Nong Zhigao

Nong Zhigao (modern Zhuang language: Nungz Ciqgaoh; Chinese: 儂智高; pinyin: Nóng Zhìgāo, Vietnamese: Nùng Trí Cao)[3] (1025–1055?) is a hero admired by the Nùng people of Vietnam, and Zhuang people of China. His father was the head of local Zhuang people in Vietnam.

Nong Zhigao 儂智高
Benevolent and Kind Emperor 仁惠皇帝
A portrait of Nong Zhigao, created in 1917
Chieftain of Nong (儂) clan
Reign	1041[1]
Predecessor	Nong Quanfu
Emperor of the Kingdom of the Great Succession
Reign	1042[2]
Emperor of the Kingdom of the Southern Heavens
Reign	1048[2]
Emperor of the Kingdom of the Great South
Reign	1052 – 1055[2]
Born	1025 Guangyuan 廣源 / 廣淵 (modern-day Cao Bang)
Died	unknown
Issue	Nong Jifeng (儂繼封) Nong Jiming (儂繼明)
Father	Nong Quanfu
Mother	A Nong
Religion	Shamanism, Animism

Summary

According to the History of Song: Guangyuan Zhou Man Zhuan (《宋史·廣源州蠻傳》), he followed his father, Nong Quanfu (儂全福), as the head of local Zhuang people in Quảng Uyên/Guangyuan (present-day Cao Bằng Province).

In 1042, at the age of 17, Zhigao declared independence and established a new state, Dali (大历, not to be confused with the concurrent Dali Kingdom (大理)).[4] For his efforts, Zhigao was captured by Vietnamese troops and held at Thang Long for several years.[4] After his release in 1048, Zhigao announced the founding of the Nantian (南天, "Southern Heavens") Kingdom.[4] Following his announcement, Vietnamese court launched an attack on Zhigao's stronghold, succeeding only in relocating Zhigao's force and his followers farther north into Song territory.[4] In 1052, Zhigao proclaimed the establishment of the Danan Kingdom (大南, "Great South") and declared himself the Renhui (仁惠, "Benevolent and Kind") Emperor.[2] He then took Nanning, swept through the southeast en route to Guangdong, besieged Guangzhou for 57 days.[5] After lifting the siege at Guangzhou, Nong Zhigao moved north, rapidly defeating a succession of Song forces due to his superior mobility.[6] Then the Zhuang turned south and west, retaking Yong (Nanning) in the 10th month of 1052, which had again fallen into Song hands.[6] At Yong, Nong Zhigao immediately began building boats, announcing his intention to attack Guangzhou again and found the state Nanyue there.[6] A succession of Song forces were sent against him, but he defeated them in the mountains around Yong.[6] The Song Emperor dispatched Di Qing, a career military official, to battle against Zhigao, and eventually managed to defeat Zhigao's army.[6] After that he and his people fled to Yunnan, Thailand and Laos.[7]

The defeat of Nong Zhigao may have ultimately been due to the failure of the Huang and Cen clans among the Zhuang to support him.[6] Both the Huang and Cen clans had lost territory to the Nong clan of Nong Zhigao, and was disturbed by the Nong intrusions.[6] One weakness of the Zhuang combined forces is their cavalry. The region was a horse-trading center and there were specialized mounted units in which both man and horse were heavily armored, but the mountainous terrain and many rivers restricted the utility of cavalry.[6]

Veneration

The modern-day veneration of Nong Zhigao and his father Nong Quanfu and his mother A Nong[8][9] in Cao Bằng province is closely tied to the shared regional identity of people from this region. Nong Zhigao remains a hero and a “man of prowess,” and worship includes practices that highlight the particular strengths of Nong Zhigao, including his willingness to face up to the aggression of both Song and Đai Viêt authorities and his ambition to unify and heighten the status of his region's people. From the historical record, one can also see that, by the late 19th century, annual festivals devoted to the spirit of Nong Zhigao were regionally important. It is equally apparent that the appeal of these festivals extended beyond clan or ethnic affiliations to the general populace that has often included communities on both sides of the modern political border. At Du-zhun village in Guangxi there was a Spirit Temple to him where lightning and thunder manifestations were still being recorded in the 18th century.[10]

In stark contrast to the wealth of evidence for worship activity in northern Viet Nam, there is little confirmation in the Chinese historical record of the existence of temple sites dedicated to Nong Zhigao in China. In fact, most relevant Chinese sources only describe stelae and temples that honor the names of the Song generals who crushed Nong Zhigao′s bid for independence. Only in the last few years has the issue of a public memorial to Nong Zhigao in China been addressed. On January 8, 1997 a local group of Nong Zhigao′s descendants and their supporters from the Guangxi township of Jingxi (靖西) and the tiny village of Xia Lei (下雷) took the initiative to revive interest in this rebel′s life and deeds. The vice-director of the Center for Zhuang studies in Nanning, Pan Qixu (潘其旭), had earlier been invited to Xia Lei to authenticate the discovery of the cave believed to be Nong Zhigao′s dwelling and storehouse at the time he founded his first kingdom. A modern stele was then erected on this site. A large group of provincial officials and leading academics from Guangxi reportedly attended the commemoration ceremony.

Controversy

This ceremony did generate some controversy. Funds for this stele had to be raised privately. Organizers of this event said that high-level political figures have avoided involvement in the project, voicing concerns over its “separatist” implications. Nevertheless, the goal of bringing Nong Zhigao back into the public eye was largely successful, as the long list of small donors to the stele installation suggested. A glance at the large donors list, however, reveals that 32 out of the 34 persons included had the surname Nong. This fact suggests that although distant Han officials fear that the memorial could be used to fan regional “Pan-Tai” sentiments, older clan associations may shape local identification with this site.

Local disputes aside, this recent Guangxi memorial and the continuing regional popularity of the temples in Viet Nam are signs that the region has recovered from the “dark days” of the 1980s when the Sino-Vietnamese border remained tense and frosty diplomatic relations curbed official crossborder activities. Communities that honor Nong Zhigao still span a region that contains many historical sites of bloody confrontation between Chinese and Vietnamese armies. However, these communities share a common thread of identity, preserved in part by a devotion to the figure of Nong Zhigao.[11][12]

See also

• History of the Song Dynasty

References

Citations

1. Anderson 2012, p. 88.
2. Anderson 2012, pp. 7-8.
3. K. W. Taylor (9 May 2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-0-521-87586-8.
4. Anderson 2012, p. 7.
5. Baker & Phongpaichit 2017, p. 26.
6. Barlow 2005a.
7. Chappell, Hilary (2001). Sinitic grammar: Synchronic and Diachronic. Oxford University Press. p. 397. ISBN 0-19-829977-X.
8. Barlow 2002.
9. Anderson 2012, pp. 104.
10. Barlow 2005b.
11. Anderson 2001.
12. Anderson 2012, p. 173.

Works cited

• Anderson, James A. (2012) [2007], The Rebel Den of Nung Tri Cao: loyalty and identity along the Sino-Vietnamese frontier, University of Washington Press, ISBN 978-0-295-80077-6.
• ——— (2001), "Monumental Pride: Sino-Vietnamese Cross-border Commemorations of Nùng Trí Cao" (PDF), Thai-Yunnan Project Bulletin no.1.
• Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2017), A History of Ayutthaya, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-107-19076-4.
• Barlow, Jeffrey G. (2002), "A Nong (c. 1005–1055)", in Commire, Anne (ed.), Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publications, ISBN 0-7876-4074-3.
• ——— (2005a), "The Tang-Song Interregnum", The Zhuang: A Longitudinal Study of Their History and Their Culture, Pacific University, archived from the original on 2007-02-08.
• ——— (2005b), "The Zhuang in the Song", The Zhuang: A Longitudinal Study of Their History and Their Culture, Pacific University, archived from the original on 2007-02-08.