Dianyun Culture·The geographical environment that gave birth to Dianyun Culture·The central area for the development of Dianyun Culture

Dianyun Culture·The geographical environment that gave birth to Dianyun Culture·The central area for the development of Dianyun Culture

(1) Central and eastern Yunnan regions where Dianyun culture originated

In the middle of the Yunnan Plateau, there is a lake known as the 500-mile water body. This is the Dianchi Lake, the Pearl of the Plateau. "Huayang Guozhi. Nanzhong Zhi" says: "There is Zeshui (Dianchi Lake), which circulates for more than 200 miles. It comes out deep and wide, and its downstream is as narrow as flowing backwards, so it is called Dianchi Lake." Perhaps it is the unique geographical landscape of this strange river flowing backwards. The name Dianchi Lake may come from the fact that a tribe named Dian lived here a long time ago. "Dian" has become the abbreviation of Yunnan Province today. However, the so-called "Dian" and "Dian Kingdom" in ancient times did not represent the entire Yunnan Province for a long time. They mainly referred to the central Yunnan area centered on the Dianchi Basin. The birthplace of Yunnan culture.

The Diandong area east of Dian Lake is an area where Dian culture is widely spread. The Dian people have long had contacts with Ba, Shu, Guizhou and Chu through this area. Dian is located between Bashu and Indochina, and is a hub connecting the Central Plains Cultural Area and the Southeast Asian and South Asian Maritime Cultural Areas. In the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the Dianchi Lake area was already the intersection of the southern edge zone of the Central Plains culture of the mainland and the northbound maritime culture of Southeast Asia and South Asia. In subsequent dynasties, Yunnan's transportation, whether heading north to the Central Plains, east to Huguang, west to India, or south to the Indochina Peninsula, all intersected here. Therefore, the Dianchi Lake area has been an important transportation center in Yunnan since ancient times. It has been able to absorb the essence of the Central Plains culture for a long time. It absorbs the nectar of Indian maritime culture and integrates the local simple and profound national culture to become the center of Yunnan culture.

(2) The Hengduan Mountains where Yunnan culture emerged

The central part of the Hengduan Mountains in western Yunnan, centered on Erhai Lake and Lijiang, is an area that was developed earlier in Yunnan. Widely distributed Neolithic sites have been discovered in Erhai Lake, Lijiang and other places.

The superior natural environment makes this area another origin of Yunnan culture and the development center of Yunnan culture that is rich and colorful with unique local ethnic characteristics. "Yunnan" as a place name originally referred to this area. According to legend, Caiyunnan appeared during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty established Yunnan County at the place where Caiyun appeared, with jurisdiction over Xiangyun and Midu. Yunnan began to be used as a place name (Xie Zhaozhe's "Dian Lue"). During the Three Kingdoms period, after Zhuge Liang's southern expedition, "Ning and Yongchang counties were divided into Yunnan counties." ("Three Kingdoms. Shu Zhi. Poster Biography") basically covered Dali and Lijiang. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, two ethnic regimes, Nanzhao and Dali, emerged in Yunnan. The Tang Dynasty canonized the ruler of Nanzhao as the "King of Yunnan". In the eyes of the feudal central dynasty, the area where Nanzhao was separated was Yunnan. The area known as Yunnan expanded with the expansion of Nanzhao's separatist power. When the province was established in the Yuan Dynasty, the political, economic and cultural center of Dianyun moved eastward to Dianchi Lake, and the name Yunnan subsequently expanded to cover the entire land of Dianyun.

The Erhai area plays an important role in the history of transportation in Yunnan. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, the Erhai area was influenced by the advanced Central Plains culture inland and the maritime culture from India. In addition, the Tubo and Tibetan culture infiltrated southwards, and merged with the local ethnic culture to form a unique style. Yunnan culture. During the Nanzhao period, Yunnan culture gradually developed. The upper-class rulers of Nanzhao admired the culture of the Central Plains and appointed Zheng Hui, a Sichuan and Shu Confucian scholar, as the Qingping Palace to assist in government affairs and teach their children Confucianism. They also sent their children to Sichuan and Shu many times to study Confucianism ("New Tang Shu·Nanzhao Biography"). Chinese was widely spoken in Dali, and it became a common practice for officials and merchants to learn Chinese, which was called "Buddhist Confucianism". When Dali went to the Song Dynasty to sell horses, they asked for Confucian classics, children's teachings and various literature and classics. The rulers of the Dali Kingdom in Nanzhao valued and absorbed the advanced Central Plains culture and promoted their own cultural development. The "Nanzhao Dehua Monument" shows high cultural literacy and represents the level of Yunnan's cultural development during this period to a certain extent. In terms of religion, in addition to the ancestors of local ethnic beliefs, they are also deeply influenced by foreign religions, especially Buddhism, which has already penetrated into the Dali area from India and other places. There are halls for both rich and poor. No one, old or young, can count beads in his hands. During the first half of the fast, he will not eat meat or drink alcohol. After the fast, there will be many temples along the mountain, and there will be no end to worship Buddha. "There is no shortage of people." Dali is regarded as the Buddhist country in western Yunnan, and the Dali area is still a very popular area of ??Buddhism. As the Lijiang area is close to Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is popular and it is still a popular area for Tibetan Buddhism.

(3) Yongchang area with rich Yunnan culture

From the Erhai area to the west is today’s Baoshan area. In ancient times, Yongchang was located in the western Yunnan longitudinal valley of the Hengduan Mountains. south end. This is where the ancient Ailao people ruled the roost. "Huayang National Chronicles. Nanzhong Chronicles" says: "Yongchang County is the ancient Ailao Kingdom." The ancient Ailao Kingdom reaches India in the west and Vietnam in the south. It ranges from the Lancang River in the east to the Batkai River at the junction of India and Myanmar in the west. It reaches the junction of present-day Myanmar and Tibet in the north, and reaches the vast areas such as present-day Xishuangbanna in the south.

Since ancient times, the Ailao land has had many ethnic groups and a large population. Today, ethnic minorities such as the Yi, Bai, Dai, Lisu, Hui, Wa, Miao, Achang, De'ang, and Jingpo ethnic groups still live.

When the Central Dynasty developed and operated Yongchang Land, it first valued its strategic transportation position. The importance of the military, political and transportation location made Yongchang area develop earlier and develop faster. Yongchang is another central area for the development of Yunnan culture.

The development of transportation and the convenience of trade have made Yongchang's commodity economy developed, and the folk mercantile atmosphere is strong; culture spreads rapidly, and cultural elites gather together.

Another important town in Yongchang is Tengchong, which is located in the far west of western Yunnan and is the gateway to the Southern Silk Road. More than 2,000 years ago, it was already an international shopping mall on the Southern Silk Road. The prosperous commerce and convenient transportation provide conditions for the spread of advanced culture in Tengchong. Chinese and Indian cultures intersected here, especially the advanced Central Plains culture, which accompanied the arrival of merchants and envoys from the mainland and penetrated and integrated into the local national culture. After the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Han people moved in, and the influence of Han culture and Confucianism became more profound, making it one of the areas with the most developed culture in Yunnan. The strong Confucian culture has been passed down from generation to generation here. To this day, Tengchong still maintains the earliest rural library in my country with the largest collection of books. Tengchong has outstanding people and a large number of talents, which is inseparable from the strong cultural atmosphere of Chinese studies here.