Pyu

For the war between the Pyu and Shiziguo, see Nanzhao Yeshi, in YNSLCK 4: 778.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Tantric Buddhism, mixed with local shamanism, became the state religion of Nanzhao, and was surely spread from the south; 29 besides, one Nanzhao king claimed himself the title piaoxin, or king of Pyu, which revealed the intimate association with the south.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Note 98: For Bai Juyi's poems about Nanzhao and Pyu, see YNSLCK 2: 142-145. back

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

From Yunnan to India, again there were two routes: the southern one from Dali to Yongchang, through the Pyu Kingdom, Prome, the Arakan Range, Kamarupa, and arriving in India; the western one crossing the Irrawaddy and the Mogaung rivers, the Chindwin River to India, and beyond.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Gordon Luce, the prominent scholar of Burmese studies, points out that Nanzhao's attack on and rule of the Pyu in upper Burma was extremely important to the subsequent formation of the Burmese kingdoms.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Simultaneously, Nanzhao likely tightened its suzerainty of the Pyu polity because Xun-ge-quan, the son of Yi-mou-xun, assigned himself a new title, biaoxin, "the king of Pyu."

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Eight years later, Nanzhao presented Chang'an people with Pyu music, dance, and songs.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

The vacuum created by Nanzhao when it destroyed the Pyu provided the "proto-Burmans" with a golden opportunity to build their own kingdom. 97 Many Chinese sources recorded the military clashes between Nanzhao and other Southeast Asian regimes and confirmed the influence of Nanzhao on the aforementioned region.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

Bai Juyi, the famous poet, wrote several poems, exclusively describing the impressive Pyu performance. 98 This single case is certainly in itself not strong enough a proof; indeed many other interactions among these areas have been underestimated or overlooked.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

This mission included Pyu musicians and dancers. 72 The Pyu seemed not to be a direct vassal of Tang China but of Nanzhao.

Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008