Ba (state)

Ba
巴
Ba 巴
?–316 BC
Capital	Yíchéng (夷城); Píngdū (平都); Zhǐ (枳); Jīangzhōu (江州); Diànjīang (垫江); Langzhong(閬中)
Government	Monarchy
History
• Established	?
• Disestablished	316 BC
	Succeeded by
Qin (state)
Today part of	China

Ba (Chinese: 巴; pinyin: Bā; lit. 'a pictograph for "snake"', 'huge snake"',^[1] Old Chinese: *Pˤra) was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng (Enshi City), Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The historical Bo people and the modern Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the people of Ba.^[2]

Ba, often described as a loose confederation or collection of chiefdoms, consisted of several loosely affiliated independent clans who recognized a king. The Ba clans were highly diverse, being composed of multiple tribes. Archeological evidence shows that the Ba people primarily relied on fishing and hunting, with low levels of agriculture and no evidence of irrigation.^[3]

^ Classic of Mountains and Seas "Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South" text: "巴蛇食象，三歲而出其骨，君子服之，無心腹之疾。其為蛇青黃赤黑。一曰黑蛇青首，在犀牛西。" translation: "The Ba snake eats elephants, spitting out their bones three years later. If a gentleman eats it, [there'll be] no ailment in the heart and belly. It [the Ba snake] is a snake which is green-yellow-red-black. It's also said that it [the Ba snake] is a green-headed black snake. Located to the west of the rhinoceros-bull."
^ "DNA测定下里巴人". people.com.cn (in Chinese). July 4, 2001. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
^ Barbara A. West (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-8160-7109-8.

[1] Classic of Mountains and Seas "Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South" text: "巴蛇食象，三歲而出其骨，君子服之，無心腹之疾。其為蛇青黃赤黑。一曰黑蛇青首，在犀牛西。" translation: "The Ba snake eats elephants, spitting out their bones three years later. If a gentleman eats it, [there'll be] no ailment in the heart and belly. It [the Ba snake] is a snake which is green-yellow-red-black. It's also said that it [the Ba snake] is a green-headed black snake. Located to the west of the rhinoceros-bull."

[2] "DNA测定下里巴人". people.com.cn (in Chinese). July 4, 2001. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2010.

[enc-3] Barbara A. West (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-8160-7109-8.

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