From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of Asia and Europe circa 1200 C.E.

Nanzhao (Traditional Chinese: 南詔; Simplified Chinese: 南诏; pinyin: Nánzhāo; Alternate spellings: Nanchao; Nan Chao; Tibetan: Jang^[1]) was a Bai kingdom that flourished in East Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered around present-day Yunnan in China.

History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2070–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
Wei, Shu & Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
Western Jin
Eastern Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–619
Tang Dynasty 618–907
5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms 907–960	Liao Dynasty 907–1125
Song Dynasty 960–1279
Northern Song		W. Xia Dyn.
Southern Song	Jin Dyn.
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911
MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic of China 1949–present	Republic of China (on Taiwan) 1945-present
Timeline of Chinese history Dynasties in Chinese history Military history of China Naval history of China Economic history of China Linguistic history of China Legal history of China History of Chinese art History of science and technology in China History of education in China
This box: view • talk • edit

Originally, there were several Bai tribes that settled on the fertile land around Erhai lake. These tribes were called Mengshe (蒙舍), Mengsui (蒙嶲), Langqiong (浪穹), Dengtan (邆賧), Shilang (施浪), and Yuexi (越析). Each tribe had its own 'kingdom' known as a 'zhao'. In 649 AD the chieftain of the Mengshe tribe, Xinuluo (細奴邏) founded a kingdom (Damengguo 大蒙國) in the area of Lake Erhai. In the year AD 737, with the support of the Tang Dynasty of China, Pileguo united the six zhaos in succession, establishing a new kingdom called Nanzhao. The Nanzhao kingdom maintained close links with the Tang Dynasty ('Nan' is Chinese for south), and it was made up of both Bai and Yi nationalities. Some historians believe that the majority of the population was Bai, but that the elite was Yi. In any case, the capital was established in 738 at Taihe (modern day Taihe village, a few miles south of Dali). Located in the heart of the Erhai valley, the site was ideal: it could be easily defended against attack, and it was in the midst of rich farmland.

From 680 CE it came under Tibetan control. The Tibetans recognised their suzerainty after 703 and then took it under their control again from 750-794, when Nanzhao turned on their Tibetan overlords and helped China defeat their armies.^[2]

Nanzhao had a strong connection with Buddhism, as evidenced by surviving stone carvings from the period. Some scholars are said to have claimed that Nanzhao's Acarya Buddhism was related to the Tantric Ari Buddhism of Bagan, Myanmar.

In 750, Nanzhao rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. In retaliation, the Tang sent an army against Nanzhao in 751, but this army was soundly defeated at Xiaguan. (It was in the same year that the Tang suffered another serious defeat at the hands of the Arabs at the Battle of Talas in Central Asia; these defeats weakened the dynasty both internally and externally.) Today the General's Cave (two km west of Xiaguan), and the Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers (in Tianbao Park) bear witness to this great massacre. In 754 another army was sent, this time from the north, but it too was defeated. Bolstered by these successes, Nanzhao expanded rapidly, first into Burma, then into the rest of Yunnan, down into northern Laos and Thailand, and finally, north into Sichuan. In 829, Chengdu was taken; it was a great prize, as it enabled Nanzhao to lay claim to the whole of Sichuan province, with its rich paddy fields. This was too much for the Chinese, who lost no time in counterattacking.

By 873, Nanzhao had been expelled from Sichuan, and retreated back to Yunnan. Taking Chengdu marked the high point of the Nanzhao kingdom, and it was a watershed: from then on, the Nanzhao Kingdom slowly declined.

In 902, the Nanzhao dynasty was overthrown, and it was followed by three other dynasties in quick succession, until Duan Siping seized power in 937 to establish the Kingdom of Dali.

1. ^ Stein, R. A. (1972) Tibetan Civilization, p. 63. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (pbk)
2. ^ Stein, R. A. (1972) Tibetan Civilization, pp. 60, 65. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (pbk)

• Backus, C. The Nan-chao Kingdom and T'ang China's China's Southwestern Frontier, Cambridge, 1981, ISBN 0-521-22733-X.
• Chan, Maung (March 2005) Theravada Buddhism and Shan/Thai/Dai/Laos Regions.