Azhali (Chinese 阿吒力, from the Sanskrit acarya) is the esoteric Buddhism of Yunnan.
English Wikipedia says it has been present since the ninth century and that the last Nanzhao king made Buddhism the state religion; the Chinese Wikipedia (大理国) says Dali's Buddhism was esoteric, of the school it calls Ali, and that the king's feasts were wholly vegetarian. The priests teach, give rites and, on the later pattern (Bryson, recalled, NOT re-read), are often householders from the great Bai families who supply Dali with officials. English Wikipedia reports that in 1180 a monk named Miaoguan declared Zhixing an emerging Buddha who would save living beings, and that Zhixing also promoted Maitreya worship.
Who holds it
- Title
- The Azhali priests, led by monks such as Miaoguan
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- priestly lineages of the Bai families
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia names the monk Miaoguan in Zhixing's reign (1180); no head of the order is named.
What it holds
- The temples and rites of the capital and the Erhai valleys
- Teaching of officials; estates not known
How it was acquired
Present since the ninth century (English Wikipedia).
Allies and rivals
The Duan king and the Gao chancellors are patrons; the Bai great families supply priests.
How things stand that morning
In favour with a devout king; no event dated.
Wealth
Not itemised.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Two Wikipedia statements and one recalled monograph; nothing dated for 1200.
On the map: A point at the capital; the order has no land of its own that we can draw.
Primary sources for Dali
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Complete Annals of Dai Viet, Ngo Si Lien, drawing on Le Van Huu's Dai Viet su ky (1272) and Phan Phu Tien; continued by Pham Cong Tru and Le Hi (1479; printed 1697 in the standard Chinh Hoa edition). The main narrative source for Dai Viet in 1200, compiled in 1479 from Le Van Huu's lost history of 1272. Read online
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- The Unofficial History of Nanzhao, Yang Shen; revised by Hu Wei (16th century, revised 1775, from Dali and Yunnan traditions and lost local histories). The kingdom of Dali has no surviving text of 1200: its own records were destroyed in the Mongol conquest and after, and the Song shi's Dali entry ends in 1175. Read online
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Draft Compilation of the Collected Statutes of the Song, Various; the Song huiyao were compiled by the Song state, the surviving draft reassembled by Xu Song from the Yongle dadian in the nineteenth century (the original Song compilations date from the eleventh to the thirteenth century; the surviving extracts were recovered in 1809 to 1820 and printed in 1936). Dated extracts from the Song government's own statute collections, arranged by office. Read online
- Notes in Answer to Questions about the Lands beyond the Passes, Zhou Qufei (周去非) (1178, after service in Guangxi). A Guangxi official's notes, written twenty years before 1200, on the south-western frontier of the Song and the countries beyond. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Dali Kingdom (read this session)
- Chinese Wikipedia, 大理国 (read this session: the eight fu, four jun, four zhen and thirty-seven bu; it cites Yang Shen's Dian zai ji, Wang Song's Yunnan beizhengzhi, Ni Lu's Nanzhao yeshi, the Baigu tongji qianshu)
- Megan Bryson, Goddess on the Frontier (Stanford UP, 2016) and her articles on Baijie, the Bai and the Dali kingdom (2013, 2019): recalled, NOT re-read
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.