The Transformation of Yunnan in Ming China From the Dali Kingdom to Imperial Province

This book examines how the Ming state transformed the multi-ethnic society of Yunnan into a province. Yunnan had remained outside the ambit of central government when ruled by the Dali kingdom, 937-1253, and its foundation as a province by the Yuan regime in 1276 did not disrupt Dali kingdom style political, social and religious institutions. It was the Ming state in the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries through its institutions for military and civilian control which brought about profound changes and truly transformed local society into a province. In contrast to other studies which have portrayed Yunnan as a non-Han frontier region waiting to be colonised, this book, by focusing on changes in local society, casts off the idea of Yunnan as a border area far from civilisation.

Introduction 1 Salt, Grain and the Change of Deities in Early Ming Western Yunnan ZHAO Min 2 Local Communities, Village Temples and the Reconstruction of Ethnic Groups in Western Yunnan, 14th to 17th Centuries Jianxiong Ma 3 The Lancang Guard and the Construction of Ming Society in Northwest Yunnan HUANG Caiwen 4 The Mu Native Official’s Governance of the Tibetan World and His Sponsorship of Tibetan Buddhism YAMADA Noriyuki 5 Upland Leaders of the Internal Frontier and Ming Governance of Western Yunnan, 15th and 16th Centuries Christian Daniels

Christian Daniels is Professor and Head of the Division of Humanities at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Jianxiong Ma is an Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology