Lord of Chiang Rung

Who he is

Title

Zhao Pianling (lord of the land) of Chiang Rung

Since

The line is dated from Dai year 542 (1180)

Born

not known

Family

Phaya Chen (Pa Zhen), founder, died 1192 in the Chinese Wikipedia; second lord Sang Kai Leng (fourth son); third Dao Ai Gong (eldest son of Sang Kai Leng). Regnal years for the second and third are not in the pages we could read.

Confidence

low

Chinese Wikipedia (Zhao Pianling, Pa Zhen), which cite the Le Shi.

Overlord

Dali (nominal, by the campaign board and by Dai tradition); not shown by a dated document

What it holds

• Chiang Rung and the Jinghong basin
• Overlordship of Muang Hai, Muang La and the other basin muang
• River tolls on the Lancang and dues from the hill villages

How it was acquired

By the founder's unification, 1180 in the chronicle.

Allies and rivals

Dali to the north (tribute or independence: disputed); Ngoenyang and Kengtung to the west; the Lao muang of the Nam Ou to the south-east.

How things stand that morning

A lord of the founder's line, not named; the muang is twenty years old by the chronicle.

Wealth

Rice, tea, tolls.

Military

The founder's sons are posted to the muang in the tradition; no numbers.

Threats

• Dali pressing or weak
• Hill raiding

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1296The Yuan set up the Cheli superintendency; the lord submits.Depends on: Mongol arms on the Lancang. Stopped by: A rival power in the south.

Places of note

• Chiang Rung: the lord's seat

Where the sources disagree

• See the realm record: the founder's dates differ by tradition.

Evidence: The Le Shi (Ming compilation) via the Chinese Wikipedia.

On the map: Seeds round the seat.

Primary sources for Chiang Rung

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 later Tai, Lao and Mon chronicles of the north, Ratanapanna (Jinakalamali); Bodhiramsi (Chamadevivamsa); anonymous monks and court scribes (the Chamadevivamsa about 1410; the Jinakalamali 1516 to 1528; the Chiang Mai Chronicle in its surviving form 1827; the Nithan Khun Borom 16th to 17th century). There is no text of 1200 for the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, the Tai muang of Ngoenyang (Chiang Saen), Chiang Rung, the Yom and Nan valleys, or the Lao middle Mekong.