White Di

Beidi
Zhou geography: Huaxia surrounded by the Four Barbarians—Northern (Beidi), Southern (Nanman), Eastern (Dongyi), and Western (Western).
Chinese
Literal meaning	Northern Barbarians
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Běidí Wade–Giles Pei Ti

The Beidi, Northern Di, or Northern Barbarians were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (Huaxia) realms during the Zhou. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and hunting economy and were distinguished from the nomads of the Eurasian steppe (Hu) who lived to their north. Chinese historical accounts describe the Di inhabiting the upper Ordos Loop (mostly in northern Shaanxi) and gradually migrating eastward to northern Shanxi and Hebei, where they eventually created their own states like Zhongshan and Dai. Other groups of Di seem to have lived interspersed between the Chinese states before their eventual conquest or assimilation.

The ancient Chinese, whose Xia, Shang, and Zhou states flourished along the Fen, Yellow, and Wei valleys, discussed their neighbors according to the cardinal directions. The "Four Barbarians" (Siyi) were the Di to the north, the Man to the south, the Yi to the east, and the Rong to the west. These came to be used as generic chauvinistic pejoratives for different foreign peoples long after the Chinese conquests of the original tribes and so are all usually translated as "barbarian" in English.