Nanzhao: Map & History

History

Nanzhao encompassed many ethnic and linguistic groups. Some historians believe that the majority of the population were the Bai people (then known as the "White Man") and the Yi people (then known as the "Black Man"), 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. According to later Nanzhao kings, the polity that would become Nanzhao originated from the Ailao Kingdom, an older tribal confederacy. According to the Chronicles of Huayang, the Ailao Kingdom was populated by the Min Pu (閩濮), Jiu Liao (鳩僚), Piao Yue (僄越), Luo Pu (裸濮) and Shendu (身毒; "Indians") people. Ailao submitted to the Eastern Han dyansty in 69 CE and had 553,711 people.

Government

Nanzhao society was separated into two distinct castes: the administrative White Mywa living in western Yunnan, and the militaristic Black Mywa in eastern Yunnan. The rulers of Nanzhao were from the Mengshe tribe of the Black Mywa. Nanzhao modelled its government on the Tang dynasty with ministries (nine instead of six) and imperial examinations. However the system of governance and rule in Nanzhao was essentially feudal. The King of Nanzhao relied on a council of chief ministers and generals called the Qingping guan (清平官). These councillors also served as regional administrative heads with a six-way division mirroring the Tang's Six Ministries system.

Military

Nanzhao had an elite vanguard unit called the Luojuzi, which means tiger sons, that served as full-time soldiers. For every hundred soldiers, the strongest one was chosen for service in the Luojuzi. They were outfitted with red helmets, leather armour, and bronze shields, but went barefoot. Only wounds to the front were allowed and if they suffered any wounds to their back, they were executed. The commander of a hundred Luojuzi was called Luojuzuo. The king's personal guards, known as the Zhunu Quju, were recruited from the Luojuzi. "Quju" is a type of belt. Other types of Quju are known, such as Golden Quju. "Zhunu" in Chinese means "red crossbow".

Picked from troops raised from the countryside, the Luojuzi formed four armies.

Economy

The Lake Erhai region that formed the core of the Nanzhao territory strategically allowed Nanzaho to regulate and conduct overland trade between China, India and Southeast Asia. Historian Yumio Sakurai described Nanzhao as a "trade route controlling state". The fertile land near Lake Erhai and Lake Dian also created an agrarian base for the Nanzhao Kingdom. It established walled cities into Southeast Asia to expand its trade dominace, such as the walled city of Yongchang on the Upper Irrawaddy River.