NANCHAO

Tai kingdom that arose in the 8th century in western Yunnan Province in southern China, a region to which the Tai peoples trace their origin. Many fragmented Tai kingdoms had occupied this region, centred at Lake Tali between the Mekong, the Yangtze, and the sources of the Red River, under varying degrees of Chinese control, since the 1st century AD. Nanchao (Chinese: Southern Princedom) was formed by the unification of six Tai kingdoms in 729. Pi-lo-ko, the leader of one small tribal state, extended his control over the five neighbouring kingdoms while acting in alliance with China, which needed an ally against the aggressive Tibetans. Once unification was complete, Pi-lo-ko established Nanchao's centre of power in the Lake Tali Plain. Geographic factors rendered the capital impregnable, and two Chinese attacks were repulsed in 751 and 754. Nanchao was also able to dominate the East-West trade routes from China and Tongking through Myanmar (Burma) to India. By the 9th century, Nanchao became an imperialistic state waging war deep into Myanmar in 832 and into Tongking in 862. Nanchao attained a high level of culture. Skilled artisans taught the weaving of cotton and silk gauze. Salt and gold were mined in many parts of the kingdom, and a complex system of government and administration was developed. The Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan conquered a declining Nanchao in 1253. During the preceding two centuries, however, the Tais had been moving southward in large numbers, eventually forming the bulk of the population in what is present-day Thailand.