ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that Dali authority did not pursue a policy of violent eradication. The goal was not to exterminate people but to change people's minds towards a new utopia with strong propaganda, patient containment, and smooth dissolution. Perhaps nothing profoundly changed the minds of the Dali people except the introduction of ethnicity – Bai identity in the light of communism. Francis Hsu noted that there are three kinds of people in Dali, that is, Han, Minjia, and Hui. However, he maintained that The racial origin of the inhabitants is a moot question. Francis Hsu pictured Xizhou as a static culture, did not pursue inquiries into the Bai origins, and was overly committed to seeking a typical culture – the criticisms are at best partially correct. Regarding the "ethnic error" in Under the Ancestors' Shadow, the accusations lie in using concepts of ethnic identification to explain society before it and thereby overlooking the fact that ethnic identification strengthened ethnic awareness.
