The Spread of Han Culture

Han Style Door Gods

The Middle Kingdom's enormous prestige, especially in times of strong dynastic empires, ensured a major cultural influence throughout the Periphery. Until Islam reached the far west there was no real competition. Dai, Zhuang, Qiang-dominated states in the Zhou Dynasty, both the non-Han competitors of the Warring States Period and the border kingdoms after China's unification, aped the institutions and symbolism of the Celestial Empire even when, as with Nanzhao, they stubbornly maintained their independence.

Though Nanzhao's religion was heavily Indian-influenced. no major cultural rival existed yet in the lands south of Nanzhao. The multi-ethnic state never developed a distinct cultural identity of its own. And the only way it could become a powerful state was to expand into the rich, productive lands of its rival China. This Nanzhao did periodically, into Sichuan and Guizhou, and even transferred great numbers of the conquered territory’s native population back to Nanzhao. But this furthered the advance of Sinificalion.

The conquest of Dali and the incorporation of Yunnan into the empire in the beginning, even under the Ming, really only affected those parts of the population long Sinicised or at any rate, in the west, long interacting with the Chinese state. Ming migrations into those parts of the province was heavy. But the Ailao and Wuliang Mountains still acted as a barrier to Han expansion. South of these mountains lay the tropics, with malaria-infested plains. And in the northwest,the only Han were soldiers charged with keeping the frontier safe from bandits, mostly Khamba Tibetans.

In the remote counties, where the imperial government had installed its tusis, the Han believed that once the tribal chiefs were won over to the Han way of doing things, they would promote their own people's assimilation. Besides patronising tribal leaders, the government tried to install Han-style education into the areas. But, viewing this as a cultural assault, many a tusi resisted. Opposition to assimilation was especially adamant in the northern Yi areas and among the Dai of the southwest, with their very different, equally sophisticated, South-east Asian heritage.

Elsewhere Han influence spread with the development of commerce. Han migrants opened businesses in every major town. Unused to business per se themselves, many tribals feared not the wrath of the Chinese military expedition so much as the craftiness of the Chinese trader. As time passed and the Han presence became familiar in most frontier areas this suspicion eased. The eventual spread of education and administrative control, and nowadays of television and cinema, caused greater assimilation. Only the most remote areas are still relatively free of the Han cultural impact.