The Study Of The Relationship Between The Dai Chieftains In Southern Yunnan And The Yuan,Ming,and Qing Dynasties

This thesis is dedicated to the study of the relationship between the Dai chieftains in southern Yunnan and the Yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties.The relationship between the chieftains and the central dynasties has rich connotations,covering two levels:synchronicity and diachronicity.At the synchronic level,it is manifested in the governance interaction between the chieftains and the central dynasty in a specific historical period.At the diachronic level,it is manifested as the chieftain’s attachment to the dynasty and the enhancement of his identity.From the perspective of the historical development of the southwest,especially the frontiers of Yunnan,it should be recognized that in addition to the chieftains and the central dynasty,the relationship between the chieftains and the central dynasty was objectively affected by multiple factors.The state and immigration,regional political tradition,upland people,and frontier geopolitical situations together constituted important historical factors affecting the relationship.Based on the multi-factor analysis perspective,this study focused on the southern Yunnan region including Pu’er,Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture,and Yuanjiang County of Yuxi,and systematically analyzes the influence of the above factors on the relationship in the Yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties.The study shows that the relationship between the chieftains and the state is not as conceived,but only limited to the simple binary interaction between the chieftains and the central dynasty.Multiple factors such as the upland people and the ancient regimes in the northern part of the Indochina Peninsula are involved in.Under the shaping of a specific geographical environment,the formation and change of the relationship are actually the result of the historical synergy of the above factors.The continuous governance of the central dynasty and its interaction with the Dai chieftains actually triggered a reorganization of the relationship in the whole area.And the above factors also play different roles.First of all,the governance of the central dynasty and inland immigration have become the dominant factors affecting the relationship.The above activities contributed to the changes in the regional system and the deep-level macro-historical environment,and continuously promoted the development of the relationship between the chieftains and the state.Secondly,the loosening of the tradition of political relations between the Dai chieftains in the valley in southern Yunnan region has also had different influences on the relationship at various nodes in the system in different historical periods,and provided the central dynasty the chance to penetrate in.The governance process of the dynasty is actually a process of a unified order replacing the old political relationship of the Dai chieftains in valley.Third,the upland people have a complicated influence on the relationship between the chieftains and the state.On the one hand,the activities of the upland people often became an incentive to stimulate the deepening of the state,and the intensification of the relationship.On the other hand,the state’s different attitudes towards the chieftains were also transmitted to the upland people through the mountain and valley network,and then they were involved in the interaction.And the intensity of the transformation of the roles of partners in the lowland influences the way the mountain people respond.Finally,the special geographic environment between the frontier in southern Yunnan and the northern Indochina Peninsula also made the geopolitical pressure an important factor that prompted some Dai chieftains to finally integrated into the unified dynasty of China.