Chiefdom of Yongning () was a

Mosuo The Mosuo (; also spelled Moso, Mosso or Musuo), often incorrectly referred to as the Naxi, are an ethnic group living in China's Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces. Consisting of a population of approximately 50,000, many of them live in the Yongni ...

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 during the

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 ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties. The chiefdom was located at present-day Ninglang Yi Autonomous County at the convergence of

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. According to legend, the ancestor of Yongning chieftains was from

. He arrived at Yongning in 24 AD. Yongning was a part of

Nanzhao Nanzhao ( zh, t=南詔, s=南诏, p=Nánzhào), also spelled Nanchao, , Yi language: ꂷꏂꌅ, ''Mashynzy'') was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southwestern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuri ...

and later a part of the

Dali Kingdom The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai language, Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a Bai people, Bai dynastic state situated in modern Yunnan province, China, from 937 to 1253. In 1253, it was Mongol conquest of China, conquered by the Mo ...

. The

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

invaded Dali in 1253. He Zi (和字), the chieftain of Yongning, surrendered to the Mongol Empire. The chiefdom later came under the administration of the

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 ...

. Yongning swore allegiance to the Ming dynasty since 1371. Chieftain

Budu Geji Budu may refer to: Languages * Budu language, a language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Budu Dogon Budu Dogon or ''Bunoge'', also known as Korandabo, is a recently discovered Dogon language spoken in Mali Mali, officially the Rep ...

(卜都各吉) went to the Ming capital to have an audience with the

Hongwu Emperor 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 List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

in 1381, from then on, Yongning joined the Ming ''

'' System. Since 1406, the hereditary chieftains received the official position "Magistrate of Yongning" (永寧知府) from the Ming emperor. A Ju (阿苴) was the first chieftain who used the surname "A" (阿).

Joseph Rock Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884 – 1962) was an Austrian-American botanist, List of explorers, explorer, geographer, linguistics, linguist, ethnographer and photographer. Life Josef Franz Karl Rock was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of a s ...

stated that the surname was given by the Ming emperor. On one occasion the chieftain came to have an audience with the Ming emperor. The chieftain did not understand the Chinese language. When the Ming emperor spoke to him, he replied "ah", so was given the surname "A". According to ''The Ancient Nakhi Kingdom of Southwest China'' by Joseph Rock, Yongning used to be great power. However, in 1648, Muli was given to a

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

and established the Chiefdom of Muli; later, in 1710, Yongning was divided into several chiefdoms under the order of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

. In 1917,

Chiefdom of Langqu A chiefdom is a political organization of people represented or governed by a chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless, state analogue or early state system or institution. Usually a chief's position i ...

(蒗蕖土司) was abolished, its territory merged into Yongning. Since then, Yongning changed its name to

Ninglang Ninglang Yi Autonomous County (; , ''nip lat nuo su zyt jie jux dde xiep'') is located in the northwest of Yunnan province, China, bordering Sichuan province to the north, east and northeast. It is under the administration of Lijiang City ...

. Yongning Chiefdom was abolished by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

in 1956.

List of chieftains of Yongning

References

*{{cite book , first=Chuan-kang , last=Shih , title=Quest for Harmony: The Moso Traditions of Sexual Union and Family Life , publisher=Stanford University Press , date=2009 , isbn=9780804761994 Tusi in Yunnan Lijiang States and territories established in 1381 States and territories disestablished in 1956

List of chieftains of Yongning

See also

References