Blang
The Blang (布朗族&_160; Bùlǎng Zú) (also spelled Bulong) people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
The Blang language belongs to the Palaung-Wa branch of the Mon-Khmer family of languages. Within the Palaung-Wa branch, Blang belongs to the Waic subgroup, which also contains the languages of the Wa and Lawa peoples in addition to Blang. Some Blang also speak Chinese language and Dai languages in addition to speaking Blang. Two systems of writing based on the Latin alphabet have been developed 'Totham' in the Xishuangbanna and 'Tolek' from Dehong and Lincang.
Chinese ethnographers identify the Blang as descendants of an ancient tribe known as the "Pu" (濮), who lived in the Lancang river valley during ancient times. It is believed that these people were one branch of a number of peoples that were collectively known to the ancient Chinese as the Bǎipú (百濮, literally "Hundred Pu").
