Dian Kingdom
Dian 滇 | |||||||
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8th century BCE Annexed by the Han dynasty 109 BCE[1] | | ||||||
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Today part of | China |
Dian (Chinese: 滇) was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian buried their dead in vertical pit graves.[2] The Dian language was likely one of the Tibeto-Burman languages.[3] The Han Empire's annexation of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BCE eventually led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery. Dian culture started from at least the 8th century BCE, until it fell under the control of the Han dynasty in 109 BCE.[1]
History
Dian was an ancient kingdom situated in modern Yunnan, southwestern China, in the region around the Dian Lake. According to Han historian, Sima Qian, it was established in 279 BCE when King Qingxiang of Chu sent a military force to the southwest. Zhuang Qiao, a general of Chu, reached the Dian Lake as part of the Chu military campaign. When the Chu homeland was invaded by the Qin, Zhuang Qiao decided to stay in Yunnan and adopt the native ways, establishing the Dian kingdom. The Qin dynasty was subsequently overthrown by the Han, and the commanderies of the new dynasty, Ba and Shu, bordered Dian.[4][5][6][7]
According to the
In the area from
Shu is the only place that makes ju berry sauce. large quantities of it are exported in secret to the markets of Yelang, which is situated on the Zangke. The Zangke at that point is over 100 paces across, wide enough to allow boats to move up and down it. The king of Southern Yue sends money and goods in an effort to gain control of Yelang, extending his efforts as far west as Tongshi, but so far he has not succeeded in getting Yelang to acknowledge his sovereignty.
Shiji
In 135 BCE, the Han envoy Tang Meng brought gifts to Duotong, the king of Yelang, which bordered Dian, and convinced him to submit to the Han. The Jianwei Commandery was established in the region. In 122 BCE, Emperor Wu dispatched four groups of envoys to the southwest in search of a route to
In 111 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han ordered the barbarian tribes of Jianwei Commandery to raise troops for the campaign against Nanyue. Fearing that neighboring tribes would attack them in the absence of their men, the tribe of Julan rebelled against the Han and killed the governor of Jianwei Commandery. After Nanyue was defeated, Han forces turned north and subjugated the various tribes of Yelang, Julan, Toulan, Qiong, Zuo, Ran, and Mang.[12]
The Dian Kingdom was annexed by the Han under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in 109 BCE and the Yizhou commandery established.[13][14] The Dian King willingly received the Chinese invasion in the hopes of assistance against rival tribes. It was at this time he received his seal from the Chinese, and became a tributary.[15]
Emperor Wu sent Wang Ranyu to persuade the king of Dian to submit, pointing out that many of the neighboring tribes had already been defeated. The king of Dian was initially reluctant to accept the offer for he still possessed some 30,000 troops as well as the allegiance of the nearby Laojin and Mimo tribes. However, in 109 BCE, Han troops from Ba and Shu wiped out the Laojin and Mimo, leading the king of Dian to surrender. While Dian became Yizhou Commandery (Chinese: 益州), the king was allowed to continue his rule until a rebellion during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han. The Han proceeded with colonization and conquered the people of Kunming in 86 and 82 BCE, reaching all the way to what is now modern day Myanmar.[16]
Royal burials
The Dian buried their kings at Shizhaishan, which was uncovered in 1954 near Shizhai Village in
Culture
Bronze working
The largest tin deposits on the Eurasian continent are located on the Malay peninsula,[citation needed] and as such, the Dian people were sophisticated metal workers, casting both bronze and iron. The Dian cast bronze objects using both the piece mould method and the lost wax method. Dian elite burials contained an impressive array of bronze objects, although late Dian burials also contained locally cast iron objects.
Large bronze drums were employed by the Dian to communicate in battle; ritual burials of Dian elites were accompanied by large bronze drums filled with cowrie shells. The tops of the drums were removed and replaced by a bronze lid.
Saka influences
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The ox is featured heavily in Dian artwork. This bronze belt buckle for example shows Dian armoured warriors around an ox and its calves.
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Dian bronze lid depicting a horseman in battle
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Dian vessel depicting a horseman surrounded by four oxen being hunted by tigers
Depiction of Dian society
The bronze lids were covered with miniature figurines and structures, depicting various scenes from the life of the Dian people. The bronze lids depicted the Dian people engaged in everyday activities such as hunting, farming and weaving. Other scenes depicted the leisurely pursuits of the Dian people, such as bullfighting, dancing and music-making. The Dian people dressed in tunics over short pants and wore their hair in topknots. The bronze lids corroborated Sima Qian's description of the Dian hairstyle.
Many scenes depicted the Dian at war, often riding horses. Archaeological evidence shows that horses had been domesticated by the Dian people as early as the sixth century BCE. The bronze lids also depicted the Dian decapitating their enemies (who wore their hair in long plaits).
The Kingdom was based on agriculture, the bronzes also showed head hunting, human sacrifice, and slaves as part of Dian society.[24][25][26][27]
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Dian bronze model of a house
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Dian lamp in the shape of a servant
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Face of a Dian person
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Dian servant with a parasol
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Dian woman
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Dian female musicians and dancers
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Dian bronze lid depicting a human sacrifice
Underwater ruins
Archaeologists recently discovered the inundated remains of Dian-period buildings and pottery fragments under Fuxian Lake and were able to verify their age with carbon dating.
Other artifacts
At Dabona, a site connected with the Dian culture, archaeologists discovered a large double coffin burial; The outer coffin was made of wood and the inner coffin was made of bronze. The inner coffin was shaped like a house and weighs over 157 kg.
The Yunnan Provincial Museum holds many archaeological relics of the Dian culture.
Gallery
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Bronze sword with a head-hunting theme from the Dian culture of ancient Yunnan (circa 100 BCE) unearthed at Jiancheng and displayed at Yunnan Provincial Museum, Guandu, Kunming, 2016.
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Seal of the Kingdom of Dian
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Dian people tending an ox
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Dian people with an ox
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Dian wine cup
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Dian bronze coffin in the shape of house
References
Citations
- ^ PMID 33786071.
According to current archaeological evidence, the Dian were present in Yunnan from at least the eighth century BC, until they were conquered by the Han Dynasty in 109 BC
- ^ Archaeology of Asia, pp. 247
- ^ Blench, Sagart & Sanchez-Mazas 2015, p. 192.
- ^ Yao 2008, p. 32.
- ^ Manning 2006, p. 34.
- ^ Gernet 1996, p. 124.
- ^ Gernet 1996, p. 73.
- ^ a b Watson 1993, p. 253.
- ^ Gaubatz 1996, p. 77.
- ^ Watson 1993, p. 224-225.
- ^ Watson 1993, p. 236.
- ^ Watson 1993, p. 257.
- ^ Haw 2005, p. 13.
- ^ Shennan 1989, p. 195.
- ^ Booz 2007, p. 11.
- ^ Gernet 1996, p. 125.
- ISBN 0-8160-4640-9. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ISBN 0-521-49781-7. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
tien kingdom 1956 seal yunnan.
- ISBN 978-1-84353-872-1. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ "Seal of ancient king made public". CRI.cn. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ^ Lebedynsky 2006, p. 73.
- ^ Mallory & Mair 2008, pp. 329–330.
- ISBN 978-0-300-10065-5.
- ISBN 0-521-56505-7. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-84162-169-2. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-962-217-210-4. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ISBN 1-86450-370-X. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
Sources
- Allard, Francis (1999). "The archaeology of Dian: trends and tradition". Antiquity. 73 (279): 77–79. S2CID 162441877.
- Blench, Roger; Sagart, Laurent; Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia (2015). The Peopling of East Asia: Putting Together Archaeology, Linguistics and Genetics. Routledge. ISBN 9781138862234.
- Booz, Patrick R. (2007). Yunnan (3rd, illustrated ed.). Passport Books. ISBN 978-962-217-210-4.
- Gaubatz, Piper Rae (1996). Beyond the Great Wall: urban form and transformation on the Chinese frontiers (illustrated ed.). Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2399-0.
- Gernet, Jacques (1996). A history of Chinese civilization. Cambridge University Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-521-49781-7. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ISBN 978-0415348508.
- ISBN 9780521565059.
- Lebedynsky, Iaroslav (2006). Les Saces: les Scythes d'Asie, VIIIe siècle av. J.-C., IVe siècle apr. J.-C. Paris: Errance. ISBN 978-2877723374.
- Mallory, J.P.; Mair, Victor H. (2008). The Tarim mummies : ancient China and the mystery of the earliest peoples from the West (1st pbk. ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0500283721.
- Manning, Patrick (2006). World history: global and local interactions. Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 1-55876-395-3.
- Shennan, Stephen (1989). Archaeological approaches to cultural identity (illustrated ed.). Unwin Hyman. ISBN 0-04-445016-8.
- Yao, Alice (2008). Culture Contact and Social Change Along China's Ancient Southwestern Frontier, 900 B.C.--100 A.D. pp. 32–. ]
- Watson, Burton (1993), Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian: Han Dynasty II (Revised Edition, Columbia University Press
- Stark, Miriam T. (ed), Archaeology of Asia, ISBN 1-4051-0213-6.
- Yang, Bin, 2004, Horses, silver, and cowries: Yunnan in global perspective. Journal of World History 15(3): 281-322.