Talk:Nanzhao

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I have never edited a page here before but I could not leave this page as it stands. Firstly, Nanchao in modern Chinese 'pinyin' spelling shoudl be written Nanzhao. Secondly, it was NOT a Thai kingdom. That is a myth that was perpetrated by some Western writers in the early twentieth century I believe. I have written a website about Bai culture and have copied my history page here. The link is http://alcor.eastasiagroup.net/bai/en/history.html

I am sorry I do not know how to do links and stuff. The last part should probably be under Dali kingdom, and I coudl probably add some more info there but not sure I have the time for that.

Bryan Allen

I'm sure you understand the topic better than I do; my version of the article was merely a weak attempt to cover a subject on which we were sorely lacking an article. East Asian history certainly isn't my strong point. However, I was working off some rather recent material that said it was a Thai kingdom...oh well, I guess myths can be perpetuated long after the truth is known. I'll work on this a little and try to give it more of a Wikipedia style.

Also, I did include the spelling "Nanzhao" as an alternate spelling; however, Nanchao seems to be the most common spelling, so I think we should stick with that for the title. I'll make "Nanzhao" a redirect page to this article. Everyking 18:28, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Actually, I changed my mind and went ahead and made the main spelling Nanzhao. "Nanchao" is now a redirect to this page. Everyking

This is now a very good article, by the way; I hope you will find the time to contribute more to it in the future, or to create an article on the Kingdom of Dali. Everyking 19:07, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll try and add more stuff about the Dali Kingdom and the Bai in general when I get more time. Thanks for the editing too. Bryan

The Thai myth and other stuff...

Sirs, The Thai myth is a persistent one, and has thrown a wrench into SE Asian studies for a long time. My writer friend in Chiang Mai says that it originated with a writer trying to curry favor with the Thai Royal publishers by writing a book saying that the Thai originated in the Chinese plains, invented rice cultivation and gave birth to Asian civilization. This myth has spread so far that I've read articles about the Shan, a Thai people in Burma claiming that they are the old Nanzhao royalty! Some other points that may be worth adding if you can varify them are that the Nanzhao supposedly fell to Genghis Khan on his way to Persia, and that the kingdom derived much of its power from control of the Ancient Tea Route, something I think I may write an article on in the future. Regards, Jeff Crosby (in Kunming)

I was born in Thailand, and as a child I heard about Genghis Khan driving the Thai people south, etc. and the Thai people originating in SW China. That being said, I moved to the USA while in elementary school and I can no longer speak or read Thai and that was over 40 years ago. Perhaps there are some Asian sources with better information on this subject. --Thomas Chongruk | Talk 1:13, 27 December 2012 (UTC)