Lai
A lai (or lay lyrique, "lyric lay", to distinguish it from a lai breton) is a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance. Lais were mainly composed in France and Germany, during the 13th and 14th centuries. The English term lay is a 13th-century loan from Old French lai. The origin of the French term itself is unclear; perhaps it is itself a loan from German Leich (reflected in archaic or dialectal English lake, "sport, play").The terms note, nota and notula (as used by Johannes de Grocheio) appear to be have been synonyms for lai.
The poetic form of the lai usually has several stanzas, none of which have the same form. As a result, the accompanying music consists of sections which do not repeat. This distinguishes the lai from other common types of musically important verse of the period (for example, the rondeau and the ballade). Towards the end of its development in the 14th century, some lais repeat stanzas, but usually only in the longer examples. There is one very late example of a lai, written to mourn the defeat of the French at the Battle of Agincourt (1415), (Lay de la guerre, by Pierre de Nesson) but no music for it survives.
Lai people
Strictly speaking, Lai are the people belonging to the Lai Autonomous District Council of Mizoram, North-East India. From a historical point of view, Lai is a dominant tribe of the so-called Chin-Kuki–Lushai, the community is scattered in different parts of the world, mainly concentrating in Mizoram, Chin Hills of Burma, South Bangladesh (identified as Bawm), Manipur, etc.
Demography
Total population is around 1,700,000 in 1991. Lai is an ethnic identity to call all the tribes of Chins, the Pawis, the Bawms, etc.
Clans
Ethnic origin
The Lai who are living in the Lai Autonomous District of Mizoram are but a segment community of the much larger Lai (Hakha) population of Burma and elsewhere to whom whatever name may be given. Regarding their origin, they share common ancestry with those of any mongoloid race in the Northeast India. Further back, a historic tradition has it that Lai were a people who had once lived in China. They migrated through the Tibetan mountains moving further towards the East to become a major tribal group in the Chin Hills of Burma from where same few came the to present habitat (Mizoram) in the beginning of the 18th century or earlier.
Lai (state)
Lai (simplified Chinese: 莱; traditional Chinese: 萊; pinyin: Lái), also known as Laiyi (萊夷), was an ancient Dongyi state located in what is now eastern Shandong Province, recorded in the Book of Xia. Tang Shanchun (唐善纯) believes lai means "mountain" in the old Yue language, while the Yue Jue Shu (越絕書) says lai means "wilderness".
History
Lai was a traditional enemy of the State of Qi to its west. As soon as Jiang Ziya, the first ruler of Qi, was enfeoffed at Qi, the state of Lai attacked its capital at Yingqiu. In 567 BC, Lai attacked Qi but was decisively defeated by Duke Ling of Qi, and its last ruler Furou, Duke Gong of Lai, was killed. Lai was a large state, and Qi more than doubled in size after annexing Lai. The people were moved to Laiwu, where Mencius later called them the Qídōng yěrén (齊東野人), the "peasants of eastern Qi".
Rulers of Lai
References
