noun
Northern Di; northern barbarians
Historical term from the Zhou dynasty referring to non-Chinese ethnic groups to the north. Often used in classical Chinese contexts and may carry a pejorative nuance.
周王朝は北狄の侵入に悩まされた。
The Zhou dynasty was troubled by incursions of the Northern Di.
「北狄」は古代中国で北方の異民族を指す言葉だ。
'Hokuteki' is a term that referred to northern non-Chinese peoples in ancient China.
Refers to western barbarians, completing the set of four directional 'barbarian' terms in ancient Chinese texts.
From Chinese 北狄 (běidí), literally 'northern Di', where 北 means 'north' and 狄 refers to non-Chinese tribes. The term is deeply rooted in classical Chinese historiography and ethnocentrism.