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97 3 Rearing a Tiger in the Backyard China and the Nanzhao Kingdom In the deep mountains and dense forests of what is now modern Yunnan province lived a large number of tribes.1 For centuries, tribes in the remote western and southern regions had been beyond the reach of Chinese power, but those in eastern Yunnan, whose borders neighbored China, came into contact with China as early as the Han dynasty. Chinese sources referred to these tribes as either “White Aborigines” (Baiman), or “Black Aborigines” (Wuman), depending on their cultural and economic development. Those considered to be of a higher level of development were “White Aborigines,” and the rest were “Black Aborigines .”2 These tribes came into more frequent contact with China after the Tang started to extend its control over Yunnan in 618, the same year the dynasty was founded. Then, in the 680s, the Tibetans expanded their territories into Yunnan, albeit from a different direction. Tang and Tibetan activities worked as catalysts for social and economic changes in Yunnan. Local tribal leaders also used contacts with these two powerful neighbors to advance their respective political ambitions of becoming the overlords of Yunnan. Thus was initiated a process of political unification in the region. During this process, six tribes emerged as major contenders for power. With Tang’s help, the leaders of Nanzhao eventually annexed other tribes during the eighth century to form a unified Nanzhao Kingdom.3 Soldiers of this kingdom were fierce warriors. They, like the Turks and the Tibetans, preferred an honorable death on the battlefield rather than a humble demise due to illness. A vindictive people, it was their custom to seek revenge when harmed. Should a person be unable to do so by himself, everyone in his tribe would come to his aid. They used a lethal weapon—the poisonous spear. In the shape of a piece of rusty iron without a blade, this spear could cause the person hit with it an instant and bloodless death. “Heaven’s rain sends us those spears,” boasted the tribesmen. “They are buried several meters in the ground, and we need to offer prayers [to Heaven] before digging them up.”4 These were the tribesmen who formed Nanzhao ’s formidable military force. Subsequent developments in Yunnan in the mid-ninth century, however, proved a total surprise to China. Nanzhao became a military rival of China owing to conflicts of interest between the two former allies.5 Mutual hostilities in border villages and 98 | Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia towns often broke out in southwestern China, exhausting both countries . It is indeed ironic that China had facilitated the rise of Nanzhao out of its self-interest in controlling Yunnan but consequently became the victim of its own policy in the region. In fact, China lost control not only of Yunnan, but also of northern Vietnam when the Tang dynasty itself collapsed in 907. Extending Chinese Influence into Yunnan Tang activities in Yunnan began in 618. The court entrusted Duan Lun, Area Commander-in-Chief (Zongguan) of Yizhou (a Tang stronghold in present-day Chengdu, Sichuan province), with sweeping powers to coordinate operations in Yunnan: he could act according to circumstances and grant official titles to surrendered tribal chieftains without prior consent from the court.6 To win local chieftains over, Emperor Gaozu appointed Cuan Hongda,7 head of a prominent tribe from the present-day Kunming area, prefect of Kunzhou prefecture (its headquarters was near present-day Kunming) and granted him a special favor: the court would allow and assist Hongda to transport the corpse of his father, who had been executed by the Sui, back to his hometown for a dignified burial ceremony. This gesture of the court deeply moved Hongda and transformed him into a staunch supporter of the Tang. Wasting no time in taking advantage of Hongda’s gratitude toward Tang, Duan Lun immediately sent his subordinate, Yu Dashi, to Nanning (present-day Qujing, Yunnan province, about 120 kilometers northeast of Kunming) to advance the interests of Tang in Hongda’s own territory. There, Yu worked hard to persuade local tribes to offer political allegiance to China;8 the chieftain of Xicuan was the first to become a subject of Tang.9 Three years later, in 621, Ji Hongwei, a ranking Tang official from neighboring Xizhou prefecture (its headquarters was located in present-day Xichang, Sichuan province), also arrived in Nanning.10 He succeeded in winning over more local chieftains.11 Xizhou, together...

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