Abstract

Where did the Tai people come from and what is their early history? These issues are still unresolved. Many Western and Thai scholars believe that the Tai people migrated from China or from somewhere else. In the course of their migration, they established the Kingdom of Nanzhao.

After Khubilai Khan conquered Dali (Tali), the Tai groups were driven further southward and they finally settled in today's western and southwestern Yunnan, Laos, Thailand and other mainland Southeast Asian countries as well as in northeastern India.

However, this theory does not tally with Chinese historical records. Some Chinese scholars are of the view that the Tai people are not migrants but instead, they are natives of western and southwestern Yunnan and mainland Southeast Asia, occupying land even as far as northeastern India.

To support their views, Chinese scholars have referred to a lot of materials about some mystery kingdoms. However, the studies conducted by the author show that these mystery kingdoms cannot be taken as evidence to prove the early history of the Tai peoples.

The conclusion that they are natives of western Yunnan and mainland Southeast Asia is not defensible. While they are indeed late-comers to the area, the views that Nanzhao is a Tai kingdom and that the Thai and the Tai people in mainland Southeast Asia today are the descendants of the early Tai people driven from Nanzhao by Khubilai Khan southwards to the land they currently occupy are also not accurate.

Introduction

A lot of studies have arrived at the conclusion that Nanzhao was founded by the Tais. It is believed that present-day Tais and the Thai people in mainland Southeast Asia are in fact the descendents of the ancient Tais who were driven to this area by Khubilai Khan.

These beliefs, however, do not seem to tally with historical facts. To set the records straight, some Chinese scholars put forward their own views on the origins and the early history of the Tais. The most popular one is that the Tais are not migrants from anywhere.

Instead, they are natives of western and southwestern Yunnan, mainland Southeast Asia and they lived even as far as northeastern India. To support their positions, some Chinese scholars put forward as evidence the existence of some age-old kingdoms mentioned in ancient Chinese chronicles.

Dianyue

Dianyue was first mentioned in Shiji (The Historical Records) written by Sima Qian (145 or 135 -? BC) when he described the ethnic groups in western Yunnan: "There is no king amongst the Kunming peoples. They liked to plunder and dared kill the Han envoys at will, so that the road to the west through their territory was not open.

But it is said that there is an 'Elephant Riding Kingdom,' also called Dianyue, in the west, one thousand li away from the Kunming tribes. The smugglers of Shu (Sichuan) sometimes get there." 1 This is the earliest and perhaps the most detailed record about Dianyue.

Where on Earth is the exact location of Dianyue? Who were the residents of this kingdom? Almost all of the Chinese scholars who studied the Tais firmly believe, based on this statement in Shiji, that Dianyue was a kingdom built by the ancestors of today's Dai or Dai-Shan people, i.e., the western Tai people.

The ancient Kunming tribes lived in the area around Erhai Lake, i.e., in Dali (Tali) and the surrounding environs. To the west, the place "one thousand li away" from the Kunming tribes is today's Dehong, western Yunnan. Here, most of the present-day residents are the Dais who also rode elephants in ancient times, as mentioned in many old Chinese chronicles.

Furthermore, in Chinese, "Dian" is the synonym for the whole of Yunnan today while "Yue" is the same character often used to record or describe the ethnic groups occupying most of southern China. It is from them that the Tai people are believed to have descended. Most Chinese scholars, therefore, believe that Dianyue is a Tai kingdom in today's western Yunnan and in some parts of the northern Shan States of Myanmar. "The term 'Dianyue' is explained by some scholars to mean: 'Yue' as 'out of' or 'belonging to the kingdom of Dian.' " 2

Firstly, the Chinese character Dian in the term Dianyue does not refer to the kingdom of Dian or to the ethnic Dian people. According to Shiji, "There are ten chiefdoms or kingdoms among the southwestern barbarians, of whom Yelang is the biggest. West of Yelang there are ten Mimo chiefdoms or kingdoms, of whom Dian is the biggest. North of Dian, there are another ten chiefdoms or kingdoms, of which Qiongdu is the biggest......outside of Qiongdu, westwards to the east of Tongshi and northwards to Yeyu, the people are called Sui and Kunming.

It can be deduced from this that Dian and Kunming (not today's Kunming City, the capital of Yunnan) refers to two different ethnic groups or peoples. Kunming (the tribe or the kingdom) is in the area bounded by Dali, Yongchang (today's Baoshan), Tengcong and Shunning. Dian is in the east, in the area around Dianchi Lake, while Dianyue is one thousand li away from the Kunming tribes towards the west.

This means that only through the Kunming ethnic groups in Dali could the Dianyue have had any contact with the Dians around Dianchi Lake. Dianyue is neither directly contiguous to Dian nor did it belong to Dian. If there was indeed a branch of Yue west of Kunming, then it should have been called Kunmingyue rather than Dianyue. The term Dianyue, therefore, could never have referred to the Dian people at all.

Secondly, the Chinese character Yue in the term Dianyue is not related to the Yue ethnic groups either. Only the mainland residents in ancient southern China were called Yue. The fact that Dianyue was so far away from the areas inhabited by the Yue tribes is clearly recorded in many Chinese chronicles. Thus, the ethnic groups in western Yunnan could not have belonged to the Yue groups. Actually, the Chinese character Yue in ancient Chinese chronicles and in some other books is often only a transliterated character.

Undoubtedly, it could not have meant the Yue ethnic groups. For example, Huayangguo Zhi (Gazetteer of Southern China) mentioned that there was an ethnic group called Piaoyue in the extreme west of Ningzhou, western Yunnan, during the time of the Han Dynasty. However, no scholars regard Piaoyue as one branch of Yue. In Weilue (Historical Sketch of the Kingdom of Wei) there is an entry saying: "The kingdom of Panyue, also called Hanyue, is thousands of li away from the southeast of India. It is near Yizhou.

" 4 No one considers the term Panyue or Hanyue as one branch of the Yue ethnic groups either. In Xin Tang Shu (New Historical Records of the Tang Dynasty), there is mention that the Kingdom of Piao (Pyu) had thirty-three tribes, one of them is called Shiyue.

5 Another chronicle mentions that there is a kingdom called Jiabiluoyue. Each of the words had a character yue, but this did not mean that they were related to the Yue ethnic groups. Jia Dan, a famous geographer during the Tang Dynasty (7~9th centuries AD), mentioned that there was a kingdom named Luoyue towards the sea, south of Zhenla (Cambodia). Researches have shown that Luoyue was a Mon kingdom in the southern Malay Peninsula. 6 Thus, it cannot be concluded that the character yue in these words is the same character as that used for Yue to refer to an ethnic group.

More recent studies on Dianyue have further supported the conclusion that it is not a Tai kingdom at all. 7 By the same token, concluding that Shanguo is a Shan kingdom would be a clear mistake.

Shan-guo

According to ancient Chinese annals, a kingdom called Shan-guo, which means the kingdom or the state of Shan, based on the pronunciation of the two Chinese characters, sent its envoys to "pay tribute" to China many times during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

Original materials about the Shanguo are very scarce. There are only six places where it is mentioned in the different volumes of the Houhan Shu (Annals of the Later Han Dynasty). The earliest entry stated: "In the Spring, January, of the ninth year of Yongyuan, the envoys of barbarians and Shanguo from somewhere beyond Yongchang came, through several interpretations, to pay tribute." 8 These were the first Shanguo envoys to China as recorded in Chinese annals. The ninth year of Yongyuan of the Later Han Dynasty was 97 AD.

If it were accepted that Shanguo is indeed located in the Shan States of Myanmar and in some parts of Dehong, western Yunnan as mentioned previously, an entry in another volume in the same Houhan Shu said: "In December of the fifth year of Yongjian, the envoys of Yediaoguo and Shanguo were sent from somewhere beyond Rinan to pay tribute." 9 What would be note-worthy here is that the direction where the envoys of Shanguo came from this time was somewhere "beyond Rinan" (the old name of today's central Vietnam ) rather than "beyond Yongchang."

Where then is the exact location of Shanguo? In the Chen Chan Zhuan (Bibliography of Chen Chan) of Houhan Shu, a quarrel was recorded between Chen Chan and Chen Zhong, two officials of the Later Han Dynasty. It was over a New Year's day performance by Shanguo musicians and magicians in the court of Emperor Andi on the second year of Yongning (121 AD). This record might provide us with the key to open the door towards a better understanding of the situation.

'This is the music of Zheng. It is immoral music which will encourage people to behave immorally. It is not proper to play the music and skill of Yi-Di (barbarians) at the royal court.' Chen Zhong, the Shangshu (a high official in the Han Dynasty, later equivalent to the position of minister in the Ming and Qing Dynasties - the author), however, refuted Chen Chan at once and said to His Majesty: 'In the past, a lot of people coming from different barbarian regions played their music and performed their dance for the enjoyment of their Sovereign at the royal court......

Now the envoys of Shanguo came to pay tribute to Your Majesty from Liusha and Xiandu, ten thousand li away. Their music and dance should never be considered as being immoral like those of Zheng and Wei in the past. These performers are not immoral persons who will instigate other people to behave immorally. The actual aim of Chen Chan is just to slander Your Majesty. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to put him in jail.' His Majesty then demoted Chen Chan to a lower rank rather than put him in jail." 10

Setting the details aside, what should be noted here is the statement from Chen Zhong, that the envoys of Shanguo came "from Liusha and Xiandu." This could be a very important clue towards establishing the location of Shanguo!

Where is Liusha? According to the Dictionary of the Historical Gazetteer of China, there are two places called Liusha (meaning Flowing Sands). The first is the whole desert area in northwestern China and the second is Bailongdui Sands in Xinjiang, where the ancient main route between China and the West passed through. 11 The explanation about Liusha in Cihai (The Grand Dictionary of Chinese Vocabulary) is the same as the two places mentioned in The Dictionary of Historical Gazetteer of China. 12

Where then is Xiandu? The explanation in Cihai went thus: "Xiandu is the ancient name of a mountain which is also called Xuandu. According to Tongdian (General Regulations) Volume 193, it is four hundred li away from Kapanda (today's Tarshkurkan, Xinjiang, China) in the southwest. It used to be an important mountain route in Western China." 13

The Kingdom of Pong

According to the materials on hand, the Kingdom of Pong was first mentioned by R B Pemberton, a British Captain in India, who had gone to Manipur, northeastern India, to study the tribes there in 1830s. In his Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, Pemberton said that he found a Shan chronicle manuscript, preserved by an old man there. He wanted to buy this manuscript but the old man did not want to sell it. Instead, Pemberton had to have it translated into Manipuri.

It was from this manuscript that Pemberton based a lot of the stories in his report. Pemberton related that, according to this old chronicle, the Shan founded a kingdom called Pong during the 1st century AD. At the height of its power and splendor, its territory was contiguous to Yunnan and India. 14

In his exploration report in 1871, Anderson who quoted the Pemberton manuscript, stated that there was a Shan kingdom called Pong stretching from Yunnan to Bhamo, northern Burma. 15

In 1879, W W Hunter edited a book entitled A Statistical Account of Assam. In this report, he mentioned the great Kingdom of Pong which was built by the Shan or Tai or Thai as described by the historians in Manipur. This kingdom bordered Triputra, Yunnan and Siam. The city called Monggong by the Burmese or Mongmaurong by the Shan was its capital.

Under the reign of Sukempha, its thirteenth king, who succeeded his father in 777 A D, Samlongpha, his brother and the commander of the Pong troops, conquered Kachar, Triputra and Manipur. He then entered the valley of the Buramaputra River and conquered it....... However, the Kingdom of Pong was defeated by Alongpaya, the king of Burma." 16

In his History of Burma published in 1883, Phayre, a British scholar, wrote that the Shan people established a kingdom called Pong on the banks of the Irrawady River as early as the 1st century AD. 17

Later in 1893, another British national named E R Parker published his book Burma with Special Reference to Her Relations with China. Here, he also talked about the Kingdom of Pong and considered it as a part of Nanzhao in western Yunnan. 18

In his Oriental Reportary, A Dalrymple said that there was a hill kingdom called Pong in existence in 1763, in the area between India and Burma. He stressed that the location of this kingdom was in the area between southeastern Assam and northwestern Burma. (19) Later on, Yule also concluded that there was a Kingdom of Pong in the Shan area in northern Burma. 20

In his Ancient Shan-Dai Kingdoms published in 1985, Huang Huikun said: "We have not definitely known when the name appeared. According to the records and the legends, however, it (the Kingdom of Pong) is undoubtedly an ignored Dai-Shan kingdom." He quoted the description from Hunter's report mentioned above as his evidence and argued:

Very clearly, the report verified the existence of the Kingdom of Pong and established that it was an ancient kingdom built by the ancestors of the Dai-Shan people. The report pointed out that the capital of Pong was in Mongmaurong (Great Mongmau). This established the connection of Pong to Mongmaurong and proved that Mongmau of Dehong in our country, i.e., the Valley of the Ruili River, was the center of the Kingdom of Pong." 21

Huang Huikun believed: "The kingdom of Pong must have been in existence very early in the history of the region. The report quoted above stated that it was built before the 8th - 9th centuries AD with Mongmau as its capital. Thus, it was clear that the kingdom of Pong was a tribal state with its wider connotation. It was the center of western Shan, relating the history of the kingdom closely to 'Dianyue' and 'Shanguo' during the two Han Dynasties." 22

In 1986, The Concise History of Dai, published by Yunnan People's Press, also held that there surely existed a Kingdom of Pong. The book established the connection between the history of the kingdom with the history of the Dais. The authors of this book also quoted the description of the Kingdom of Pong as mentioned in Hunter's report above.

Other western scholars held the following view: "The history of the Kingdom of Pong is also cited in other western scholars' books. For example, in his History of Burma, Phayre mentioned that the Shans had built the Kingdom of Pong on the banks of the Irrawady River as early as the 1st century AD. Hunter also said that the Shans had founded a great kingdom called Pong by the historians in Manipur.

However, in his book The Tai Race, Dodd mentioned that the Shan built a kingdom in Hsipau in the 5th century BC. The site of Hsipau was in the area between today's Lashio and Mandalay. The Kingdom of Pong probably grew out of Hsipau." 23

The authors of The Concise History of Dai were of the opinion that: "Although the references to the Kingdom of Pong in the books mentioned above were a little bit different, some more detailed and others too simple, all of them agreed that the Shans were the earliest settlers in the area between Burma and India.

As for the different records about the size and the location of the territory under the Kingdom of Pong, these would only tend to show that the ancient Shans occupied a wide expanse of territory. What would be worth mentioning is that Mongmaurong in some records should be Mongmau, the name given to the place by the Dai in Dehong, i.e., the area in today's Ruili and its surroundings. Thus, the location of Dianyue and the Shans then was confirmed and in the process linked the history of the ancient Shan to the modern Dais." 24

In 1989, in his Pong: An Ancient Shan Kingdom, Zhu Changli held that: "Pong is an early kingdom built by the Shans of which little is known until now. The records about it are very simple although it has been mentioned in some books. It is helpful not only to reveal the secrets of the history of the ancient Tais, but also to fill the gaps in this area of studies." 25

Zhu Changli also reported: "In 1839, the British captain Pemberton was sent to Manipur. He found a manuscript about the history of the kingdom of Pong there and had it translated into Manipuri. This is the earliest original material about the Kingdom of Pong." 26 Zhu Changli quoted the description about the kingdom in Hunter's report and in the other materials which, he thinks, were related to it. He continued: "The territory ruled by the Kingdom of Pong was originally limited to the area of the Shans in northern Burma.

After conquering the surrounding countryside, its territory was further extended. At the height of its power, it stretched from Yunnan in the east, Buramaputra River in the west and bordered Siam in the southeast. The place called Mongong by the Burmese and Mongmaurong by the Shans was its capital. The pronunciation of 'Mongmaurong' is similar with 'Mongmau.' While the latter was located in the area near Ruili of Dehong, Yunnan, which was inhabited by the Dais, it is probable that Ruili was the center of the kingdom of Pong." 27

Finally, Zhu Changli concluded: "It is proven, after researching the history of the Kingdom of Pong, that the Tais had inhabited what is presently northern Burma, the wide area of Yunnan in China that reached up to the valley of Buramaputra River in the west, as early as the 1st century. Furthermore, they built their own kingdom at a very early time." 28

However, recent studies on this issue undertaken by the author show that the so-called Kingdom of Pong stemmed from a mistake made by Pemberton who did not know the history of the Dai-Shan people at all. For example, according to Pemberton, the first Pong king was Khool-liee. 29 If one were to check the chronicles of Mengmao, it can be found that the name of its first king as contained in western Tai legends is Kunlai. 30

A Tale of Two Sons

In Pemberton's report, there was a Pong king named Murgnow who had two sons named Sookampha and Samlongpha. 31 One can find, however, that the 30th king of Mengmao in the chronicles of Mengmao was called Mo Kang Neng.32

In the opinion of this author, Mo Kang Neng, the 30th king of Mengmao, is also Murgnow, the king of Pong. They were the same persons but with different transliterated names. This is based on records that state that Mo Kang Neng also had two sons named Chau-Kwan-Pha and Sam-Lung-Pha. 33 Here the princes of Mengmao, Chau-Kwan-Pha and Sam-Lung-Pha, are also the so-called Pong princes - Sookampha and Samlongpha.

Later on, according to Pemberton, in 1333, the Chinese were determined to subjugate the Pong dominions and after a struggle lasting two years, the Pong capital was captured by a Chinese army. The king, Soognampha, with his eldest son, Sookeepha, fled to the Burmese king of Pugan or Ava, for protection. The Chinese general demanded that they be handed over by the Burmese. Thereafter, they were brought to China, from whence they never returned. 34

In one of the chronicles of Mengmao, we find that a war broke out between Chau-Ngan-Pha, the king of Mengmao, and the Chinese. The former lost and he fled to Burma, where he took poison under pressure from the Chinese army. 35 The Chau-Ngan-Pha mentioned here must have been Soognampha, the king of Pong in Pemberton's report.

According to another version of the chronicles of Mengmao, the king defeated by the Chinese was named Sukeepha. He fled to Burma but he was later captured and handed over to the Chinese by the Burmese. 36 This Sukeepha must have been Sookeepha, Soognampha's son, as mentioned in Pemberton's report.

Again, in another version of the chronicles of Mengmao, the king in conflict with the Chinese was Sugnanpha, also called Sugnan. Defeated, he sought refuge in Burma but was likewise surrendered to the Chinese by the Burmese. 37 This Sugnanpha or Sugnan must also have been Soognampha, the erstwhile king of Pong.

In Burmese chronicles, there was a Shan king named Thonganbba who was defeated by the Chinese and who later fled to Burma. He was captured and returned to the Chinese by Narapati, Burmese king of the Ava Dynasty. 38 This Thongnanbba must also be the Soognampha, the king of Pong, mentioned by Pemberton.

In Chinese chronicles, there were also records saying that at its apex, Luchuan, as Mengmao was called by the Chinese, was ruled by Sirenfa in 1445 A D. He was defeated by Wangji, the Chinese general. Sirenfa took refuge in Burma, but was captured and returned to the Chinese by the Burmese. Sirenfa was beheaded and his head was sent to the Chinese capital. Sijifa, Sirenfa's son, rebelled against the Chinese but was eventually defeated. 39 In this instance, Sirenfa, the king of Luchuan, i.e., Mengmao, must be Soognampha, the king of Pong, in Pemberton's report. Sirenfa is simply the Chinese transliteration of Soognampha. Likewise, the name of Sirenfa's son, Sijifa, is the Chinese transliteration of Sookeepha, Soognampha's son.

According to Pemberton, "To the Muneepoorees, the whole country under its ancient limits was, and still is, known as the Kingdom of Pong". 40 Was there really a kingdom called Pong whose territory extended from Yunnan to India at the height of its power and as reflected in the history of Mengmao? There seems to be no evidence of such a powerful kingdom. What can be ascertained is that Mengmao was only a local principality. At no point was it ever as large as the Kingdom of Pong that was founded in the 1st century. Neither did it occupy the large region extending from Yunnan to Myanmar or to India as mentioned in Pemberton's report.

What about the name Pong? According to Sao Saimong Mangrai, in the story of Mogaung, a tribe of Pwons were subjects of that state at the height of its power.41 He could be right. This is because there was a branch of Tais called Bong-zi in Burma as mentioned in an ancient Chinese gazetteer: "Their customs and manner of dressing are similar with those of the Kuns (Tai Kun) in Burma." 42 The Bong-zi constituted a branch of the Tais in the border area between China and Myanmar then. Mangrai also mentioned that the Pwons were still to be found along the Irrawaddy above Bhamo 43 as well as in some places in Yunnan. They are definitely a branch of the western Tai people today. 44

According to Mangrai, it is more than probable that these people were known to the Shans of Mogaung and Mengmao as Pong. If Samlongpha's army that invaded Manipur included some Pong contingents and if these same troops were the first to come into contact with the Manipuris, saying that they were Pong, it would be quite natural for this name to be used to refer to all the men under Samlongpha's standard in the eyes of the Manipuris. Hence, all Shans became known to the Manipuris as Pong. 45

Conclusion

Thus, there is only a group of people called Pong (Pwon), but never any Pong Kingdom in the history of the western Tai people. Unfortunately, some scholars have not made any exhaustive study of this issue. Instead, the mistaken notion about the kingdom of Pong has been perpetuated in subsequent books and articles.

Since the "Dianyue" and the "Shanguo" recorded in ancient Chinese annals had nothing to do with the history of Dai-Shan people, i.e., the western Tais, and because the so-called Kingdom of Pong stemmed from a mistake made by a British captain who knew nothing about the background of the Dai-Shans, the history of the Dais and the Shans, or the western Tais, should be thoroughly re-examined.

As Dai-Tai and Thai studies are being undertaken in-depth at the international arena, more and more new materials and research results can prove that the Dai-Tai people are not native to the land that they are inhabiting now. What is certain is that they are migrants from southern China. Where they came from originally is what needs to be explored, making use of more reliable materials. A tentative answer to this question has been given. 46