Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture
The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China, and is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of the province, bordering Baoshan to the east and Burma's Kachin State to the west.
Etymology
is the origin language of the word "Dehong", in Tai Le script is written as "ᥖᥬᥳ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ", which transliterates to Latin as "Taue Xoong". Dehong means the lower reaches of the Nu River.However, the Mandarin characters for Dehong is ". These two character are compound of "moral, value" and "magnificent, great, macro". Thus, from Mandarin Chinese point of view, 德宏 means "moral" + "magnificent" thus it has means "magnificent moral "
History
Early history
Dianyue and Ailao were the ancient countries recorded in Chinese literature in Dehong area, and Guozhanbi was an ancient country established by Dai people and recorded in Dai legend.Dianyue
In the history book Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian during the Han dynasty, a paragraph in volume 123 describes Dianyue as when Zhang Qian visited Daxia in Central Asia, he found some merchandise was produced in Sichuan. And the Daxia merchant said it was purchased from Yuandu. There was a trade route, Shu-Yuandu Road between Yuandu and Sichuan. The road passed a kingdom named "Dianyue". The country is also called "Dianyue Chengxiang" in modern books.Chinese historians generally said Tengyue is the center of Dianyue Chengxiang, and the territory included the Dehong area. But, some historians disagree with this opinion. Lou Zichang believes Dianyue Chengxiang was not a country in western Yunnan, even not a country established by Dai people.Ailao
is an ancient tribal alliance country in west of Yunnan during Spring and Autumn to Eastern Han period, and modern historians said the area include Dehong. In Chronicles of Huayang, the record of Ailao mentions its territory "3,000 li from west to east, and 4,600 li from south to north", approximately equal to 1,300 km west to east and 1,994 km south to north in modern unit. It includes the southwest of Yunnan and most of Myanmar, in modern research, it is called the generalized area of Ailao.In the Han period, Ailao was an influential tribal country with a population of 20,000. Baoshan historian, Xiao Zhengwei believes the kingdom of Dianyue was a powerful tribe under Ailao.
In 69 AD, Liu Mao, the king of Ailao, led the tribal alliance to surrender to the Han dynasty, and Han set "Ailao County" here. In Southern dynasty Qi period, the name was changed to "Xicheng County". During the end of the Liang dynasty, Xicheng County was abolished.
Guozhanbi
Between 568 BC and 424 BC, during the Eastern Zhou dynasty in China, ancestors of Dai people had settled in Shweli River valley area and entered the tribal period. In 364 BC, grand chief Gelaba unified the tribes in Shweli basin. He became the chief of the tribal alliance and set the capital at Hansa. It was the early stage of the kingdom "Guozhanbi", also called "Kawsampi".In 364 AD, a descendant of Gelaba named Zhaowuding inherited the throne. He became the famous deity, sovereign, and culture hero of Dai people. In the 7th century, the Dai area was in chaos and the descendants of Zhaowuding could not effectively control the area. At the same time, the kingdom of Nanzhao was rising, and conquered the Dehong area. Piluoge, the king of Nanzhao canonized another Dai tribe chief Hundeng to be the "King of Mong Mao" and managed the whole Dai area in 762.
In 1995, Dehong historian Yang Yongsheng published research on ancient Dai civilization. He put forward a new opinion during the Dai legend research - The "Kingdom of Daguang" is the first country of Dai people which was established in 424 BC, and the country "Dianyue Chengxiang" is another name of "Daguang". In 233 BC, the capital of Daguang moved to Pagan, and finally perished in 586 AD. The research was countered by He Ping, a history professor at Yunnan University. He Ping says that the Kingdom of Daguang is the legendary kingdom of Tagaung in Burmese history and there was no kingdom of "Daguang" in the ancient Dai civilization. The Dai legend of Daguang is the story of pre-period of Pyu city-states. The story of Pyu city-states spread to Dehong Dai area, localized to a Dai legend and was recorded in Dai literature.
In Yang Yongsheng's research, the kingdom of "Guozhanbi" was the second kingdom established by Dai people after Daguang. Dai languages literatures were his sources of research. He said the kingdom of Guozhanbi was existence from 567 to 1488. According to the research of He Ping, "Guozhanbi" is the ancient state "Kawsampi" or Kosambi. There are many of legends about Kawsampi in Thai-Shan folks culture. The origin of the legend was a story in Buddhist texts. Therefore, He Ping thought the Kingdom of "Guozhanbi" or "Kawsampi" is untrustworthy history.
Medieval
Whether or not the early history of Dehong is controversial, it can be determined that Dehong belonged to Nanzhao and Dali in the medieval period of Yunnan. In Nanzhao, it was separated to "Yongchang Jiedu" and "Lishui Jiedu". In Dali, it was under the division of "Zhenxi Zhen".In 1253, Kublai Khan conquered the Dali Kingdom, Dehong Dai people capitulated to the Mongol Empire. The Mongols set an administrative division named "Jinchi Anfu Si" to manage west of Yunnan. In 1276, Yuan dynasty, the Anfu Si was upgraded to "Jinchi Xuanfu Si", and set an agency "6 Lu governor Fu" to manage the Dehong area. The 6 Lu were: Luchuan Lu, Pingmian Lu, Zhenxi Lu, Zhenkang Lu, Mangshi Lu and Rouyuan Lu. In addition, a special division named "Nan Dan" and Nandian Fu was set. The scope of "6 Lu general manager Fu" is closed to the modern Dehong territory.
In 1277, Narathihapate, the king of Burmese Pagan Kingdom, invaded modern Dehong area. The Battle of Ngasaunggyan occurred on the bank of Taping River, presently in the Yingjiang County. The Yuan army only had 700 soldiers but finally repelled Burmese military of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers with 10,000 horses and 800 elephants. It was the prelude to the First Mongol invasion of Burma.
During the 13th and 14th century, the Dehong Dai people immigrated to modern Assam in India and built up the kingdom of Ahom. They formed the latter-day Ahom people.
Mong Mao
Local Dai chief was the leader of Luchuan Lu and they were the successors of "Guozhanbi". "Luchuan" is the name denoted by Yuan, and "Mong Mao" is self claim name.Si Kefa enthroned the chieftain of Luchuan Lu in 1340 and sent troops to surrounding state such Hsenwi, Mongyang, Mongmit. After that, he attacked Mangshi, Zhenxi, Pingmian, and Nandian. Yuan dynasty initiated wars in 1342, 1345, 1346, and 1347 to counterattack Luchuan, but all attempts failed. Luchuan conquered the surrounding states successively. In 1355, Si Kefa requested Yuan dynasty to canonize him. Yuan central government admitted his local regime and canonized Si Kefa to be the first Mong Mao Tusi. The central government set a division of "Pingmian Xuanwei Si" at Mong Mao to legalize the regime, and Mong Mao Tusi is the leader of Xuanwei Si.
In 1382, the Ming dynasty military arrived at the Mong Mao Tusi and Si Lunfa surrendered. Ming granted him the title "Xuanwei Commissioner of Luchuan Pingmian" and changed the division name "Luchuan Pingmian Xuanwei Si". In 1385, the leader of Jingdong renegaded the Mong Mao regime, and Si Lunfa sent troops to attack Jingdong. But, Mu Ying, the general of Yunnan was protecting Jingdong leader.
The wars between Mong Mao regime and Yunnan local government occurred in 1387 and 1388. Finally, Mong Mao failed. In order to maintain the relationship with Ming, Si Lunfa sent a mission to Kunming to make peace. Mong Mao consented to compensate for the losses, and peace was restored.
After Si Lunfa died in 1399, a minister of Mong Mao launched a rebellion. The Ming government felt threatened and separated 14 Tusi regions from the Luchuan territory. During Si Xingfa's ruling in the 1410s, the Mong Mao territory decreased to include only modern Ruili, Mangshi and Namhkam.
After Si Xingfa, Si Renfa was enthroned in 1413, he tried to restore the kingdom to its former glory. In 1439, a conflict between Mong Mao and Ming reoccurred. This was the beginning of Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns. In 1441, Ming sent troops to Mong Mao, and Si Renfa fled to Mongyang. Several wars occurred between 1443 and 1449, finally Mong Mao lost Dehong. The imperial family continued to live in Mongyang until they were attacked in 1604 by the Toungoo dynasty.
Ming and Qing dynasties
After Mong Mao kingdom declined, Chinese central government gained efficient control in the Dehong area. During Ming and Qing dynasties, central government canonized 10 Tusi in Dehong:| Tusi | established | title | family name | modern |
| Mong Mao | 1604 | Mongmao Anfu Si 勐卯安抚司 | Kan | Ruili |
| Longchuan | 1444 | Longchuan Xuanfu Si 陇川宣抚司 | Duo | Longchuan |
| Nandian | 1444 | Nandian Xuanfu Si 南甸宣抚司 | Dao Gong | Lianghe |
| Ganya | 1403 | Ganya Zhangguan Si 干崖长官司 Ganya Xuanfu Si 干崖宣抚司 | Dao | Yingjiang |
| Mangshih | 1443 | Mangshi Yuyi Zhangguan Si 芒市御夷长官司 Mangshi Anfu Si 芒市安抚司 | Fang | Mangshi |
| Zhanda | Chongzhen period | Zhanda Vice Xuanfu Si 盏达副宣抚司 | Si | Yingjiang |
| Zhefang | 1584 | Zhefang Vice Xuanfu Si 遮放副宣抚司 | Duo | Mangshi |
| Husa | 1770 | Husa Zhangguan Si 户撒长官司 | Lai | Longchuan |
| Lasa | 1653 | Lasa Zhangguan Si 腊撒长官司 | Gai | Longchuan |
| Mengban | 1899 | Mengban Tu Qianzong 勐板土千总 | Jiang | Mangshi |
Dehong section, the solid line is the modern borderline, and the dotted lines are the outline of the areas which incorporate into Burma in 1897, and the red region is the "Namwan Assigned Tract".
During the Ming dynasty, Sino-Burmese wars occurred twice in Dehong. In 1594, Yunnan grand coordinator Chen Yongbin built up 8 border defense military checkpoints to guard international border between Dehong and Burmese Toungoo dynasty; these checkpoints formed the early borders between China and Myanmar.
In 1658, the last emperor of Southern Ming dynasty, Zhu Youlang, passed the Nandian and Ganya Tusi and fled to Myanmar. He granted Ganya Tusi a marquess title. Ganya Tusi helped Youlang to flee but was completely annihilated in the tussle. Thereafter, all the Tusi in Dehong surrendered to the Qing dynasty in 1659. The war between Qing and Konbaung dynasty during 1765 to 1769 also extended to Dehong area.
In 1875, a British translator, Augustus Raymond Margary, and his four personal staffs were murdered in west of Yingjiang County. This was an important non-governmental crisis in Sino-British relations and came to be known as the "Margary Affair". This event was followed by the signing of the Yantai Treaty.
In 1894, during a Britain-China border convention, certain sections of the China–Myanmar border to the south of the "High Conical Peak" were delimited, and an agreement was reached that the Qing dynasty should open two border ports between Burma and China: Manyun and Zhanxi.
In 1897, another agreement was signed, three parts of the area around Dehong were incorporated into Burma although the convention in 1894 had determined they were part of China, and four of the border checkpoints which established by Chen Yongbin in Ming dynasty were also incorporated into Burma. In this agreement, the British government leased the "Namwan Assigned Tract", also called "Meng-Mao triangular area" in southwest of Dehong with the rent of 1,000 Rupee a year. Finally, China didn't receive back this region and used it to exchange another area in west of Cangyuan in 1960.
After Qing dynasty
After Wuchang Uprising occurred in October 1911, Ganya Tusi Dao Anren launched an uprising at Tengyue on 27 October 1911. Under the Republic of China, the Yunnan government tried to perish Tusi system and replace Tusi with state-appointed officials, but the Tusi officials opposed the change. Therefore, special administrative divisions were formed to support the period of transition. The administrative titles include Suppress Committee and Deputy County between 1911 and 1917, District and Deputy County between 1917 and 1932, and Administrative Bureau after 1932.The Tusi system existed until the land reform movement in 1955. The Administrative Bureaus after 1932 included Luxi, Ruili, Longchuan, Yingjiang, Lianshan, and Lianghe - they were the predecessor of future counties.
During the World War II, Dehong was an important strategic location for China. By 1938, the Burma Road was built and it was an important international transit channel after Japanese army blocked the eastern coast of China. In 1939, Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company moved to Loiwing in south-west corner or Ruili, and it was the biggest aircraft manufacturing plant of China at that time.
After World War II
The area was declared an autonomous region in 1953. In May 1956, it became an autonomous prefecture. In 1960, when inter-provincial migration took place many farmers came to Yunnan to farm bananas. This was during the "Great Leap Forward" when a biologist working for Mao Zedong wrote an article about the weather in Yunnan being very suitable for bananas to be planted. Before this, many Chinese were scared of going there because of an illness that lurked about. It was later discovered that this was an identifiable tropical disease. The farmers helped to get rid of the disease. They made clearings, roads, and space for fields and plantations.Geography
Dehong stretches from east to west and from north to south, and its area is.Demographics
The population of Dehong in 2003 was 1.02 million, 48.17% of whom were Han Chinese, 51.83% were national minorities, mostly Dai and Jingpo.Climate
Administration
Dehong is divided into three counties and two county level cities:The prefectural government seat is Mangshi.