The upper valleys of the Đà (Black River) and its tributaries north of Điện Biên: Phong Thổ, Mường Tè, Sìn Hồ, Tam Đường, Than Uyên.
Tai villages in the valleys, hill peoples on the slopes. Later tradition places the White Tai (Tai Khao) in this country and the Black Tai further down; we do not assign groups for 1200. The Tai Dam chronicle (Quam To Muong) and the Muong origin tales were written down centuries after 1200; we read them as a guide to the ground, not as dated evidence.
Who holds it
- Title
- Tai chao muong (valley lords) and their kin
- Confidence
- low
Tai chronicles and Vietnamese notices as reported second hand; board
Overlord
None that we can document.
Wealth
Wet rice, forest goods.
Places of note
- Lai Chau: Seat or best-known place
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Later tradition only.
On the map: A union of modern districts standing for the country; the real edge was not a line (a raiding belt or a day's walk of hills).
Primary sources for Tai and Muong of the north-west
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
- 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
Sources and studies
- OMNIA board notes for the Vietnam and Champa area (a lead, not a source)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.