Yunnanese

In this sense, the emergence of the Yunnanese is crucial to Chineseness, because this local identification was premised on Chinese identity.

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

117The key to these questions is that, the long-term middle ground experience in Yunnan indeed created a new local identity, that is, the Yunnanese.

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

During his conversation with a monk, Zhao Zhonghua identified himself as yunnanren; and in 1578 or 1579, when he met his father (of whom he was not sure), introduced himself: "I (am) Yunnanese (Wu yunnanren)."

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

Ming Shi recorded many Yunnanese scholar-officials for their outstanding Confucian ethics or achievements.

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

This question carries the assumption that Yunnan is part of China, and that the Yunnanese are China's Yunnanese, or, that the Yunnanese are Chinese.

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

Particularly at the end of the Ming Dynasty, some Yunnanese officials showed their loyalty and ability in campaigns against the peasant rebellion or the Manchu invasion.

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

The concept of the Yunnanese existed under the premise that they were, first and foremost, subjects of the Son of Heaven.

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

The Emergence of the Yunnanese (Yunnanren) 118Under the Wei-Suo system, all the reclaimed lands were owned by the imperial state, which were categorized as state fields (guantian).

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

The milestone in this development was the emergence of the so-called Yunnanese, a self-conceived, local identity that marked the success of the long-term imperial colonization of Yunnan.

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

As sinicization and indigenization created the Yunnanese identity, imperial states at the same time gradually changed their tones, thus regarding ethnic groups in this frontier province as imperial subjects.

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