Beidi

The Beidi or Northern Di (Chinese: 北狄; pinyin: Běidí; Wade–Giles: Pei-ti; literally: "Northern Barbarians") was a term referring to various ethnic groups who lived in northern China during the Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the dynasty they were mostly conquered or absorbed by the Chinese.

The ancient Chinese classed their neighbors by compass direction as the Siyi (四夷) "Four Barbarians", comprising the Beidi, Nanman, Dongyi and Xirong. The four names, or combinations of them like 'Yi-Di' are often used to mean "barbarians". The Liji "Record of Rites" details ancient stereotypes about the Siyi "Four Barbarians" surrounding China.

The Di seem to have lived in a horizontal band from the upper Ordos Loop and across northern Shanxi to the state of Yan north of Beijing. This area was a transition zone between the emerging Chinese civilization and the steppe peoples to the north. They seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural and hunting economy. Other groups of Di seem to have lived interspersed between the Chinese states. To their north was the emerging steppe society whom the Chinese later called Hu. To the southwest the Rong lived along the northwest frontier of China. The Di and Rong are often associated and both were considered more warlike and less civilized than the Yi and Man.