Borderland Chieftain And The Formation Of Modern Western Yunnan’s Border

Yunnan Frontier formation has been the academic attention, and there are differences of opinion on major issues.The formation of today’s western Yunnan frontier has been influenced by the management of Ming and Qing Dynasties with chieftains. To the purpose of tightening control of frontier chieftains, Qing dynasty divided chieftains into inside and outside chieftains with according to the distance. But the chieftains commonly belong to the central government of Qing dynasty, though it had the discrimination of inside or outside. Following Qing dynasty established the Tributary systems are gradually completed, the discrimination of inside or outside chieftains disappeared. The aggression of western colonialists’power, especially the aggression of British imperialism, the outside chieftains are gradually degraded the controlling of its colony. Between the the late1800s and1940s, the questions of Yunnan and Myanmar’s frontier can’t be solved although China and British entered into many negotiations. Explored in the issues of chieftains of Ming and Qing dynasties are conducive to correctly understanding the formation of modern western Yunnan frontier as well as understanding the complication of negotiations of China and British for the frontier of Yunnan and Myanmar, and then revealing the crime of the aggression of British imperialism in China and Myanmar’s frontier. its further development will be correctly understanding circumstances of hundred years in western Yunnan and northern Myanmar, which have essentially further academic value and social significance for national government to control Multi-ethnic frontier areas.This dissertation investigates the historical development of Chieftains (a system of appointing national minority hereditary headmen) in Yunnan’s borderland during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the change of Western Yunnan’s territory as well as the formation of Western Yunnan’s border in modern times.This dissertation aims at exploring the historical process of borderland Chieftains changing from "border area" to "national boundary" in Western Yunnan.By analyzing the relationship between borderland Chieftains and the changing of China’s territory, this dissertation illustrates that borderland Chieftain’s own historical development and the system of tributary States as well as the invasion of Western colonialism jointly influence the formation of China’s border in modern times. The mian contents are draw as follows.Firstly, this dissertation demonstrates the situation of Western Yunnan’s borderland after Yuan dynasty unified Yunnan and controlled the Jinchi district, and analyzes the influences jointly imposed on this district by the control of Western Yunnan’s borderland by Yuan dynasty,establishe Burmese province,and Yuan’s conflicts against Burmese Pagan Dynasty as well as the rise of Luchuan before the establishment of the system of Chieftains.Secondly, after illustrating the details of Central dynasty’s management and expansion in Western Yunnan’s borderland during the early and middle periods of Ming dynasty and researching the range of Western Yunnan’s borderland before Jingtai Emperor’s reign, this dissertation points out that since Yongle Emperor’s reign, Ming dynasty designates Chieftains extensively especially in Western Yunnan’s borderland. After the three battles with Luchuan and the rehabilitative measures, Ming dynasty totally controlled Western Yunnan’s borderland that in the west of Lujiang. But Ming dynasty’s improper disposition of the Chieftains in the borderland such as Burma and Mubang buried hidden troubles for the later disputes among borderland’s Chieftains. Then, this dissertation investigates the causes, processes and results of the disputes among Western Yunnan borderland’s Chieftains during the middle and late periods of Ming dynasty, and then probes into the process of Chieftains from disputes to separation under the influence of the rise of Burmese Toungoo Dynasty and the domestic strife and foreign aggression faced by Ming dynasty. Through demonstrating the causes and influences of the decrease of Western Yunnan’s territory, this dissertation concludes that the dynasty’s border is elastic and flowing.Borderland chieftains,as feudatory states, have a distance intimacy relationship with Central Dynasty, but they are the same as the reign of "China or the world".After the invasion of Western colonial powers,the departure or staying of borderland’s Chieftains determines the dynasty’s expansion or decrease of territory.Thirdly, as to the reign of Western Yunnan’s Chieftains by Qing dynasty, through examining the process of the establishment of Qing’s Burmese tributary States and its influence on the formation of traditional border of Western Yunnan, this dissertation researches the process of Chieftains from separation to division. Qing dynasty divided those Chieftains who affiliated to it and received "WANGHUA" as "internal Chieftains" and divided those who affiliated to Burma during the late period of Ming dynasty as "external Chieftains", which was the distinction of "Others" and "Self" in the "Chinese orders" of the Qing dynasty, and the result of Western Yunnan’s borderland’s own historical development as well as the interaction with the dynasty state since the Yuan and Ming dynasty. After Qing’s Burmese tributary State was established,"external" Chieftains and "internal" Chieftains disappeared.Fourthly, from a perspective of global history, this dissertation demonstrates the negotiating processes and results of the problems about Qing dynasty and Britain’s attitudes towards Burma as a tributary State ("Retention National fete and Paying Tribute") and the demarcation between Yunnan and Burma. After the breakdown of the tributary system between Qing dynasty and Burma, China and Britain began negotiating their border between Yunnan and Myanmar, and demarcated the border of Western Yunnan’s Chieftains in the first place. That was the first time to demarcate the national boundary between China and Burma in modern times, which indicates the formation of modern Western Yunnan’s border and the accomplishment of Western Yunnan’s Chieftains transforming from "borderland" to "national boundary".This transformation in borderland is an important part of China has transformed from"China or the world"(dynasty-state) to a "nation"(modern nation-state), which is borderland expression of a national transformation and the result caused by both the historical development of Western Yunnan’s borderland itself, the Rise and Fall of Central Dynasty in inland and Burma, the invasion of Western colonialism.