Ep. 329 | The History of Yunnan Province (Part 2)

We pick up after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao Kingdom. The main focus in this Part 2 episode will be the rise and fall of the Dali Kingdom and the Mongol Conquest of Dali in 1253. We'll also take a quick look at the complicated period between the fall of Nanzhao and the founding of the Dali Kingdom. We'll close with the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the aftermath that occurred in Yunnan in the 14th century.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Yúnnán	云南	A landlocked province in the southwest of the PRC. Population is around 50 million. The capital of the province is Kunming. Yunnan borders the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Tibet as well as Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.
Zhōu	周朝	Ancient Bronze-Age dynasty in China that lasted from 1046 to 256 BC
Táng	唐朝	Dynasty in China that lasted 618-907
Diān Kingdom	滇国	The Dian Kingdom, established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian language was likely one of the Tibeto-Burman languages. The Han Empire's annexation of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC eventually led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery. Dian culture started from at least the 8th century BC, until it fell under the control of the Han dynasty in 109 BC
Kūnmíng	昆明	Capital city of Yunnan Province and location of Lake Dian and the ancient Dian Kingdom
Dàlǐ Kingdom	大理国	A state situated in modern Yunnan, from 937 until 1253. Dali today is the county-seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan. Dali City is administered through 12 township-level districts, two of which are also commonly referred to as Dali. Dali City is located in western Yunnan, approximately 25 km (160 mi) northwest of the provincial capital of Kunming
Cuànmán	爨蛮	An ethnic group in northern Yunnan. They came into power after assisting Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign and dominated Yunnan during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. They were defeated by the Sui dynasty in 602 and split into the Baiman and Wuman, allegedly the ancestors of modern-day Bai people and Yi people
Nánzháo Kingdom	南诏国	A dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan
Sòng Dynasty	宋朝	Dynasty in China that lasted 960-1279
Zhèng Mǎisì	郑买嗣	Overthrower of the Nanzhao Kingdom and founder of Da Chang He
Méng family	蒙家族	All Nanzhao Kings were surnamed Meng, going back to the founder
Xìnúluó	细奴逻	Seventh Century chieftain of the Mengshe tribe
Dà Chánghé	大长和国	the Great Kingdom of Eternal Peace, foundede by Zheng Maisi. It lasted 902-928
Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms	五代十国	The period immediately following the fall of the Tang. It lasted 907 to 979
Zhèng	郑	Zheng, the family surname of the Da Changhe rulers
Former Shǔ	大蜀/前蜀	one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in 907–925. It was the third state named "Shu" on the same territory, after the Ancient Kingdom of Shu. The second one being Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms
Southern Hàn	南汉国	917-971, one of the Ten Kingdoms, located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. Their capital was located in present-day Guangzhou
Later Táng	后唐国	923-937, a short-lived dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Yáng Gānzhēn	杨干贞	Overthrew the Da Changhe Kingdom and established the Da Tianxing Kingdom
Dà Tiānxīng	大天兴	A short lived state that lasted less than a year (928-29). It was replaced by another statre called Da Yining
Dà Yíníng	大义宁	Successor state to Da Tianxing. This third of the three polities that were sandwiched in between the Nanzhao. and Dali Kingdoms, lasted from 929-937
Duàn Sīpíng	段思平	893-944, founding emperor of Dali. He reigned from 937-944
Wūmán	乌蛮	Indigenous people of the Cuanman era, 3rd-4th Century. See Cuanman above
Yáng Zháo	杨诏	Final Da Yining Emperor
Zhào Kuāngyìn	赵匡胤	The Song founding Emperor Taizu. Lived 927- 976. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976.
Khitan	契丹	A historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. The Khitan people founded and led the Liao dynasty (916–1125),which dominated a vast area of Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China
Tanguts	党项	A Sino-Tibetan people that founded and inhabited the Western Xia dynasty. After the collapse of Tang dynasty, the Tanguts established the Western Xia.
Jürchens (Nǚzhēn)	女真	A term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking people, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens were renamed Manchus in 1635 by Hong Taiji
Dàdù River	大渡河	A major river located primarily in western Sichuan province. The Dadu flows from the eastern Tibetan Plateau into the Sichuan Basin where it joins with the Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze River.
Kāifēng	开封	Capital of the Northern Song, located on the banks of the Yellow River
Huīzōng	宋徽宗	Northern Song emperor who reigned 1100-1126
Qīnzōng	宋钦宗	Final Northern Song emperor, and son of Huizong, who reigned 1126-1127
Western Xià	西夏	Also known as the Tangut Empire, Western Xia was a Tangut-led Buddhistimperial dynasty of China that existed from 1038 to 1227. At its peak, the dynasty ruled over the modern-day northwestern provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, and southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia
Yáng Yìzhēn	杨义贞	First he killed Gao Shengtai, tryoing to seize the throne of the Dali Kingdom. He declared himself Emperor Guǎng’ān 广安皇帝 and then was promptly killed in 1080
The Gāo Family	高家族	The powers behind the throne in the Dali Kingdom. They ruled and the Duan's reigned. The period of the Yang's domination of Dali politics is known as the Later Dali Kingdom
Duàn Sīlián	段思廉	Dali king from 1045-1075
Tài Bǎo	太保	The title of Grand Guardian
Gāo Zhìshēng	高智升	The Gao Family ancestor who was able to parlay his government position into the political leadership of the Dali Kingdom
Duàn Zhèngmíng	段正明	Dali king from 1082-1094. In 1094, Gao Shengtai forced Duan Zhengming to relinquish the throne to him and renamed the Dali Kingdom to "Dazhong Kingdom". Gao Shengtai ruled briefly until his death in 1096, after which the throne was returned to the Duan family – Duan Zhengming's younger brother, Duan Zhengchun, became the new ruler and restored the kingdom's former name.
Gāo Shēngtài	高昇泰	Died 1096. Gao Shengtai was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Dazhong Kingdom from 1094 until his death in 1096.
Dà Zhōng Guó	大中国	the Great Central Kingdom. See aboce Gao Shengtai
Gāo Tàimíng	高泰明	Son of Gao Shengtai who was instructed to return the throne to the Duan's
Duàn Zhèngchún	段正淳	See above Duan Zhengming
Yuán Shìkǎi	袁世凯	1859 -1916, a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China, but not for long
Duàn Yù	段誉	The 16th emperor of the Dali Kingdom, reigning between 1108 and 1147. Following a family tradition, Duan's father, Duan Zhengchun, abdicated and became a monk in 1108. Duan succeeded his father as the emperor of Dali
Dàlǐ Xiànzōng	大理献宗	The Temple name of Dali King Duan Yu. See above
Tàizǔ	太祖	The name "Taizu" means Grand progenitor' a temple name typically, but not always, used for Chinesemonarchs who founded a particular dynasty.
Jīn Dynasty	金朝	Also known as the Great Jin (Chinese: 大金; pinyin: Dà Jīn). The Jīn was an imperial dynasty of China, founded by the Jürchens, that existed between 1115 and 1234. They overthrew the Northern Song in 1127
Duàn Xīngzhì	段兴智	The Dali king who was quick to surrender to the Mongols. He reigned 1251-1254
Níngxià	宁夏	Province in northwest China, also known as the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
Gānsù	甘肃	Province in northwest China. The capital is Lanzhou
tǔsī	土司	Tusi, often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. They ruled certain ethnic minorities in central China, western China, southwestern China, and the Indochinese peninsula nominally on behalf of the central government.
Chóngqìng	重庆	Formerly part of eastern Sichuan province, Chongqing is now a municipality reporting directly to Beijing
Toluid War		The Toluid Civil War was a war of succession fought between Kublai Khan and his younger brother, Ariq Böke, from 1260 to 1264. Möngke Khan died in 1259 with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family line for the title of Great Khan that escalated to a civil war
Yúnnán Administrative Province	云南行省	The name of Yunnan Province, as created by the Mongols
Guìzhōu	贵州	Interior province in west China bordering Yunnan
Zhū Yuánzhāng	朱元璋	The founder of the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Hongwu Emperor. He reigned 1368-1398
Khanbaliq	元大都	Also known by its Chinese name, Dadu. It was the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty of China in what is now Beijing. It was located at the center of modern Beijing.
Basalawarmi	把匝剌瓦爾密	Died1382, commonly known by his hereditary noble title, the Prince of Liang, was a Yuan dynasty prince and loyalist who fought against the Ming dynasty
Prince of Liáng	梁王	The title was revived under the Yuan dynasty as a hereditary appanage for one of the sons of Kublai Khan. The Princes of Liang served as the Yuan viceroys of Yunnan. By far the most famous was Basalawarmi (d. 1382),who continued his family's fight against the Ming long after the fall of Khanbalik in 1368
Hóngwǔ Emperor	洪武帝	See Zhu Yuanzhang above
Northern Yuan Dynasty	北元	A dynastic regime ruled by the MongolBorjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty in 1635
Esen	也先	Also known as Esen Taishi. He was a powerful Oirat taishi and the de facto ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1450 in the Battle of Tumu Fortress and briefly reuniting the Mongol tribes. The Four Oirat reached the peak of their power under his rule.
Dayan Khan		Khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1480 to 1517. During his rule, he reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy. His reigning title, "Dayan", means "the whole" or "Long lasting" in Mongolian language as he was the longest reigning khaan of the unified Mongols
Fù Yǒudé	傅友德	Died 1394, Fu was a Chinese general and a highly competent commander in the Ming navy.
Jīn Yǒng	金庸	1924-2018, Also known by his real name Louis Cha Leung-yung GBMOBE (查良鏞). Best known by his pen name Jin Yong (Chinese: 金庸),was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer, and is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".
Mǎ Hé	马和	Admiral Zhèng Hé, famous for his voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East between 1405 and 1433
Zhū Dì	朱棣	the Prince of Yān, Yǒnglè Emperor (reigned 1402-1424)
Yí	彝族	The Yi ethnic minority people of Yunnan
Tōnghǎi County	通海县	County located in Yuxi Prefecture-level City, Yunnan Province
Lake Fǔxiān	抚仙湖	A major lake in Yunnan that tretches through Chengjiang, Jiangchuan and Huaning Counties in Yunnan, spanning an area of 212 square kilometers. The lake is ranked third-largest in Yunnan, after Dian Lake and Erhai Lake. Also the deepest lake in Yunnan, it is 155 meters deep at its greatest depth. It is also the third-deepest fresh water lake in China, after Tianchi and Kanas Lake.
Khatso People	喀卓人	commonly known as the "Mongols in Yunnan", is a Mongolic ethnic group, mainly distributed in Tonghai County in the Yunnan Province of southwestern China. The Khatso people are descendants of the army personnel of the Yuan dynasty
Duàn Shì	段世	1343-1384, Dali ruler who resisted Ming rule i Yunnan
hùkǒu	户口	A system of household registration used in China
Jiājìng Emperor	嘉靖帝	Ming emperor who reigned 1521-1567
Mù Yīng	沐英	1345–1392, a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor
Bái people	白族	An East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi area of Hunan Province. They constitute one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China.
Lìsù people	傈僳族	a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group who inhabit mountainous regions of Myanmar, southwest China, Thailand, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. About 730,000 Lisu live in Yunnan
Nàxī people	纳西族	an East Asian ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan.Also called the Nakhi People, they are thought to have come originally from northwestern China, migrating south toward Tibetan populated regions, and usually inhabiting the most fertile riverside land, driving the other competing tribes farther up the hillsides onto less fertile land
Jǐngpō people	景颇族	The Jingpo people are an ethnic group who are the largest subset of the Kachin peoples, which largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Myanmar's Kachin State and neighbouring Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of China. There is also a significant Jingpo community in northeastern India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, as well as in Taiwan. While they mostly live in Myanmar, the Kachin are called the Jingpo in China
Dúlóng people	独龙族	Another ethbic group found in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan in the Derung Valley of Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County. Another 600 can be found east of the Derung Valley, living in the mountains above the Nu River (Salween River) near the village of Binzhongluo in northern Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County.
Nù people	怒族	The Nu population of 27,000 is divided into the Northern, Central and Southern groups. Their homeland is a country of high mountains and deep ravines crossed by the Dulong, Irrawaddy, and Nu Rivers. The name "Nu" comes from the fact that they were living near the Nu River 怒江, and the name of their ethnic group derives from there
Dǎi people	傣族	One of several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of China's Yunnan Province. The Dai term can apply to groups in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar when Dai is used to mean specifically Tai Yai, Lue, Chinese Shan, Tai Dam, Tai Khao or even Tai in general
Sipsong Panna / Xīshuāngbǎnnà	西双版纳	Xishuangbanna, Sibsongpanna or Sipsong Panna, shortened to Banna, is an autonomous prefecture for Dai people in the extreme south of Yunnan Province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. The prefectural seat is Jinghong, the largest settlement in the area and one that straddles the Mekong, called the "Lancang River" in Chinese
Chēlǐ Regional Pacification District	车里	Xishuangbanna was earlier called, by the Chinese, Cheli
Zhuàng people	壮族	a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in Guangxi. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces. With the Bouyei, Nùng, Tày, and other Northern Tai speakers, they are sometimes known as the Rau or Rao people. Their population, estimated at 18 million people, makes them the largest minority in China, followed by the Hui and Manchu.
Miáo	苗族	The Miao are a group of linguistically-related peoples living in Southern China and Southeast Asia. The Miao live primarily in southern China's mountains, in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan. Some sub-groups of the Miao, most notably the Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia. Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France, and Australia.
Yáo	瑶族	a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam who mainly reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south of China
Shan, with Mon and Kachin states	掸邦, 孟邦, 克钦邦	States in Myanmar. Shan and Kachin in the north. Mon in the south
Jiāozhǐ	交趾	A historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam
Lê Lợi	黎利	1384/1385-1433, also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖). This national hero of Vietnam was a rebel leader who founded the Later Lê dynasty and became the first emperor of the restored kingdom of Đại Việt after it was conquered by the Ming dynasty.
Lùchuān Campaign	麓川之役	The Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns were punitive expeditions carried out by the Ming dynasty under the rule of the Emperor Yingzong against the Shan-led State of Möng Mao near the frontier with Burma. They were carried out 1436–1449
Zhuāng Qiáo	庄蹻	Chu general sent west on a expeditionary force in 279 BC. Founded the Dian Kingdom the following year
Xú Xiákè	徐霞客	1587-1641, a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty, known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake
Diān Yóu Rìjì	滇游日记	The chapter of Xu Xiake's book that described his travels through Yunnan
Yùxī	玉溪	a prefecture-level city in the central part of Yunnan. Yuxi is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Kunming.
Qǔjìng	曲靖	a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan, bordering Guizhou to the east and the Guangxi to the southeast. For this reason Qujing was called "Key between Yunnan and Guizhou" (滇黔锁钥) and "Throat of Yunnan" (云南咽喉) in the past
Zhū Yóuláng	朱由榔	The fourth and final emperor of the Southern Ming. He led the remnants of the Ming loyalists with the assistance of peasant armies to resist the Qing forces in southwestern China, but he was then forced to exile to Toungoo Burma and eventually captured and executed by Wu Sangui in 1662. His era title "Yongli" means "perpetual calendar".
the Yǒnglì Emperor	永历帝	See above Zhu Youlang
Kāngxī emperor	康熙帝	Long-reigning Qing emperor who reigned 1661-1722
Li Zicheng	李自成	A Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the Yongchang Emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty before his death a year later in 1645
Shùn Dynasty	大顺朝	Officially called the Great Shun. Also known as Li Shun 李顺. This was a short-lived Chinese dynasty that existed during the Ming–Qing transition, 1644-45
Zhāng Xiànzhōng	张献忠	1606-1647, a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant revolt in northern Shaanxi. He conquered Sichuan in 1644, and named himself king and later emperor of the Xi dynasty (西朝 or Great Xi 大西). His rule in Sichuan was brief, and he was killed by the invading Qing army. He is commonly associated with the massacres in Sichuan that depopulated the region. However, the extent of his killings is disputed
Great Xī dynasty.	大西	See Zhang Xianzhong, above
Lǐ Dìngguó	李定国	1621-1662, a Chinese military general of the Southern Ming dynasty who fought against the Qing dynasty. Li was an adopted son of the rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong, and appointed a general in Zhang's army. After Zhang's death in 1647, he and other generals of Zhang's, including Sun Kewang, held out in Guizhou, then took over Chongqing in Sichuan, then south through Zunyi to take Guiyang in Guizhou in 1647\
Sūn Kěwàng	孙可望	Onetime ally of Li Dingguo, later turned against him and was defeated and killed by Li Dingguo
Wú Sānguì	吴三桂	1612-1678, he was a notorious Ming dynasty military officer who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is regarded as a disreputable Han Chinese traitor who played a pivotal role in several historical events, including the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Manchu invasion of China, the suppression of Southern Ming resistances and the execution of the Yongli Emperor, and eventually double-crossed both of his masters, the Ming and the Qing dynasties.
Yúnnán Fǔ	云南府	Former name of the city of Kunming. It means "Yunnan Capital" (or government seat)

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