Chiefdom of Sizhou (), ruled by the

Tian Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...

clan, was an autonomous ''

Tusi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain ...

'' chiefdom established by Tian Zongxian () during the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. After he conquered the Qianzhong area (present-day eastern

Guizhou Province ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

), Tian Zongxian was recognized as the hereditary ruler of the region by the Sui court in 582. Sizhou,

Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at ...

, Shuidong and

Shuixi The Water Banquet () is a Chinese set of dishes comprising eight cold and 16 warm dishes cooked in various broths, gravies, and juices. It is considered one of the "Three Wonders of Luoyang"—a former Chinese capital located in Henan—al ...

were called "Four Great Native Chiefdom in

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

" () by Chinese. "

Liangguang Liangguang (; Postal romanization: Liangkwang) is a Chinese term for the province of Guangdong and the former province and present autonomous region of Guangxi, collectively. It particularly refers to the viceroyalty of Liangguang under the Qi ...

uled by Cen and Huang, Sizhou and Bozhou uled by

and

Yang Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration p ...

" (), an idiom current among

Southwestern Mandarin Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese dialect spoken in much of Southwestern China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the nor ...

speakers, proved that the Tian clan was once one of the most powerful clans in

Southwestern China Southwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Xizang. Geography Southwestern China is a rugged and mountainous region, ...

Origin

The Tian clan claimed to be descendants of

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

in their

genealogy book A genealogy book or register is used in Asia and Europe to record the family history of ancestors. Greater China It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, e ...

; however the authenticity needed to be verified. Modern scholars stated that Tian Zongxian was either Han Chinese or

Tujia Tujia may refer to: *the Tujia people *the Tujia language The Tujia language (; zh, s=土家语 , t=土家語 , p=Tǔjiāyǔ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken natively by the Tujia people in Hunan Province, China. It is unclassified within t ...

History

The Chiefdom of Sizhou was established during the

when the first chieftain Tian Zongxian occupied Qianzhong area (黔中, modern-day eastern Guizhou) in southwest China. It lasted for about 831 years over 26 generations through the Sui, Tang,

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. In 1107, Sizhou chieftain Tian Yougong () acquiesced

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

's overlordship, Sizhou came under the Chinese ''jimi'' system. In 1273, Sizhou surrendered to

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

and came under the Chinese ''

tusi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain ...

'' system. In 1364, declared its independence from Sizhou. Tian Mao'an (), the Sinan chieftain, swore allegiance to

Ming Yuzhen Ming Yuzhen (; 2 October 1328 – 17 March 1366) was a peasant rebel leader who established the dynasty of Ming Xia during the late Yuan dynasty in China. Ming was born in Suizhou (today Sui County, Hubei) in a farmer family. He changed the ...

, while Sizhou came under

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398. In ...

's ''tusi'' system. Sizhou attacked

Sinan Sinan (Arabic: سنان ''sinān'') is a name found in Arabic and Early Arabic, meaning ''spearhead''. The name may also be related to the Ancient Greek name Sinon. It was used as a male given name. Etymology The word is possibly stems from th ...

in 1367, killed Tian Mao'an's two sons, disturbed his ancestors' tombs. Tian Mao'an died soon after this battle, his successor Tian Renzhi () switched allegiance to

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

court, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered them to cease fire. However, the two clans had been feuding ever since, they were waging an endless war. Sizhou attacked Sinan in 1411, Tian Zongding (), the Sinan chief, was defeated and fled to Ming court for help. Five thousand Ming troops under general Gu Cheng () marched towards Sizhou and had it conquered. Tian Chen (), the last Sizhou chieftain, was captured and executed in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Later, Tian Zongding was also found guilty (

matricide Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. Known or suspected matricides * Amastris, queen of Heraclea, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC. * Cleopatra III of Egypt was assassinated in 101 BC by order of ...

) and executed in 1413. In the same year,

was created, both Sizhou and Sinan were fully annexed into the central bureaucratic system of the Ming dynasty.

List of Sizhou chieftains

Below are Sizhou chieftains

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sizhou, Chiefdom of Tusi History of Guizhou Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture States and territories established in the 580s States and territories disestablished in the 1410s