Nanzhao
Nanzhao was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southwestern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries, during the mid/late Tang dynasty. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China, with its capitals in modern-day Dali City. The kingdom was officially called Dameng from 738 to 859 AD, Dali from 859 to 877 and Dafengmin from 877 to 902.
History
Origins
Nanzhao encompassed many ethnic and linguistic groups. Some historians believe that the majority of the population were the Bai people and the Yi people, but that the elite spoke a variant of Nuosu, a Northern Loloish language. Scriptures unearthed from Nanzhao were written in the Bai language.The Cuanman people came to power in Yunnan during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign in 225. By the fourth century they had gained control of the region, but they rebelled against the Sui dynasty in 593 and were destroyed by a retaliatory expedition in 602. The Cuan split into two groups known as the Black and White Mywa. The White Mywa tribes, who are considered the predecessors of the Bai people, settled on the fertile land of western Yunnan around the alpine fault lake Erhai. The Black Mywa, considered to be predecessors of the Yi people, settled in the mountainous regions of eastern Yunnan. These tribes were called Mengshe, Mengxi, Langqiong, Tengtan, Shilang, and Yuexi. Each tribe was known as a zhao. In academia, the ethnic composition of the Nanzhao kingdom's population has been debated for a century. Some non-Chinese scholars subscribed to the theory that the Tai ethnic group was a major component and later moved south into modern-day Thailand and Laos. The historiography of the origins of Nanzhao people has attracted much interest.
Among them, Mengshe zhao was recorded as Ma Shizi in Yi classics, which means "King of Golden Bamboo". Because it is located in the south, Mengshe was called Nanzhao or southern Zhao.
Founding
In 649, the chieftain of the Mengshe tribe, Xinuluo, son of Jiadupang and grandson of Shelong, founded the Great Meng and took the title of Qijia Wang. He acknowledged Tang suzerainty. In 652, Xinuluo absorbed the White Mywa realm of Zhang Lejinqiu, who ruled Erhai Lake and Cang Mountain. This event occurred peacefully as Zhang made way for Xinuluo of his own accord. The agreement was consecrated under an iron pillar in Dali. Thereafter the Black and White Mywa acted as warriors and ministers respectively. In 655, Xinuluo sent his eldest son to Chang'an to ask for the Tang dynasty's protection. The Tang emperor appointed Xinuluo as prefect of Weizhou, sent him an embroidered official robe, and sent troops to defeat rebellious tribes in 672, thus enhancing Xinuluou's position. Xinuluo was succeeded by his son, Luoshengyan, who travelled to Chang'an to make tribute to the Tang. In 704, the Tibetan Empire made the White Mywa tribes into tributaries, whilst subjugating the Black Mywa. In 712, Luoshengyan established a walled city at Yongchang and in 713, Luoshengyan was succeeded by his son, Shengluopi, who was also on good terms with the Tang. He was succeeded by his son, Piluoge, in 733.Piluoge began expanding his realm in the early 730s. He first annexed the neighboring zhao of Mengsui, whose ruler, Zhaoyuan, was blind. Piluoge supported Zhaoyuan's son, Yuanluo, in his accession, and in turn weakened Mengsui. After Zhaoyuan was assassinated, Piluoge drove Yuanluo from Mengsui and annexed the territory. The remaining banded together against Piluoge, who thwarted them with an alliance with the Tang dynasty. Not long after 733, the Tang official Yan Zhenghui cooperated with Piluoge in a successful attack on the zhao of Shilang, and rewarded the Mengshe rulers with titles.
Two other also joined in the attack on Shilang: Dengdan ruled by Mieluopi and Langqiong ruled by Duoluowang. Piluoge moved to eliminate these competitors by bribing Wang Yu, the military commissioner of Jiannan to convince the Tang court to support him in uniting the Six Zhaos. Piluoge then made a surprise attack on Dengdan and defeated the forces of both Mieluopi and the ruler of Shilang, Shiwangqian. The zhao of Yuexi was annexed when its ruler, Bochong, was murdered by his wife's lover, Zhangxunqiu. Zhangxunqiu was summoned by the Tang court and beaten to death. The territory of Yuexi was bestowed to Piluoge. Bochong's son, Yuzeng, fled and resisted Nanzhao's expansion for some time before he was defeated by Piluoge's son, Geluofeng, and drowned in the Changjiang. Piluoge's step-grandson grew jealous of the preeminence of his step-father, Geluofeng, and sought to create his own zhao by allying with the Tibetan Empire. His plans leaked out and he was killed.
In the year 737 AD, Piluoge united the Six Zhaos in succession, establishing a new kingdom called Nanzhao. In 738, the Tang granted Piluoge the Chinese-style name Meng Guiyi and the title of "Prince of Yunnan". Piluoge set up a new capital at Taihe in 739,. 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. Under the reign of Piluoge, the White Mywa were removed from eastern Yunnan and resettled in the west. The Black and White Mywa were separated to create a more solidified caste system of ministers and warriors.
Territorial expansion
Piluoge died in 748, and was succeeded by his son Geluofeng.When the Chinese prefect of Yunnan attempted to rob Nanzhao envoys in 750, Geluofeng launched the Tianbao War against the Tang dynasty, killing the prefect and seizing nearby Chinese territory.
In retaliation, the Tang governor of Jiannan, Xianyu Zhongtong, attacked Nanzhao with an army of 80,000 soldiers in 751. He was defeated by Duan Jianwei with heavy losses at Xiaguan. Duan Jianwei's grave is two kilometres west of Xiaguan, and the Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers is located in Tianbao Park.
In 754, another Tang army of 100,000 soldiers, led by General Li Mi, approached the kingdom from the north, but never made it past Mu'ege. By the end of 754, Geluofeng had established an alliance with the Tibetans against the Tang that would last until 794. In the same year, Nanzhao gained control of the salt marshes of Yanyuan County, which it used to regulate the salt to its people, a practice that would continue during the reign of the Dali kingdom. In 756, Nanzhao captured Yuesui Commandery and the Xilu district magistrate Zheng Hui, who went on to serve as Nanzhao's imperial tutor and eventual prime minister.
Geluofeng accepted a Tibetan title and acted as part of the Tibetan Empire. His successor, Yimouxun, continued the pro-Tibetan policy. In 779, Yimouxun participated in a large Tibetan attack on the Tang dynasty. However the burden of having to support every single Tibetan military campaign against the Tang soon weighed on him. In 794, he launched the battle of Shenchuan to break up with Tibet and switched sides to the Tang. In 795, Yimouxun attacked a Tibetan stronghold in Kunming. The Tibetans retaliated in 799 but were repelled by a joint Tang-Nanzhao force. In 801, Nanzhao and Tang forces defeated a contingent of Tibetan and Abbasid slave soldiers in the Battle of Dulu. More than 10,000 Tibetan/Arabs soldiers were killed and some 6,000 were captured. Nanzhao captured seven Tibetan cities and five military garrisons while more than a hundred fortifications were destroyed. This defeat shifted the balance of power in favor of the Tang and Nanzhao.
Attack on Sichuan
During the reign of Quanlongcheng, the ruler behaved without constraint, and was killed by Wang Cuodian, a powerful governor. The military generals in Nanzhao had become powerful after the victory in Tibet. Wang Cuodian installed a puppet ruler Quanlisheng. However, Quanlisheng quickly took power back three years later before he was himself replaced by Quanfengyou, with the aid of the generals. Quanfengyou and Wang Cuodian, who remained a powerful general, were instrumental in the expansion of Nanzhao territory. Nanzhao expanded into Myanmar,conquering the Pyu city-states in the 820s and destroying the city of Halin in 832. They returned to Halin in 835 and carried off many prisoners. Campaigns against the states of Minuo, Michen, Kunlun, Water Zhenla, and Land Zhenla are mentioned.
In 829, Wang Cuodian attacked Chengdu, but withdrew the following year. Wang Cuodian's invasion was not to take Sichuan but to push its territorial boundaries north and take the resources south of Chengdu. The advance of Nanzhao's army was almost unopposed; the attack took advantage of chaos created in Sichuan by its governor, Du Yuanying. Bilateral relations between Nanzhao and Tang became delicate, as Wang Cuodian refused to retreat from Yizhou, saying that Nanzhao had remained a loyal tributary and was only punishing Du Yuanying at the request of Tang soldiers.
In the 830s, they conquered the neighboring kingdoms of Kunlun to the east and Nuwang to the south.
Invasion of Annan
In 846, Nanzhao raided the southern Tang circuit of Annan. Despite the raid, Nanzhao wished to maintain diplomatic contact with the Tang, but the Tang suspended official ties with Nanzhao in 854 when they refused to accept a Nanzhao envoy bearing a rhinoceros as a gift. Relations with the Tang broke down after the death of Emperor Xuanzong in 859, when the Nanzhao king Shilong treated Tang envoys sent to receive his condolences with contempt, and launched raids on Bozhou and Annan. Shilong proclaimed himself emperor and tried to negotiate a marriage alliance as well as the status of "younger brother" with the Tang dynasty. Shilong also killed Wang Cuodian. To recruit for his wars, Shilong ordered all men over the age 15 to join the army. Anti-Tang locals allied with highland people, who appealed to Nanzhao for help, and as a result invaded the area in 860, briefly taking Songping before being driven out by a Tang army the next year. Prior to Li Hu's arrival, Nanzhao had already seized Bozhou. When Li Hu led an army to retake Bozhou, the Đỗ family gathered 30,000 men, including contingents from Nanzhao to attack the Tang. When Li Hu returned, he learned the Vietnamese rebels and Nanzhao had taken control over Annan out of his hand. In December 860, Songping fell to the rebels and Hu fled to Yongzhou. In summer 861, Li Hu retook Songping but Nanzhao forces moved around and seized Yongzhou. Hu was banished to Hainan island and was replaced by Wang Kuan.Shilong attacked Annan again in 863, occupying it for three years. With the aid of locals, Nanzhao invaded with an army of 50,000 and besieged Annan's capital Songping in mid-January. On 20 January, the defenders led by Cai Xi killed a hundred of the besiegers. Five days later, Cai Xi captured, tortured, and killed a group of besiegers known as the Púzǐ or Wangjuzi. A local official named Liang Ke was related to them, and defected as a result. On 28 January, a Nanzhao Buddhist monk, possibly from the Indian continent, was wounded by an arrow while strutting to and fro naked outside the southern walls. On 14 February, Cai Xi shot down 200 Puzi and over 30 horses using a mounted crossbow from the walls. By 28 February, most of Cai Xi's followers had perished, and he himself had been wounded several times by arrows and stones. The Nanzhao commander, Yang Sijin, penetrated the inner city. Cai Xi tried to escape by boat, but it capsized midstream, drowning him. The 400 remaining defenders wanted to flee as well, but could not find any boats, so they chose to make a last stand at the eastern gate. Ambushing a group of Nanzhao cavalry, they killed over 2,000 Nanzhao troops and 300 horses before Yang sent reinforcements from the inner city. After taking Songping, Nanzhao laid siege to Junzhou. A Nanzhao and rebel fleet of 4,000 men led by a native chieftain named Zhu Daogu was attacked by a local commander, who rammed their vessels and sank 30 boats, drowning them. In total, the invasion destroyed Chinese armies in Annan numbering over 150,000. Although initially welcomed by the locals in ousting Tang control, Nanzhao turned on them, ravaging the local population and countryside. Both Chinese and Vietnamese sources note that the Annanese locals fled to the mountains to avoid destruction. A government-in-exile for the protectorate was established in Haimen. Ten thousand soldiers from Shandong and all other armies of the Tang empire were called and concentrating at Halong Bay for reconquering Annan. A supply fleet of 1,000 ships from Fujian was organized.