Dian empire
The Dian Empire (Chinese: 滇 國 or 滇 王國) was one of the independent cultures in the south of today's China, which were annexed at the time of the Han dynasty . It is briefly mentioned in the Han sources. Its existence was confirmed by excavation finds in Shizhaishan (burial site in the east of Kunming Lake , approx. 50 graves, including royal seals) between 1955 and 1960 .
The state existed at least from the 3rd to the 1st century BC, and the political center was the Kunming Plain in what is now Yunnan Province . The neighbors were in particular the Yelang tribes, the Kunming tribes in western Yunnan and the Chinese around Chengdu (also: Shu).
The economy was based on cattle breeding, agriculture and trade, with the trade goods of the region at that time being horses, slaves and long-haired cattle. In addition to keeping animals, Dian also had plenty of salt and metals to show.
It is mentioned that the Chu officer Zhuang Qiao made himself the independent king of Dian after an aborted campaign to this region (between 339 and 328 BC). Due to the advance of Qin , the kingdom of Zhuang Qiao was isolated.
Shortly after 122 BC The Chinese sent a band to scout the way to Shendu (i.e. India), but the Dian king set them up for several years. After being united with the Yelang tribes, Han China then ruled in 109 BC. Chr. A campaign against Dian and forced it into the vassal duty, where he built the Yizhou Commandery.
King Dians retained his title until the time of Emperor Zhao , when the Kunming tribes rose unsuccessfully against the Han (86 and 83 BC). He was later eliminated as a result of a rebellion.
Archaeological sites such as Shizhaishan and Lijiashan have delicate bronze art, the scenes of which allow conclusions to be drawn about the daily life of the Dian people. One sees or suspects foreign influences in art, for example from the Chinese, from Dong-son (bronze culture in North Vietnam) and from the northern nomads (“Scythian?”).
Remarks
- ↑ Cambridge History of China, Vol. 1, p. 457
literature
- Jacques Gernet : The Chinese World. The history of China from the beginning to the present day. 5th edition. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-458-09921-2 .
- Denis Twitchett , Michael Loewe (Eds.): The Cambridge History of China. Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC - AD 220. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1986, ISBN 0-521-21447-5 .