Chinese attempts to invade, conquer and integrate the southwestern province now known as Yunnan began at least as early as the Warring States Period (475-222 BCE). Yunnan was seen as the gateway to India and Southeast Asia, a vital route to Annam (northern Vietnam) and also a valuable resource in its own right. Yunnan offers numerous natural resources but perhaps its most valuable was the horses which are bred in such numbers around the plains near to Dali. The Chinese army always suffered from a lack of horses which were essential in the struggle against the cavalry that threatened from the tribes of central Asia, the Khitan Liao, the Xi Xia and, eventually, the dreaded Mongols.
Yunnan extends from the mountainous plateau that borders Tibet through its central plains to the semi-tropical region now known as Xishuangbanna - the Ten Thousand Rice Fields (Sip Song Pan Na in Thai) where many ethnic minority people had established their own territories. From the 8th to the 13th centuries, it had its own powerful state known first as Nanchao and later as Dali. It ranked as the leading tributary state, ranking above Japan and all others. In alliance with Tibet, Nanchao armies resisted Tang Dynasty invasions with great slaughter and also conquered great tracts of Chinese territory.
However, Dali had no answer to the Mongol hordes, who tore through the country in quick order when, deciding that the conquest of Southern China was taking too long, they decided to open a new front. Able thereafter to attack the Chinese from a new direction, the Mongols were then much more conveniently able to complete the conquest of all China.
The Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty and ruled China with an unfeeling, iron hand. Eventually they were replaced by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) amid scenes of chaos and bloodshed. The first Ming emperor was Zhu Yuanzhang. Yuan loyalists remained in Yunnan province and the Ming emperor had little choice but to invade, defeat the Mongols and make sure that the remaining Yunnanese were as closely integrated into greater China as possible. Not only was Yunnan to be invaded but also northern Vietnam, which was occupied for twenty years. Thousands upon thousands of Chinese soldiers had died on battlefields in the past in vain attempts to achieve these goals and thousands more had died from malaria and other tropical diseases. That Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to press ahead with campaigns in the south despite this gloomy history demonstrates how important security on the borders was considered by the Chinese court.
However, Dali had no answer to the Mongol hordes, who tore through the country in quick order when, deciding that the conquest of Southern China was taking too long, they decided to open a new front. Able thereafter to attack the Chinese from a new direction, the Mongols were then much more conveniently able to complete the conquest of all China.
The Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty and ruled China with an unfeeling, iron hand. Eventually they were replaced by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) amid scenes of chaos and bloodshed. The first Ming emperor was Zhu Yuanzhang. Yuan loyalists remained in Yunnan province and the Ming emperor had little choice but to invade, defeat the Mongols and make sure that the remaining Yunnanese were as closely integrated into greater China as possible. Not only was Yunnan to be invaded but also northern Vietnam, which was occupied for twenty years. Thousands upon thousands of Chinese soldiers had died on battlefields in the past in vain attempts to achieve these goals and thousands more had died from malaria and other tropical diseases. That Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to press ahead with campaigns in the south despite this gloomy history demonstrates how important security on the borders was considered by the Chinese court.
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