| It has for some time been assumed that Chinese bronze cultures must have had a single source in the Central Plain, Northern China, from which metallurgy spread by migration and diffusion to the rest of China. Scholars working in different provinces in China have challenged the single center theory. With more and more continuous discovery of bronze cultures outside the Central Plains of China, abundant and expressive evidence shows that Chinese Bronze cultures originated from their cultural traditions, and bronze cultures in different regions had different origins, and each regional type has its regional sequence.In Yunnan, bronze culture began during the late part of Shang Dynasty, and the great surprise is the discovery of Haimenkou site, Jianchuan county. It was the earliest Bronze Age site in Yunnan. Then the bronze cultures flourished in Yunnan from the Spring and Autumn period to Han Dynasty, and reached its peak at Western Han Dynasty. For their obvious distinctions from the bronze cultures in inner China, the many glamorous and splendid bronze cultures in Yunnan always have been seen as a special cultural system. The objects getting from the Bronze Age tumulus in Yunnan exhibit an elegance, sophistication, and attention to decorative details that far exceeds mere utilitarian needs. The funerary wares clearly served as an art medium. Although stylistic treatments can be discerned which are characteristic of delimited time spans, the wares and cultural features as a whole are highly diverse, individualized, and resistant to simple categorization, so there are needs to make a reasonable classification of Yunnan bronze cultures.For the reason of complicate natural and ecological environment, the special geographic location, and different cultural traditions, as well as the nations' migration and cultural exchanges, different regions' bronze cultures in Yunnan showed diverse characteristics. The bronze cultures in Yunnan can be classified into six regional systems and many types.This essay focuses on the regions and stages of Yunnan bronze cultures. It includes four chapters:In Chapter 1 I outline the dimension of time and place of the study object in this article. Then I review the studies of other scholars on this topic.Chapter 2 is the main body of this paper. Different cultural traditions in Bronze Age in Yunnan have been analyzed and form the basis of this discussion. According to archaeological data, the bronze cultures in Yunnan can be divided into six regional systems, that is, 1 .North-western Dian (Yunnan, called "Dian" for short) Regional System; 2.Erhai-chuxiong Regional System; 3.the middle and lower reaches of Nujiang river and Lancang River Regional System; 4.Middle Dian Regional System; 5.South-eastern Dian; Region System; 6.North-eastern Dian Regional System. The first region includes Nagu type and Aofengshan type, which bears more relations with the bronze cultures in the Northwest China and belongs to the ancient Di&qiang Ethnic group. The second region located in the west part of Yunnan Province, surrounding the Er-hai Lake. As a medium of Northwestern Dian's bronze culture and the culture of Middle Dian region system, its cultural features displayed great variety, and this system can be subdivided into Dabona type and Juli type. The third region's bronze cultures belong to the native residents, showed strong local characteristics. The fourth one is Middle Dian Bronze Culture, which represent the most highly developed bronze culture, nowadays become better known. Plentiful contents have been getting from this region's tumulus and sites in Bronze Age. The fifth region refers to the Southeastern part of Yunnan. Its bronze cultural characteristics share a little similarity as the fourth regional system and the Dongshan culture in Vietnam. The sixth region, for its geographic location, its nature of bronze culture falls into the same category of Guizhou Province.In chapter 3, I have particular attention to the comparison between the neighboring bronze cultures inside...
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