The largest of the four great Muong, Mường Bi, is a bowl of terraced rice under a hereditary lord with his own law and drums, sixty miles from Thang Long and not governed from there (board).
Later Muong tradition names four great muong: Bi, Vang, Thang and Dong. That tradition is of the nineteenth century and later; for 1200 it is inference only.
Who he is
- Title
- Hereditary Muong lords (lang) of the four great muong
- Confidence
- low
Later Muong tradition, read backwards; board notes
What it holds
- Rice bowls, the Da river rafting head at Chợ Bờ, timber and cinnamon
- Forest goods sent downriver to the Red
Threats
- A Ly effort to rule them (unlikely)
Places of note
- Muong Bi: Seat of the largest Muong
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No source before the later tradition.
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.