Di people; northern non-Chinese tribes
Historical term used in Zhou dynasty China for non-ethnic Chinese peoples to the north. Often appears in compounds like 北狄.
See also: 北狄
The Zhou dynasty recorded the northern Di as a different ethnic group.
In ancient China, '狄' was a term for northern non-Chinese peoples.
the barbarians beyond the borders of old China
From Chinese 狄 (dí), an ancient term for non-Chinese tribes to the north. The exact origin is uncertain; it is a historical ethnonym.