Account of the Southwestern Yi, Number 56

Among the lords of the Southwestern Yi, there were several tens, among whom Yelang was the largest; to the west of Yelang, there were also several tens of the Mimie tribes, among whom Dian was the largest; to the north of Dian, there were several tens of lords, among whom Qiondu was the largest. The people of these tribes all wore their hair in conical topknots, cultivated fields, and had towns and villages. Beyond them, to the west from Tongshi eastward, and north to Dieyu, were called Sui and Kunming. These tribes braided their hair, moved with their livestock, had no fixed dwellings, and had no lords, covering an area of several thousand li. From Sui northeastward, there were several tens of lords, among whom Xi and Zuo were the largest; from Zuo northeastward, there were several tens of lords, among whom Yemang was the largest. Their customs were sometimes settled, sometimes migratory, all located west of Shu. From Yemang northeastward, there were several tens of lords, among whom Baima was the largest; these were all branches of the Di people. All these were barbarian tribes beyond the southwest of Ba and Shu.

In the time of King Wei of Chu, General Zhuang Qiao was sent to lead troops up the Yangtze River, capturing the regions west of Ba and Qianzhong commanderies. Zhuang Qiao was a descendant of King Zhuang of Chu. He reached Dian Lake, which was three hundred li in circumference, with flatlands beside it, fertile and rich for several thousand li. Zhuang Qiao used the might of his army to pacify it and bring it under Chu's control. He wished to return and report, but at that time Qin attacked and seized Chu's Ba and Qianzhong commanderies, blocking the roads so he could not pass. Thus he turned back, relied on his followers to become king in Dian, changed his attire, conformed to local customs, and became the leader there. During the Qin dynasty, Chang An once opened a five-foot road and set up some officials in these states. After more than ten years, Qin fell. When the Han dynasty arose, it abandoned all these states and closed the old passes of Shu. Some people from Ba and Shu secretly went out to trade, exchanging for Zuo horses, Bo slaves, and maoniu cattle, thus making Ba and Shu wealthy.

In the sixth year of Jianyuan, the Grand Messenger Wang Hui attacked Dongyue, and the Dongyue people killed their king, Ying, to submit. Wang Hui took advantage of the military momentum to send the Magistrate of Poyang, Tang Meng, to tactfully inform Nanyue. The Nanyue people entertained Tang Meng with Shu's jujube sauce. Tang Meng asked where the sauce came from, and the Nanyue people replied, "It is transported from the Zangke River in the northwest. The Zangke River is several li wide and flows past Panyu city." Tang Meng returned to Chang'an and questioned Shu merchants. The merchants said, "Only Shu produces jujube sauce, and many people secretly take it out to sell to Yelang. Yelang borders the Zangke River, which is over a hundred paces wide and sufficient for boats. Nanyue uses wealth to make Yelang submit to them, reaching as far west as Tongshi, but they cannot command them like subjects." Tang Meng then submitted a memorial advising the emperor, saying, "The King of Nanyue rides in a yellow-canopied carriage and flies a left-pennoned banner, with territory over ten thousand li from east to west. In name, he is an outer minister of the court; in reality, he is the master of one region. Now, going from Changsha and Yuzhang, the waterways are mostly blocked and difficult to traverse. I have privately heard that Yelang's elite troops could provide over a hundred thousand men. If we sail down the Zangke River and take them by surprise, this is a clever plan to subdue Nanyue. Relying on Han's strength and Ba and Shu's wealth, opening a road to Yelang and setting up officials there would be easy." The emperor agreed. Thus he appointed Tang Meng as a Langzhong General, leading a thousand men, with over ten thousand men responsible for grain and supplies. They entered from the Zuo Pass of Ba and Shu, and then met the Yelang Marquis Duotong. Tang Meng bestowed generous gifts and enlightened him with authority and kindness, agreeing to set up officials for them and making Duotong's son the magistrate. The small towns near Yelang all coveted Han's silk and cloth, thinking that Han's roads were perilous and that Han could not ultimately possess them, so they temporarily followed Tang Meng's agreement. Tang Meng returned and reported, and then Yelang was established as Qianwei Commandery. Ba and Shu's soldiers were conscripted to build roads, from Bo Road to the Zangke River. The Shu man Sima Xiangru also advised that the western Yi's Qiong and Zuo could be made into commanderies. The emperor sent Sima Xiangru as a Langzhong General to enlighten them, and they were all treated like the southern Yi, establishing one Commandant and over ten counties, all under Shu Commandery.

At this time, Ba and Shu's four commanderies were building roads to the Southwestern Yi, with garrison troops transporting supplies. After several years, the roads were not completed, and the soldiers were exhausted, hungry, and many died from dampness. The Southwestern Yi also rebelled many times, requiring troops to attack, with enormous expense and no results. The emperor worried about this and sent Gongsun Hong to inspect and inquire. Gongsun Hong returned and reported that it was disadvantageous. By the time Gongsun Hong became the Imperial Secretary, the Shuofang city was being built, relying on the Yellow River to drive away the Xiongnu. Gongsun Hong then repeatedly advised that the Southwestern Yi caused harm and could be temporarily halted to focus on the Xiongnu. The emperor stopped the western Yi affairs, only setting up two counties in the southern Yi, Yelang, and one Commandant, allowing Qianwei Commandery to gradually sustain itself.

By the first year of Yuanshou, the Bowang Marquis Zhang Qian returned from a mission to Daxia and said that while in Daxia, he saw Shu cloth and Qiong bamboo staffs. He sent people to ask where they came from, and they replied, "From the Shendu kingdom in the southeast, about several thousand li away, purchased from Shu merchants." He also heard that about two thousand li west of Qiong was the Shendu kingdom. Zhang Qian then strongly advised that Daxia was southwest of Han and admired China, but feared the Xiongnu blocked their road. If they could truly open a road through Shu to Shendu, it would be convenient and beneficial. Thus the Son of Heaven ordered Wang Ranran, Bo Shichang, and Lü Yueren, among others, to secretly depart from the west of the western Yi to find the Shendu kingdom. They reached Dian, and the Dian King Changqiang kept them and sent out over ten groups of people westward to find the road. After more than a year, all were blocked by the Kunming kingdom and could not reach Shendu.

The Dian King asked the Han envoy, "Compared to Han, which of us is larger?" The Yelang Marquis also asked similarly. Because the roads were blocked, each considered themselves the master of one region and did not know the vastness of Han. The envoys returned and then strongly advised that Dian was a great state, worthy of being made to submit. The Son of Heaven took note of this.

When Nanyue rebelled, the emperor sent the Chi Yi Marquis, using Qianwei Commandery, to conscript the southern Yi troops. The Qielan Lord feared a long journey, and neighboring states would plunder his old and weak, so he and his followers rebelled, killing the envoy and the Qianwei Governor. Han then conscripted criminals from Ba and Shu and the eight colonels who had previously attacked Nanyue to break them. Coinciding with Nanyue already being broken, Han's eight colonels did not go south but returned with their troops, killing Toulan on the way. Toulan was the state that often blocked the road to Dian. After pacifying Toulan, they then pacified the southern Yi, establishing it as Zangke Commandery. The Yelang Marquis initially relied on Nanyue, but after Nanyue fell, coinciding with Han's army returning to kill the rebels, Yelang then came to court. The emperor enfeoffed him as the Yelang King.

After Nanyue was broken, and Han killed the Qielan Lord, the Qiong Lord, and also killed the Zuo Marquis, Yemang all trembled with fear and requested to become subjects and have officials set up. Thus Qiongdu was established as Yuesui Commandery, Zuodu as Shenli Commandery, Yemang as Wenshan Commandery, and Baima west of Guanghan as Wudu Commandery.

The emperor sent Wang Ranran, using the military might of breaking Yue and killing the southern Yi, to enlighten the Dian King to come to court. The Dian King's people numbered several tens of thousands, and to his northeast were Laoguang and Mimi, all of the same surname supporting each other, unwilling to obey. Laoguang and Mimi repeatedly invaded the Han envoys' officials and soldiers. In the second year of Yuanfeng, the Son of Heaven conscripted Ba and Shu's troops to attack and destroy Laoguang and Mimi, and then led troops to approach Dian. The Dian King had initially been on good terms with Han, so he was not killed. Dian King Li Nan, the Southwestern Yi, led the entire state to surrender, requested officials and to come to court. Thus this was established as Yizhou Commandery, and the Dian King was granted a king's seal, allowing him to continue ruling his people.

The lords of the Southwestern Yi numbered in the hundreds, but only Yelang and the Dian King received king's seals. Dian was a small city-state, yet it was most favored.

The Grand Historian says: Were the ancestors of Chu indeed blessed by Heaven? During the Zhou dynasty, they served as tutors to King Wen and were enfeoffed in the land of Chu. When the Zhou declined, the territory of Chu was said to extend five thousand li. When Qin annihilated the various feudal states, only among the descendants of Chu was there the King of Dian. When the Han dynasty attacked the Southwestern Yi, many states were destroyed, yet only Dian again became a favored king. However, the troubles of the Southern Yi began with the _ju_ sauce of Panyu, the bamboo staffs of Daxia, and the bamboo from Qiong. The Western Yi were later divided, split into two directions, and ultimately became seven commanderies.

Beyond the southwestern border, Zhuang Qiao first opened the way. The Han dynasty, through Daxia, thus appointed Tang Meng. Laoguang and Mimo had different customs. Yelang was the largest; Qiong and Zuo were the most powerful. When commanderies and counties were established, their merits were honored for ten thousand generations.