Nong Zhigao rebellions
The Nong Zhigao rebellions were three uprisings in 1042, 1048, and 1052 led by the Zhuang/Tai Nùng leader Nong Zhigao (Zhuang language: Nungz Ciqgaoh; Chinese: 儂智高; pinyin: Nóng Zhìgāo, Vietnamese: Nùng Trí Cao) against the Viet kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt (968–1054) and the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China.
Defeated in 1042 and 1048 by Đại Cồ Việt, Zhigao fled to Song territory where he tried to set up an independent kingdom by taking Guangzhou.
[4] In the early 11th century, ethnic identities and boundaries of rule were far more fluid than they are today in the frontier region lying along what is now the Sino-Vietnamese border.
The Zhuang were considered warlike, feared for their poison coated weapons and armored elephants,[6][5] and the dominant Huang clan rebelled against Tang authority from 756 to 824.
By the early Song, they ruled over an area known as Temo, which stretched from modern Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the west to Jingxi, Guangxi in the east and Guangyuanzhou (Quảng Nguyên, now Cao Bằng province[11]) in the south.
[12] Emperor Taizong of Song (r. 976–997) bestowed special favors on Nong leadership, acknowledging that they had succeeded the Huang in the Zuo River region.
It is not known when he was born, but a memorial in early 977 states that the "peaceful and generous" leader Nong Minfu of Guangyuanzhou had established himself over ten neighboring villages with the support of Southern Han (907–971).
[13] The Song bestowed the titles "minister of works" (sigong) and "grand master of splendid happiness bearing the golden pocket with purple trimming" (jinzi guanglu daifu) on Minfu.
These titles were passed onto Minfu's son, Nong Quanfu (Zhuang: Nungz Cienzfuk, Vietnamese: Nùng Tồn Phúc).
[16] In 1035, Quanfu declared the founding of the Kingdom of Longevity (Changsheng Guo 長生國) and took for himself the exalted title "Luminous and Sage Emperor" (Zhaosheng Huangdi 昭聖皇帝) while A Nong became the "Enlightened and Virtuous Empress" (Mingde Huanghou 明德皇后).
The local prefect of Tianzhou requested assistance from Yongzhou to deal with the rebellion, but officials there appear to have feared involvement and refused to offer aid.
He was held prisoner for a year before he was released with an honorary title and given control of Guangyuan, Leihuo, Ping'an, Pinpo, and Silang in return for a share of their natural resources, particularly gold.
[23] In 1048, Zhigao declared another state, the Kingdom of the Southern Heavens (Nantian Guo), and took a reign title, "Auspicious Circumstances" (Jingrui).
[26] Nong Zhigao approached the Song at Yongzhou for assistance but was denied an audience until he staged a military demonstration beneath the walls.
In 1052, Zhigao proclaimed the establishment of the Kingdom of the Great South (Danan Guo) and granted himself the title of Benevolent and Kind Emperor (Renhui Huangdi).
He gathered 31,000 men and 32 generals, including Fanluo tribal cavalry from the northwest that "were able to ascend and descend mountains as though walking on level ground.
The Song infantry hacked at the Zhuang shields with heavy swords and axes while the Fanluo cavalry attacked their wings, breaking their ranks.
When Zhigao and his fellow rebel chieftains fled, they were replaced by Song-allied clans, primarily the Huang and Cen who were given hereditary posts.
Wang Anshi would comment in an essay on the administration of the Yong frontier command that the aboriginal communities of the Left and Right rivers should be relied upon for the security of both Guangxi and Guangdong.
There is more evidence of the celebration of Nong Zhigao in Cao Bằng than in Guangxi, especially prior to the modern era, after which the local leader was inserted into nationalist histories as though he were a citizen of China or Vietnam.
In the early 1980s, Huang Xianfan's Nong Zhigao portrayed him as a Chinese leader at the center of a rich local history.
The orthodox Dangdai Zhongguode Guangxi portrays Nong Zhigao as a Zhuang who rose up to protect Chinese borders from Vietnamese aggression.
These Tai-speaking communities lived in the mountainous areas of Việt Bắc and most of their interaction with Viets was through the Các Lái, Kinh (Vietnamese) merchants who had obtained government licenses for trade in the uplands in return for tribute to the court.
After the Lam Sơn uprising which ended the Ming occupation, the Viet ruler Lê Lợi consolidated support from border communities by acknowledging a variety of local deities.
[46] The French colonizers of the Tonkin Protectorate saw the Nùng as potential converts to the colonial order and portrayed them as oppressed minorities who had suffered under Chinese and Viet rule.
According to a 1908 military dispatch by Commandant LeBlond, they had been "subjugated and held ransom during many long centuries, sometimes by the one, sometimes by the other, the [Nùng] race has become flexible and is frequently able to ascertain the stronger [neighbor], to which it would turn instinctively.
[49] During the Vietnam War, Nùng villages in the Việt Bắc region received very little damage and avoided the devastation of upland communities in the Central Highlands.
Although the Democratic Republic of Vietnam supervised state-sponsored migration to upland areas, the north did not experience a massive influx of Kinh Viets, so the ethnic balance around the Nùng Trí Cao temples remained fairly consistent.
Although a romanized script has been created for the Nùng language, worshipers of the temple prefer Chinese, similar to the Zhuang in China, and sometimes Vietnamese.
References to "King Nùng" who had "raised high the banner proclaiming independence" have been replaced with floral patterns and pictures of horses, generic symbols associated with local heroes.
