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Nanzhao Kingdom
Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was 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 in China. 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 (also called ''Yi''), 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 (Baiman) tribes, who are considered the predecessors of the Bai people, settled on the fertile land o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world's population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. Chinese languages form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages family. The spoken varieties of Chinese are usually considered by native speakers to be variants of a single language. However, their lack of mutual intelligibility means they are sometimes considered separate languages in a family. Investigation of the historical relationships among the varieties of Chinese is ongoing. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups based on phonetic developments from Middle Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin (with about 800 million speakers, or 66%), followed by Min (75 million, e.g. Southern Min), Wu (74 million, e.g. Shangh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, China's first emperor, held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the Terracotta Army. From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang dynasty, the area that came to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a substantial part of its southern suburbs. Thus, Tang Chang'an was eight times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the site of the former imperial quarters of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang'an w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dali Old Town
Dali Town () is a township-level division in Dali City, in the northwest of Yunnan province, China. The town contains the historic centre of the county-level city of Dali and is also commonly known as Dali Old Town (). The modern centre of Dali City, however, is 10 km south of the old town at Xiaguan. Being the county seat of Dali City, Xiaguan is often labelled as Dali on maps and is sometimes referred to as Dali New Town () to distinguish it from Dali Town. The old town has become well-known as a tourist site in part thanks to its picturesque location and historic Bai architecture. History Dali has long been a regional centre of commerce, being located at a crossroads of trade routes between Tibet, China, Burma, and Southeast Asia. The Bai people first settled the region 3000 years ago. Dali first emerged as the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the 8th century. Later, the town served as the capital of the Kingdom of Dali until its conquest by the Yuan. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cang Mountain
Cangshan or Cang Mountain () is a mountain range immediately west of Dali City in Yunnan province of Southwest China. The highest summit, Malong, is 4,122 m, but the range includes another 18 peaks that are over 3,500 m elevation. History The mountain range is noted for its rich, diverse flora, first scientifically documented by Pierre Jean Marie Delavay in 1882. In 1991 construction began on a paved walkway running north and south from the top chairlift station near ancient Dali. This walkway passes several waterfalls and overlooks lake Erhai Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times. Etymology The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tang ... and the ancient city itself. This walkway is named "Jade-Cloud Road" after the cloud formations that appear over the Cang Mountain peaks. Construction was completed in 1992 and in 2004 a ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the extremity of Myanmar. Thailand also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city. Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tai People
Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, and Northern Thai peoples. The Tai are scattered through much of South China and Mainland Southeast Asia, with some (''e.g.'' Tai Ahom, Tai Khamti, Tai Phake, Tai Aiton) inhabiting parts of Northeast India. Tai peoples are both culturally and genetically very similar and therefore primarily identified through their language. Names Speakers of the many languages in the Tai branch of the Tai–Kadai language family are spread over many countries in Southern China, Indochina and Northeast India. Unsurprisingly, there are many terms used to describe the distinct Tai peoples of these regions. According to Michel Ferlus, the ethnonyms Tai/Thai (or Tay/Thay) would have evolved from the etymon *k(ə)ri: 'human being' through the following chain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erhai Lake
Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times. Etymology The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tang dynasty, there was an ancient ethnic named ''Kunming Yi'' or Kunming Barbarian () lived in the neighbouring region of Erhai lake. Therefore, the lake was also called "Kunming Lake". The ''Kunming Yi'' has another name ''Kun-mi'' (). In the following time, Chinese literature recorded the name "昆弥" as "昆弭" (Kun-mi) that "弭" is a rebus of "弥". And the name of the lake was also be changed to the character "渳" (mi) which has a water-meaning radical () attached to it. Fang Guoyu believe the name "洱" (er) was simplified from "渳", after that the name "Erhai" continues to this day. According to Bai scholar's research, the "Yeyu" in the Chinese name "Yeyuze" (''ze'' means lake) is evolved from Bai language which means "lower wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and laying the foundations for the much longer lasting Tang dynasty. Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui dynasty capital was Chang'an (which was renamed Daxing, modern Xi'an, Shaanxi) from 581–605 and later Luoyang (605–18). Emperors Wen and his successor Yang undertook various centralized reforms, most notably the equal-field system, intended to reduce economic inequality and improve agricultural productivity; the institution of the Five Departments and Six Board (五省六曹 or 五省六部) system, which is a predecessor of Three Departments and Six Ministries system; and the standardization and re-unification of the coinage. They also spread and encouraged Buddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the newly unifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign
Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign, also known as the War of Pacification in Nanzhong, was a military campaign which took place in 225 during the early Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. It was led by Zhuge Liang, the Chancellor (China), Imperial Chancellor of the state of Shu Han, against opposing forces in the Nanzhong region (covering parts of present-day Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Sichuan). The campaign was a response to rebellions started by local governors in the Nanzhong region and intrusions by the Nanman (literally: "southern barbarians"). Background In October 222, Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu, lost the Battle of Xiaoting against Shu's ally-turned-rival state Eastern Wu, Wu. He died in Baidicheng (in present-day Fengjie County, Chengdu) in June 223. Yong Kai's rebellion Yong Kai (雍闓), a descendant of Yong Chi (雍齒) and a tribal chief active in the Nanzhong region, heard about Liu Bei's death and started a rebellion against Shu rule. He killed Zh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuanman
Cuanman () was an ethnic group in northern Yunnan, China. 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. History According to the tomb tablet of Cuan Longyan, they were descended from a famous official in Shanxi, however it was common at the time to create fictitious lineages linking indigenous elites back to China, and it's also highly likely that the Cuans were originally native to Yunnan. In 549, a native from Ningzhou rose to power. The Northern Zhou dynasty granted him the title of prefectural governor(刺史) of Southern Ningzhou(南寧州). In contemporary Chinese historical records, the polity was called "Xicuan guo" (Western Cuan State). The Cuan sent tribute to Northern Zhou and the Sui dynasty. However Cuan power was broken in 597 and 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loloish Language
The Loloish languages, also known as Yi in China and occasionally Ngwi or Nisoic, are a family of fifty to a hundred Sino-Tibetan languages spoken primarily in the Yunnan province of China. They are most closely related to Burmese and its relatives. Both the Loloish and Burmish branches are well defined, as is their superior node, Lolo-Burmese. However, subclassification is more contentious. SIL Ethnologue (2013 edition) estimated a total number of 9 million native speakers of Ngwi languages, the largest group being the speakers of Nuosu (Northern Yi) at 2 million speakers (2000 PRC census). Names ''Loloish'' is the traditional name for the family. Some publications avoid the term under the misapprehension that ''Lolo'' is pejorative, but it is the Chinese rendition of the autonym of the Yi people and is pejorative only when it is written with a particular Chinese character (one that uses a beast, rather than a human, radical), a practice that was prohibited by the Chinese g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
