Nanzhao

Nanzhao was a kingdom centred on the region around Lake Erhai, in what is now Yunnan province in south-west China, which flourished in the eighth and ninth centuries. It was a regional power between Tang China and the Tibetan Empire, fought both, and at times defeated large Tang armies.

Yunnan's mountains and lakes were home to many peoples, including ancestors of today's Yi and Bai. In the early eighth century, six kingdoms, or zhao, lay around Lake Erhai and the plain of Dali. The southernmost, Mengshe, was called Nanzhao, "southern zhao". With Tang support, which wanted an ally against Tibet, its king Piluoge united the six zhao around 738, according to legend by inviting the other kings to a festival in a pine-wood hall and burning it down. The Tang gave him the title King of Yunnan. His capital was Taihe, near modern Dali.

Relations with the Tang soon deteriorated. In 750, after a Tang governor insulted and abused Nanzhao's king Geluofeng, Nanzhao attacked Tang territory. The Tang sent armies in 751 and 754, which were destroyed with huge losses, partly through disease. These defeats, just before the An Lushan rebellion, weakened the Tang. Nanzhao allied with Tibet, which gave Geluofeng the title "younger brother".

In 766 Geluofeng set up the Dehua stele at Taihe, with a long inscription explaining why Nanzhao had broken with the Tang and blaming Tang officials, while expressing hope for reconciliation. The stele still stands.

Under King Yimouxun, Nanzhao grew tired of Tibetan demands and, in 794, broke with Tibet, swore an alliance with the Tang at a ceremony on Diancang mountain, and defeated Tibetan forces. Nanzhao received Tang titles and sent young nobles to study in Chengdu.

In the ninth century, Nanzhao expanded and raided its neighbours. In 829 it attacked Chengdu, in Sichuan, carrying off thousands of craftsmen and artisans. In 832 it sacked the Pyu city-states, in today's Myanmar, and deported thousands of people. In 858–866 it attacked the Tang protectorate of Annam, in today's northern Vietnam, taking Hanoi in 863 before Tang forces under Gao Pian drove them out. These wars drained the Tang.

Nanzhao's rulers used Chinese for official documents and adopted much of Tang culture, but Nanzhao was also influenced by Tibet and India. Buddhism, including tantric forms, was important. The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng temple in Dali, the tallest about 69 metres, date from the ninth century. The Nanzhao Picture Scroll, a ninth-century illustrated history, shows the legendary arrival of Buddhism. Nanzhao is known for metalwork and swords.

In 902 the minister Zheng Maisi killed the royal family and founded the Da Changhe dynasty. After several short-lived dynasties, Duan Siping founded the Kingdom of Dali in 937, ruling the same region. Dali, a Buddhist kingdom ruled by the Duan family, lasted until 1253, when Kublai Khan conquered it, and Yunnan became part of China.

Our maps show Nanzhao on every map from 800 to 1200. Its largest outline, about 410,000 square kilometres on the 1000 map, is three-quarters in today's China, with the rest in Vietnam and Laos. The later maps use the name for the region after the dynasty's end in 902, covering the time of the Kingdom of Dali. On the 1279 map the region is under the Mongols.