Dian Kingdom
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The Dian Kingdom was established by the Dian people, who lived around Lake Dian in eastern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn Period until the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Dian buried their dead in vertical pit graves <ref>Archaeology of Asia, pp. 247</ref>. The Dian language was likely a Tibeto-Burman language <ref>The Peopling of East Asia, pp. 192</ref>.
The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qian's Shiji; some Chinese sources identified Chu general Zhuang Qiao as the founder of the Dian Kingdom. The Dian were subjugated by the Han Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in 109 BC. The Han Dynasty incorporated the territory of the Dian Kingdom into the Yizhou Commandery, but left the King of Dian as the local ruler.
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[edit] Royal burials
The Dian buried their kings at Shizhaishan (discovered in 1954). The burials were identified by the inscription, King Dian's Seal. The inscription was written in seal script on a gold imperial seal given by the Han Emperor. Sima Qian noted that the Dian were one of only two local groups to have received an imperial seal, the other being Yelang.
[edit] Bronze working
The Dian people were sophisticated metal workers, casting both bronze and iron. The Dian cast bronze objects using both the piece mould method and the lost wax method. Dian elite burials contained an impressive array of bronze objects, although late Dian burials also contained locally cast iron objects.
Large bronze drums were employed by the Dian to communicate in battle; ritual burials of Dian elites were accompanied by large bronze drums filled with cowrie shells. The tops of the drums were removed and replaced by a bronze lid.
[edit] Depiction of Dian society
The bronze lids were covered with miniature figurines and structures, depicting various scenes from the life of the Dian people. The bronze lids depicted the Dian people engaged in everyday activities such as hunting, farming and weaving. Other scenes depicted the leisurely pursuits of the Dian people, such as bullfighting, dancing and music-making. The Dian people dressed in tunics over short pants and wore their hair in topknots. The bronze lids corroborated Sima Qian's description of the Dian hairstyle.
Many scenes depicted the Dian at war, often riding horses. Archaeological evidence shows that horses had been domesticated by the Dian people as early as the sixth century BC. The bronze lids also depicted the Dian decapitating their enemies (who wore their hair in long plaits).
[edit] Underwater ruins
Archaeologist in China recently discovered the inundated remains of a Dian city under Lake Fuxian; some archaeologist believe that the ruins are the remains of the capital of the Dian Kingdom. An earthquake and subsequent flood killed the inhabitants and completely destroyed the city in 110.
[edit] Other artefacts
At Dabona, a site connected with the Dian culture, archaeologists discovered a large double coffin burial; The outer coffin was made of wood and the inner coffin was made of bronze. The inner coffin was shaped like a house and weighs over 157 kg.
The Yunnan Provincial Museum holds many archaeological relics of the Dian culture.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Allard, Francis, 1999, The archaeology of Dian: trends and tradition. Antiquity 73(279): 77-79.
- Higham, Charles, The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia, ISBN 0-521-56505-7
- Sagart, Laurent, Roger Blench and Alicia Sanchez-Mazas (eds), The Peopling of East Asia ISBN 0-415-32242-1
- Stark, Miriam T. (ed), Archaeology of Asia, ISBN 1-4051-0213-6
- Yang, Bin, 2004, Horses, silver, and cowries: Yunnan in global perspective. Journal of World History 15(3): 281-322.
