History of Yunnan

Yunnan Province, referred to as "Dian" or "Yun", is one of the important birthplaces of mankind. The Yuanmou ape man who lived in Yunnan 1.7 million years ago is the earliest human being discovered in my country and Asia so far. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, Yunnan belonged to Liangzhou, one of the nine states of China. Before the Qin Dynasty, the ancient Dian Kingdom appeared. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the central dynasty implemented the county system in Yunnan. During the Western Jin Dynasty, Yunnan was renamed Ningzhou, one of the 19 states in the country. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, local regimes such as the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom were established.

In 1276, the Yuan Dynasty established the Xingzhongshu Province in Yunnan, and "Yunnan" officially became the name of a provincial-level administrative region in the country. In 1382, the Ming Dynasty established the Chengxuanzhengshisi, the Tixinganchashisi, and the Duzhihuishisi in Yunnan to govern the prefectures, states, and counties of the province. The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming Dynasty system and established the Chengxuanzhengshisi in Yunnan, which was divided into prefectures, states, and counties. On February 24, 1950, Yunnan was completely liberated.

Ancient times

* Paleolithic

Yuanmou Man

Yunnan Province is one of the important birthplaces of mankind. Ramapithecus, which lived between 14 million and 8 million years ago, is known in China as Lufeng ape, Kaiyuan ape, etc. They are transitional creatures from apes to humans and can use natural tools. Ramapithecus is also known as a man in the making. Ancient humans and their cultural sites from the early, middle and late Paleolithic periods have been discovered in Yunnan, and the representative ones are as follows:

Yuanmou Man, a representative of the early Paleolithic ape-man discovered in Yunnan, is the earliest Homo erectus discovered in China to date.

The Zhaotong Man, who dates back to the Late Pleistocene, is the first early Homo sapiens (ancient human) fossil discovered in Yunnan Province.

The fossils of the late Paleolithic people (or Homo sapiens) found in Yunnan mainly include: Xichou people, Lijiang people, Kunming people, etc. The teeth of the Xichou people found are similar to those of modern people, belonging to the late Homo sapiens. The late Homo sapiens in Lijiang showed the characteristics of the Mongoloid race, which is very close to modern people. In addition, the important Paleolithic relics found in Yunnan include: "Kunming people", "Mengzi people", "Yaoguan people", etc.

* Neolithic

The Neolithic Age in Yunnan was between 7,000 and 3,300 years ago. Its sites and excavation sites are widely distributed in Yunnan, with nearly 400 discovered so far. From the natural environment of the excavated sites in Yunnan, there are three types of human settlement sites: river and lake terraces, shell mound sites in lakeside areas, and cave sites.

Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties

During the Xia and Shang dynasties, Yunnan belonged to Liangzhou, one of the nine provinces of China.

Qin and Han Dynasties

Dian Kingdom

In the pre-Qin period, Yunnan was a famous place for horse training. The "Kunming" people were mainly distributed in the western part of Yunnan, while the "Sou" people of the Yuezhi system were more distributed in the central part of Yunnan and even in the eastern part. The main ethnic groups in Yunnan include Ailao, Kunming, and Dian.

In the 3rd century BC, the Chu general Zhuang Qiao entered the Dianchi Lake area and established the Dian Kingdom. In the early Han Dynasty, the Yunnan people were numerous, and their economic forms included farming and nomadism, with different levels of development.

After Qin unified China, it built the "Five-foot Road" and sent officials to Yunnan to "appoint officials", marking the beginning of the central dynasty's formal rule over Yunnan.

In the second year of Yuanfeng in the Han Dynasty (109 BC), during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, the Southwest Yi was opened up, the King of Dian surrendered, and the King of Dian was granted a royal seal, and Yizhou Prefecture was established, with 27 counties under its jurisdiction. During the reign of Wang Mang, unrest broke out in the South Central region, and Wang Mang sent an army of 100,000 to suppress it after more than ten years of conquest. Wang Mang appointed Wen Qi as the governor of Yizhou.

The Eastern Han Dynasty established Yongchang County in present-day Baoshan, which also belonged to Yizhou. The rule over Yunnan was further deepened, and China's territory in western Yunnan was roughly established. The central dynasty continued to immigrate to Yunnan. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Han immigrants had formed a huge force in Yunnan. In order to control Han immigrants, officials in border counties selected and cultivated a group of "powerful families and big surnames" among the immigrants. In the first year of Zhongping (184), the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the big surnames in Yunnan gathered together to dominate and rule one side.

Wei and Jin Dynasties

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the present-day Yunnan, Guizhou and southwestern Sichuan were called "Nanzhong". During the Three Kingdoms period, some slave-owning nobles in Nanzhong were powerful. Zhuge Liang led his army across the Lu River, pacified Nanzhong, and adjusted the establishment of counties.

In the seventh year of Taishi (271 AD) of the Jin Dynasty, it was renamed Ningzhou. In the third year of Taikang (282 AD), it was merged into Yizhou and the Southern Yi Commandery was established. In the second year of Tai'an (303 AD), Ningzhou was re-established. In the eighth year of Xianhe (333 AD) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Li Xiong sent Li Shou to lead troops to capture Nanzhong. Li Shou was named "King of Jianning" and Cuan Chen was appointed as the governor of Jiaozhou. In the fourth year of Xiankang (338 AD), Anzhou was established. In the fifth year of Xiankang (339 AD), Cuan Chen surrendered to the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty appointed Cuan Chen as the governor of Ningzhou and recognized his hereditary status. From then on, the Han noble Cuan family ruled Yunnan for 400 years.

During the Han and Jin Dynasties, many immigrants entered Yunnan, and the small settlements they formed were mainly in the county seat and along the transportation lines. At that time, Yunnan widely used iron tools, implemented immigrant farming, and new feudal production relations appeared in central Yunnan and northeastern Yunnan.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, during the Liang Datong period, the Nanning prefectures were established. At the end of the Chengsheng period, Yunnan became the land of Xichuan and Dongchuan.

Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties

Nanzhao Kingdom and Dali Kingdom

The Sui Dynasty eliminated the separatist forces and put Yunnan back under the direct rule of the central government. The Tang Dynasty followed suit and basically restored the county scale of the Han and Jin Dynasties. In the 17th year of the Sui Dynasty (597), Nanzhong was reopened and Nanning Prefecture was established, which governed dozens of prefectures and was later governed by the Yizhou Military Governor's Office.

In the first year of the Wude reign of the Tang Dynasty (618), Nanning Prefecture was established, which was later changed to Nanning Military Governor's Office; in the seventh year of the Wude reign (624), Yuzhou Military Governor's Office was established; in the sixth year of the Zhenguan reign (632), Rongzhou Military Governor's Office was re-established; in the fifth year of the Linde reign (664), Yaozhou Military Governor's Office was established. A large number of prefectures and states were established in Yunnan, and the Tang Dynasty failed to implement the policy of garrisoning and guarding the border in Yunnan. The Tang Dynasty mainly adopted the policy of garrisoning and relying on local chieftains to establish its rule.

In the 26th year of Kaiyuan (738), Piluoge, the leader of the Mengshezhao tribe in the Erhai area, annexed the Five Zhaos and established the Nanzhao Kingdom. The Tang Dynasty gave it the name "Guiyi" and Piluoge was named the King of Yunnan. During the Nanzhao period, its territory was bordered by Guizhou in the east, the Irrawaddy River in the west, Xishuangbanna in the south, and the Dadu River in the north; it was bordered by present-day Vietnam in the southeast and Myanmar in the southwest; it was adjacent to Tubo in the northwest and Rongzhou in the northeast. Nanzhao improved its internal system and built Tuodong City. The following year, it established its capital in Taihe City. In the first year of Tianbao (742), Rongzhou was established to supervise and control 36 states. In the ninth year of Tianbao (750), Nanzhao occupied the entire Yunnan region, became a vassal of Tubo, and usurped the name of the country as Dameng.

The Tang Dynasty was very dissatisfied with Nanzhao's occupation of the Cuan area, and the two sides had disputes and conflicts. The Tang Dynasty mobilized a large army to launch two major expeditions against Nanzhao in the Lunan and Xi'erhe areas, but failed miserably. In the tenth year of Zhenyuan (794), the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao formed an alliance in Dian Cang Mountain, and Nanzhao abandoned Tubo and returned to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty made Nanzhao the "Yunnan Pacifying Commissioner" and the Jiedushi of Jiannan Xichuan concurrently served as the "Yunnan Pacifying Commissioner".

After the establishment of Nanzhao, large-scale immigration was carried out, moving more than 200,000 Baiman households to the Yongchang area, and moving the Wuman from the mountains and valleys to the former territory of Xichuan.

In 879, Zheng Maisi killed the King of Nanzhao and established Dachanghe. In the fourth year of Guanghua (901), Zheng Maisi seized the throne and proclaimed himself king, changing the country's name to Dachanghe. In the third year of Tiancheng of the Later Tang Dynasty (928), Yang Ganzhen established Dayining. In the second year of Tianfu of the Later Jin Dynasty (937), Duan Siping contacted 37 tribes to destroy Dayining and established the Dali Kingdom. The Dali Kingdom basically inherited the boundaries of Nanzhao. The administrative divisions were divided into eight prefectures, four counties, and 37 tribes, and implemented a feudal serfdom. The rule of the Dali Kingdom in Yunnan was basically consistent with that of the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains. The King of Dali paid tribute to the Song Dynasty, and its leaders were successively named the Prince of the Eight Kingdoms of Yunnan and the King of Dali by the Song Dynasty, and became the assistants of the Southern Song Dynasty in resisting the western front of the Mongolian nobles. The Dali Kingdom always maintained a vassal relationship with the Song Dynasty.

Yuan and Ming Dynasties

* Yuan Dynasty

In 1253, Kublai Khan led his army across the Jinsha River in leather bags to Yunnan and destroyed the Dali Kingdom. In 1260, he established the "General Manager of the Dali Kingdom". In 1276, Kublai Khan selected Sayyid Ajjal and Shams al-Din to come to Yunnan to establish the Yunnan Province, and appointed Sayyid Ajjal as the "Pingzhang Zhengshi of the Yunnan Xingzhongshu Province". The provincial capital was Zhongqing Road (Kunming). The household registration was checked and taxes and labor service were compiled. Since then, Kunming replaced Dali as the political center of Yunnan. Yunnan was completely included in the unified governance of the Yuan Dynasty. The name "Yunnan" officially appeared in history as a provincial-level institution. [12] After that, the Yuan Dynasty appointed Yesen Temur as the King of Yunnan. In 1290, the emperor's grandson Ganmala was appointed as the King of Liang. The King of Yunnan was stationed in Dali, and the King of Liang governed the entire province. In fact, Yunnan had two sets of political power: the province and the various princes' palaces.

The Yuan Dynasty set up administrative agencies at various levels, including roads, prefectures, states, and counties, under the Yunnan Province. Except for the local official system (Xuanweisi, Xuanfusi, Tuzhizhou, etc.) in areas where "barbarians" lived, the administrative divisions and political systems were basically the same as those in the interior. In the 20th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1283), military farming began to be established in Yunnan. The task of military farming was mainly undertaken by the army composed of Mongolians, Semu, Khitan and other ethnic groups.

Mongolian and Hui immigrants came to Yunnan, bringing with them advanced knowledge such as artillery making, mining, medicine, astronomy and calendar. Islam entered an unprecedented period of development in Yunnan. Hui people also intermarried and integrated with the locals. Han immigrants who moved to Yunnan before the Yuan Dynasty mainly lived in county seats.

* Ming Dynasty

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Yunnan five times to persuade them to surrender, but the envoys were killed twice and the persuasion to surrender was fruitless. In August of the 14th year of Hongwu (1381), Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict to conquer Yunnan, and appointed Fu Youde as the general of the southern expedition, Lan Yu as the left deputy general of the southern expedition, and Mu Ying as the right deputy general of the southern expedition. In September, the troops set out from Nanjing and divided into two groups, advancing towards Yunnan from the north and east. In the first month of the 15th year of Hongwu, Kunming City was captured, and in the second month of the intercalary year of Hongwu, Dali City was captured. At this point, the entire Yunnan region was basically pacified.

The Ming government adjusted its management plan for Yunnan, abolished a large number of counties and merged prefectures. In the 15th year of Hongwu (1382), the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Criminal Justice were established, and the "local and exiled people" and "immigrated to Yunnan to develop production" were implemented. Most of the soldiers of the Yunnan pacification army, the soldiers of the garrison stationed in the border and their families settled in Yunnan. In the middle of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty carried out large-scale military immigration activities such as garrisoning and farming in Yunnan, setting up garrisons, and garrisoning. In the early Ming Dynasty, there were 59,576 households in Yunnan, which increased to 471,048 households in the early Wanli period, of which 335,426 were military households.

In the inland of Yunnan, prefectures, states and counties were set up, and the rule was mainly carried out by itinerant officials. In the remote areas, Xuanweisi, Xuanfusi, Anfusi, Changguansi, "Yuyi" prefectures and states were established, all under the jurisdiction of the chieftains. The mining industry developed rapidly, and the output of silver and copper ranked first in the country.

Since the early Ming Dynasty, with the deepening of the central government's rule, the influx of population has continued. Except for a few remote ethnic groups, the "barbarianization" process has basically been interrupted. The Han people who entered Yunnan were distributed in various important areas in the form of settlements, and played a leading role and influence in the exchanges and contacts with local ethnic groups. Through mutual integration, they formed a Yunnan Han group with distinct local characteristics. The "barbarian" and Han immigrants depended on each other, communicated with each other, helped each other, and integrated with each other to form "Yunnan people".

In the Ming Dynasty, the Baiyi (Dai) nobles Silunfa, Sirenfa, and Sijifa in southwest Yunnan gathered strength several times and tried to establish the "Luchuan Kingdom" to compete with the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty launched military operations to conquer Luchuan in 1441, 1443, and 1448. During the Jiajing period (1522-1566), the invasion of the western border of Yunnan by the Burmese Dongwu Dynasty intensified, occupying a large area of ​​Tusi land in western Yunnan, and invading Yaoguan. In 1583, the Ming court ordered Deng Zilong and others to lead troops to Yunnan to resist. They defeated the Burmese army in the present-day Shidian Yaoguan area and prevented its further invasion. In the following ten years, the Ming army and the Dongwu army fought for a long time between Longchuan, Mengmao, Mengmi, Manmo, and Mengyang.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Dashi Army represented by Li Dingguo supported the exiled Emperor Yongli and used Kunming as a base to fight against the Qing army.

Qing Dynasty

Yunnan Hui Uprising and Double Ninth Uprising

In the 16th year of Emperor Shunzhi's reign (1659), Wu Sangui attacked Yunnan, and the Yongli Emperor and his entourage fled to Burma. In the first year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1662), Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang and his son were captured by Wu Sangui from Burma and hanged in the Jinchan Temple in Kunming, marking the end of the last Ming dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Wu Sangui's rebellion was crushed.

The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming Dynasty system and established the Provincial Administration Commission in Yunnan. In the Yuanjiang Prefecture and Pu'er Prefecture in southern Yunnan, the Ming Dynasty had not yet penetrated deeply. When the Qing army entered Yunnan, the Yuanjiang local governor Na Song failed to resist the Qing. In the 17th year of Shunzhi (1732), the local governor was replaced by a regular official. In the second year of Yongzheng (1724), Weiyuan was replaced by a local governor, and Pu'er Prefecture was established in the ninth year of Yongzheng (1731). In the tenth year of Yongzheng (1732), the Tallang Tongpan was established.

During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, Ortai implemented the policy of "reforming the chieftain system", and some frontier areas still retained the chieftain system. In the early and middle Qing Dynasty, administrative and territorial adjustments such as the promotion and demotion of prefectures and counties, the merger of guards and the reform of the chieftain system were implemented in Yunnan. A central administrative management and social control system was systematically established in Yunnan and Guizhou, and important conditions were created for the full entry and in-depth development of foreign immigrants, which had a significant impact on Yunnan's social history.

During the Yongzheng period, Yunnan Province had 23 prefectures, 1 direct-governor, 31 prefectures, and 1 native prefecture and prefecture. The administrative settings of the main ruling areas basically followed the previous Ming Dynasty, but the number of native officials and native officials was significantly reduced compared with the Ming Dynasty. Between the sixth year of Kangxi (1667) and the twenty-fourth year of Jiaqing (1819), 16 prefecture-level administrative units in Yunnan Province underwent changes in their establishment, and the adjustment area reached 66.7% of the number of prefectures in the whole province during the Yongzheng period. In the fourth and fifth years of Yongzheng (1726 and 1727), the three prefectures of Dongchuan, Wumeng and Zhenxiong, which were originally under Sichuan, were respectively incorporated into Yunnan after the natives were changed to officials, which basically laid the foundation for the modern administrative division pattern of northeastern Yunnan. By the Jiaqing period, Yunnan had 14 prefectures, 4 direct-governor prefectures, and 4 direct-governor halls.

The development of Yunnan agriculture during the reign of Emperor Qianlong ensured the stability of Yunnan society and economic development, and promoted the steady growth of Yunnan's population. During the Qing Dynasty, a large number of immigrants entered Yunnan. The policy of "releasing capital and collecting copper" implemented in Yunnan during the reign of Emperor Kangxi led to the development of related industries such as transportation and commerce. Han culture was widely and deeply spread in Yunnan, and Yunnan became an integral part of the Central Plains in terms of politics, economy, culture, etc.

After the Opium War, France forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-French Treaty of Vietnam, which designated Yunnan as France's sphere of influence. Mengzi, Manhao, Hekou and other places were designated as commercial ports. France invaded Yunnan's border in all aspects, including territorial sovereignty, mineral development, and economic trade. The French and British invasion of Yunnan made the Yunnan border in danger.

During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, the Hui Muslim Du Wenxiu uprising broke out in Yunnan, and wars broke out in western, central, and southern Yunnan. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Yunnan Province had more than 3 million taels of silver, and the annual expenditure was about 6 million taels. In addition to the annual appropriation from the Ministry of Finance and the assistance of more than 1.6 million yuan from various provinces, there was still a shortage of more than 1 million taels.

In 1910, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway was fully opened to traffic, which improved Yunnan's external transportation conditions and promoted the development of Yunnan's economy, especially the mining industry. Tin became the pillar product of Yunnan's foreign trade, and the tin industry replaced the copper industry as the lifeblood of Yunnan's mining industry, promoting the development of Yunnan's coal industry. The mining center shifted from northeastern Yunnan to the areas along the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, forming a mining belt along the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, which also became the most developed mining area in modern Yunnan. However, through the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the French Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Company made high profits.

On October 30, 1911, the third year of the Xuantong reign, the Kunming Uprising (Double Ninth Uprising) was launched, and the Yunnan Dahan Military Government was established. On the 27th and November 1st of the same month, the Tengyue and Southern Yunnan Uprisings broke out respectively. All three uprisings were victorious, and the entire province was quickly liberated.

Republic of China

National Protection Movement, Chinese Expeditionary Force, Yunnan Army

After the founding of the Republic of China, the province was governed by itself and the subsidy was stopped. In the early days of the Republic of China and when Cai E was the military governor, a series of effective measures were taken to increase revenue and reduce expenditure and rectify the finances. On February 25, 1915, Cai E, Tang Jiyao and other leaders launched the National Protection Movement. In 1928, the prefectures were abolished and provinces were established. The government of the Republic of China adopted a conciliatory policy towards the chieftains of Yunnan and did not carry out compulsory transformation of the chieftains.

In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), Chiang Kai-shek appointed Long Yun as the chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government, and the rule of the Yunnan local power group headed by Long Yun was established in Yunnan.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yunnan became the rear base of the national war of resistance, a base for the resettlement of relocated enterprises and the development of wartime industry. Yunnan successively sent 200,000 Yunnan troops to Taierzhuang, Wuhan and other fronts to fight the war, and invested more than 100,000 civilian workers to repair the Yunnan-Burma Highway. In 1942, after the Japanese army occupied Southeast Asia, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and the Yunnan-Burma Highway connecting Yunnan to Southeast Asia were successively interrupted, and Yunnan's foreign trade volume dropped sharply. As an important input line for strategic materials, Yunnan's traditional post transport has been restored. After the fall of Myanmar, the China-India air line was opened, and the China-India Highway was built at the same time.

Starting from May 1944, the Chinese army launched a bloody counterattack and successively recovered the Tenglong area.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, in October 1945, Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Long Yun from his post as chairman of Yunnan Province, and Long Yun fled to Hong Kong. The Yunnan local party organization of the Communist Party of China launched a comprehensive struggle to organize and mobilize the people to seize power by force, and established the "Guangxi-Yunnan-Guizhou Border Region Column of the Chinese People's Liberation Army".

After the founding of New China

Lu Han's Yunnan Uprising

In 1949, under the unified leadership of the Party, 61 counties were liberated and 14 bases were established. At the same time, the PLA field army marched south. On December 9, Lu Han led his troops to revolt in Kunming, and Yunnan was declared peacefully liberated.

Yunnan was completely liberated on February 24, 1950. In March, the Yunnan Provincial People's Government was established.

In March 1951, the Ning'er District, the first district-level national democratic coalition government in Yunnan Province, was established.