992), with similar cultural and linguistic characteristics. After the Vietnam - China border was formed in the 11th century, residents in the two countries were formed and developed under their own conditions.

Tay is an ancient name, possibly appearing at the end of the first millennium AD. It is the common name of many ethnic groups with the same language in Southeast Asia and still exists today. Nung (Nong) is the name of a family lineage in the four major families in Guangxi, becoming the ethnic name around the 15th century (Fan Hong Gui 1999:245). The name Nung has also existed in Vietnam for a long time. In many places in Viet Bac, Tay people with the surname Nong are considered to be the ones who reclaimed the land, built fields, and established villages. The Nung people who lived in Vietnam in the past merged with the Tay people, while the current Nung people mainly migrated to our country in the past 200 years (Institute of Ethnology 1992). Some Vietnamese researchers emphasize that not all Tay Thai residents in Vietnam migrated from China. Some Tay Thai groups certainly have indigenous origins and they settled in the midland and mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam before the massive waves of migration from China. However, Dang Nghiem Van (2003:275); Ngo Duc Thinh (1975: 287-305); Hoang Nam (1975: 247-255) all believe that the Tay - Nung groups in Vietnam have ancestors from the ancient Zhuang people whose descendants today are the Zhuang people in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions of China. However, these researchers also believe that the process of living together

and integration with southern residents made these residents have strong southern cultural elements while still retaining some Han influence elements such as names and languages.

Although they share the same origin as the Zhuang people, based on the time of migration to Vietnam, Vietnamese ethnologists have divided these groups into two ethnic groups, the Tay and the Nung. Although the Nung migrated to Vietnam three or four centuries ago, their massive migration to the south only occurred around the 19th century (Dang Nghiem Van 2003:279); Hoang Nam 1992). Before migrating to Vietnam, the culture and language of this group were more influenced by Han culture than the Tay group, which was influenced by Vietnamese culture. Dang Nghiem Van (2003) hypothesized that the appearance of the name Nung was related to a historical figure with cross-border influence, Nung Chi Cao. According to him, whenever the Vietnamese Tay-Nung people go to the market or visit relatives in the Zhuang autonomous region of Guangdong, they often say " pay Nông ", meaning to go to the land of Mr. Nung (Chi Cao), while the Tay people on the Vietnamese side use the term " can Nông " to refer to the Nung people. Based on the historical event of Nung Chi Cao, Hoang Nam (1975:247-255) believes that the separation between the Tay and Nung people may have occurred from around the 11th century onwards. Their migration to Vietnam took place in many different waves, and the names of the Nung groups indicate which regions of China they originated from. The ancient Tay people are the ancestors of the current Tay and Nung people, a group of the Bai Viet people living intermingled with the Lac Viet people. Until the 11th and 12th centuries, the Tay-Nung group had not yet separated. The Nung people who separated during that period mostly merged with the Tay people. The Nung people migrated here about 3-4 hundred years ago, most during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period.

Regarding the relationship between the Tay, Nung and Zhuang people of China, author Fan Hong Gui in his research on ethnic groups living across the border has presented many data proving the origin of the residents, mainly through cultural similarities and common legends. "Vi" is the big surname of the Zhuang, Nung and Tay people. They all have a common legend: The ancestor of those with the surname Vi in the Western Han Dynasty was a famous general named Han Xin, who died due to rebellion. Tieu Ha immediately sent Han Xin's son to King Trieu Da of Nam Trieu to raise. To avoid being killed, Han Xin's attendant removed the right side of the Han character and turned it into the character "Vi". There are many different versions of this legend. Among the

During the years of ethnic oppression, many ethnic minorities have pretended that their ancestors were Han Chinese, even from the Han ethnic group. This is completely understandable. All three ethnic groups share the same legendary concept. The Zhuang, Tay, and Nung all have the form of marriage "bat lac phu gia", as well as many similarities in costumes, festivals, and languages. In China, the Cao Lan and San Chi groups belong to different ethnic groups.

Cao Lan is a branch of the Zhuang ethnic group, and San Chi is a part of the Yao ethnic group, while in Vietnam these two groups are grouped together into the San Chay ethnic group, also known by a double ethnic name Cao Lan - San Chi. The Cao Lan group is a local group of the Zhuang ethnic group in China, residing mainly in the Vietnam-China border area of the port city of Fangcheng, Guangxi province such as Dongxing Town, Naliang, Ban Bat village, Dong Trung village, with a population of about 10,000 people. According to a survey document by Fan Hong Gui in Ban Cong village, Guangxi province in 1977, this area is only 1km from the border, before 1949 there were 120 Cao Lan households, by 1977 there were more than 50 households moving to Vietnam to settle, only 70 households remained in their original place. Their language and that of the Zhuang people are similar and also consistent with the language of the Cao Lan people in Vietnam. The inhabitants of this group still maintain kinship relations with the Cao Lan people in Vietnam (Fan Hong Gui 2005:56). This fact raises the question of why Vietnamese ethnologists grouped the Cao Lan group together with the San Chi people to form the San Chay ethnic group, despite the fact that only the Cao Lan group speaks the Tay Thai language, while the San Chi people speak the Han dialect. In fact, as early as 1904, the French researcher Lajonquiere raised the question of whether the Cao Lan people were a part of the San Chay ethnic group or simply a group of the Dao ethnic group. In response to this question, Bonifacy (1904, 1924), a prestigious scholar in the Dao ethnic research community, argued that the Cao Lan and San Chi groups could not be considered to belong to the same ethnic group, because the Cao Lan were a part of the Dao ethnic group. The famous linguist and ethnologist Haudricourt (1973:5) studied the linguistic characteristics of the Cao Lan group and his findings tended to favor Bonifacy's hypothesis. However, Vietnamese ethnologists based on common characteristics in cultural activities to classify them into a common ethnic group called San Chay. Regarding the origin of these two groups, the documents used by scientists are mainly Chinese text records in a number of historical works on ethnomusicology.

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