The Ersu are officially part of the Tibetan nationality, but in the 1980s they asked the government to create a new minority, called the Xifan, and to include them under it. The authorities declined. The linguist Sun Hongkai says, "Ersu speakers at different localities have different autonyms: those living at Ganluo, Yuexi and Hanyuan call themselves Ersu, Buerzi or Ersubuerzi; those living at Shimian use Lusu, and those living at Muli, Jiulong and western Mianning Lisu. These different autonyms are dialectal variants of the same word, originally meaning 'white people'."
Regardless of where the Ersu may have originated, it is known that they have lived in their present location for many centuries. Qiang nomads once ruled western China as far as today's Inner Mongolia. Gradually their kingdoms broke up and they migrated south and west. The present official Qiang nationality in China only represents a fraction of the original Qiang race. Most were assimilated by larger groups long ago.
Culturally, the Ersu have been swallowed up by the Tibetans. Almost every aspect of their lives reflects their belief in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Ersu believe they will be reincarnated when they die and will come back to the earth as a person in a higher social position if they have lived a virtuous life. They will come back as an animal if they lived a wicked life. This belief results in the Ersu having little motivation to help the afflicted among them, as suffering is considered the consequence of a person's bad karma.
There has never been a known church or Christian among the Ersu. The Border Mission of the Church of Christ in China and the American Baptists worked among the related Jiarong people until 1949, reporting 34 converts in 1934. No outreach, however, was ever undertaken to the Ersu.
Scripture Prayers for the Ersu in China.
Profile Source: Operation China, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Global Prayer Digest: 2013-07-25 |
People Name General | Ersu |
People Name in Country | Ersu |
Pronunciation | Erh-soo |
Population this Country | 45,000 |
Population all Countries | 45,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
Alternate Names | Buerzi; Douxu; Duoxu; Ersu Yi; Ersubuerzi; Lisu; Lusu; Tosu |
People ID | 18452 |
ROP3 Code | 114052 |
Country | China | ||
Region | Asia, Northeast | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 23 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | A 1983 study listed 20,000 speakers of Ersu living along the lower reaches of Dadu River, in seven different counties of southern Sichuan Province in western China. The main centre of Ersu habitation could be said to be Ganluo County. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 |
Country | China |
Region | Asia, Northeast |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 23 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | A 1983 study listed 20,000 speakers of Ersu living along the lower reaches of Dadu River, in seven different counties of southern Sichuan Province in western China. The main centre of Ersu habitation could be said to be Ganluo County.. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 |
Primary Language | Ersu (45,000 speakers) |
Language Code | ers Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Unknown |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Ersu (45,000 speakers) |
Language Code | ers Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Ersu |
Primary Language: Ersu
Bible Translation Status: Unspecified
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
None reported |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Religion Subdivision: | Tibetan |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
98.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
1.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
1.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Christian Segments ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Anglican |
Unknown
|
Independent |
Unknown
|
Orthodox |
Unknown
|
Other Christian |
Unknown
|
Protestant |
Unknown
|
Roman Catholic |
Unknown
|
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2021 Operation China, Asia Harvest All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group Location from IMB. Other map data / geography from GMI. Map by Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | Operation China, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |