Li nationality originated from a branch of ancient Baiyue. Luo Yue, Li and Man were used in the Western Han Dynasty, slang and Liao were used in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and some ethnic minorities in the South were used in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The ancestors of Li nationality in Hainan Island are also included in these general terms. The proper name of "Li" began in the late Tang Dynasty and was not fixed until the Song Dynasty, and it is still in use today.
According to archaeological findings, there are 130 Neolithic primitive cultural sites in Hainan Island, about 5000 years ago. Historians and ethnologists believe that the owners of these Neolithic relics are the ancestors of the Li nationality. It was Li's ancestors who developed Hainan Island. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Hainan Island was closely related to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to Qiongdao many times, and set up two counties, Zhu Ya and Boer. Some mainland Han people moved to Hainan Island to live with the local Li people. After that, a large number of Han people immigrated to Hainan Island. "Village people", Miao and Hui also moved to the island. A large number of immigrants moved in, bringing advanced production tools (ironware) and production technology (farming), further developing social productive forces, and feudal rule gradually stabilized in the middle of the L century.
From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the early Sui Dynasty, the central government's rule over Hainan Island was further consolidated, and the chief Mrs. Xian played an important role. She led more than 1000 caves (including Li ancestors) and other Yue people in Lingnan. She first begged for mercy in the Liang Dynasty and later returned to the Sui Dynasty. Mrs. Xian was deeply aware of justice and devoted to unity, which strengthened the ties between the Central Plains and Hainan Island and promoted the social and economic development of the Li nationality. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the relationship between Hainan Island and the Central Dynasty was closer, and Hainan Island was the transportation hub of the trade between the Tang Dynasty and the South China Sea countries. The Tang Dynasty attached great importance to the rule and development of Hainan Island. The gold, silver, pearls, hawksbill and spices produced in the Li area are both "tributes" and foreign trade products. At the same time, the feudal landlord economy in Li nationality area has further matured. The working people of the Li nationality are also subjected to increasingly heavy slavery and exploitation.
At the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, Huang Daopo, an outstanding female weaver, fled to Yazhou when she was young because she could not bear the abuse of feudal families. She stayed in Yazhou for more than 40 years (30 years) and learned cotton textile technology from Li women. After returning to her hometown of Wunijing (now Huajing Town, Shanghai County), she improved the traditional textile processing of Li nationality and created a set of advanced cotton textile tools and technologies, which contributed to the development of science and technology. At the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, the feudal rulers adopted the policy of "imprisonment" and appointed "Tusi" as hereditary "ten thousand households" and "thousand households", which accelerated the class division within Li society, further intensified class contradictions and ethnic contradictions, and aroused the continuous uprising of Li people.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, feudal landlord economy played a dominant role in Li society. The productivity level of most Li nationality areas is equivalent to that of the local Han nationality, and formal fairs and markets have emerged. Betel nut, coconut and cattle have become commodities exported to the mainland. In the hinterland of Wuzhishan, the farming mode of production is still in the primitive commune.