Between winds and clouds. The making of Yunnan (second century BCE to twentieth century CE)

摘要

Comprehensive surveys of China's periphery abound. The relevant literature in English often aims at viewing these regions quite independently from the rest of China. Chinese language works usually take a different approach: they portray areas like Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, Guangxi and Yunnan as integral parts of a multi-ethnic state, and assume that these territories became Chinese at an early stage, culturally, administratively, and also in other respects. The present book seeks to explain how the space now called Yunnan managed to stay separate across successive ages before it became absorbed into the realm of its northern neighbour. Broadly speaking, there was an initial phase of military colonisation through the Han, followed by three centuries during which Yunnan remained nearly 'independent'. The Sui and Tang resumed old expansionary dreams, and thereafter we see the rise of Nanzhao, an aggressive kingdom later annexed by the Mongols. According to Yang, it was only from this period onwards, especially under the Ming, that Yunnan really turned into a solid part of the Chinese empire.