[Faction Discussion] Kingdom of Dali

[Augustus Lucifer]

Kingdom of Dali

This thread can be used for team members to discuss the Kingdom of Dali faction. Research, ideas, and imagery to use in our development of the faction are appreciated.

[Augustus Lucifer]

From the other dev forum:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

VS Song

http://v.youku.com/v_playlist/f1263020o1p35.html


VS Liao
http://v.youku.com/v_playlist/f1263020o1p37.html

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～·

ALL TV setions

http://www.youku.com/playlist_show/id_1263020.html

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQxMTE2NTI=.html (Xi Xia vs Uyghur Khaganate)

In the 11th century, a new threat for the Uyghur, the Tangut (黨項) a Ch`iangic (羌)-Tibet daring nomad tribe, gained its power in the confusion of the fall of the Tang Dynasty. The Tangut became independent from the Sung Dynasty (宋)that reunited China after the Tang, and established the xi xia in 1002. The new power, the Tangut Empire defeated the Kanshachou Uyghur in 1026.

Dali Clan in Central Government

大理（938-1253）

Dali start at 937年，1094 Prime Minister clan Gao Shengtai高升泰chenges states name to 大中（Dazhong），1096 Duan Zhengchun段正淳chenges back to Dali。

理（938-1094）

Kings of Dali

太祖神圣文武帝（段思平） 文德 （7） 戊戌 938

神武 （1） 甲辰 944

文经帝（~思英） 文经 （1） 乙巳 945

文成帝（~思良） 至治 （6） 丙午 946

广兹帝（~思聪） 明德 （2） 壬子 952

广德（14） 甲寅 954

顺（圣）德（1） 戊辰 968

应道帝（~素顺） 明政（17） 己巳 969

昭明帝（~素英） 广明（11） 丙戌 986

明治 （8） 丁酉 997

明统 （1） 乙巳 1005

明圣 （1） 乙巳 1005

明德 （1） 乙巳 1005

明应 （5） 乙巳 1005

宣肃帝（~素廉） 明启（13） 庚戌 1010

秉义帝（~素隆） 明通 （4） 癸亥 1023

圣德帝（~素真） 正治（15） 丁卯 1027

天明帝（~素兴） 圣明 （1） 壬午 1042

天明 （2） 壬午 1042

兴宗孝德帝（~思廉） 保安 （8） 乙酉 1045

正安 （4） 癸巳 1053

正德 - 1057

保德 - 1074

明侯 （2） - 1074

上德帝（~廉义） 上德 （1） 丙辰 1076

广安 （4） 丁巳 1077

上明帝（段寿辉） 上明 （1） 辛酉 1081

保定帝（~正明） 保立 壬戌 1082

建安 - -

天佑 （3） - 1091

大中（1095-1096）

富有圣德表正帝（高升泰）（大中国主） 上治 （1） 乙亥 1095

后理（1096-1253）

中宗文安帝（段正淳） 天授 （1） 丙子 1096

开明 （6） 丁丑 1097

天政 （2） 癸未 1103

文安 （3） 乙酉 1105

宪宗宣仁帝（~正严，本名誉，又名和誉） 日新 （2） 戊子 1108

文治（12） 庚寅 1110

永嘉 （7） 壬寅 1122

保天 （8） 己酉 1129

广应（10） 丁巳 1137

景宗正康帝（~正兴，又名易长） 永贞 （1） 壬辰 1148

大宝 （7） 己巳 1149

龙兴（17） 丙子 1155

盛明 （1） 辛卯 1171

建德 （1） 辛卯 1171

宣宗功极帝（~智兴） 利贞 （4） 壬辰 1172

盛德 （5） 丙申 1176

嘉会 （4） 辛丑 1181

元亨（13） 乙巳 1185

安定 （3） 戊午 1198

英宗亨天帝（~智廉） 安定 （1） 庚申 1200

凤历 辛酉 1201

元寿 - -

神宗（~智祥） 天开（21） 乙丑 1205

天辅 （1） 丙戌 1226

仁寿 （3） 丙戌 1226

孝义帝（~祥兴） 道隆（22） 乙亥 1239

天定贤王（~兴智） 道隆 （1） 辛亥 1251

天定 （3） 壬子 1252

（注：此年表与流行年表稍有不同）


Royal Prime Minister （1257-1387）

天定贤王（段兴智） （3） 1257

段实（又名信苴日） （21） 1261

段忠 （1） 1283

段庆（又名阿庆） （22） 1284

段正 （9） 1307

段隆 （13） 1317

段俊 （1） 1331

段义 （1） 1332

段光 （11） 1333

段功 （20） 1345

段宝 （15） 1365

段明 （1） 1381

段世 （5） 1382


Prime Minister Gao clan

大理相国（1096——1253）

高国主（高泰明） （20） 1096

高泰运 （3） 1116

中国公（~明顺） 1119

高顺贞

中国公（~量成） （9） 1141

高贞寿 1150

中国布燮（~寿昌）

高观音隆 兴政

明国公（~贞明） （2） 1174

高观音妙 1176

高观音政

高阿育

高逾城隆

高泰祥 （16） 1237

Famous Buildings in Dali



Chongsheng Temple
（崇圣寺）


MOD at the beginning (1171) for the king is Duan zhixing（段智兴） ，the successor is the king‘s two son, Duan Zhilian 段智廉， Duan Zhixiang段智祥。

The King of Dali Duan zhixing built this temple for his religiouship ～Their sons commemorated their father,so gave a order，the temple's monks can take the exam to become eligible for Dali’s civilian officials，call “ Master monk”.
大理国儒、释并用，该庙宇佛家僧人参加科举考试做官的，称为"师僧" 。( u: \:

Xishuangbanna西双版纳 傣家灵塔 Dai‘s Tower





Dali Guanyin Buddha （阿嵯耶观音）

This Buddha building modelled on the preservation of Dali ，the real one built in Nanzhao Era.（10th century）








Qióngzhu Temple in Kunming City in Yunnan Province west-northwest of the mountain, about 10 km from the urban area. On the construction of the Qiongzhu Si, one that was built in Tang Zhenguan years (627-649), another that was built in the early Yuan Dynasty. Qiongzhu Si triple the existing compound, built on the mountain. Followed by a gate, the Main Hall and Kegon Club. The statue on the distribution of 500 arhats in the Main Hall Liangbi on both sides of the Basilica and Fine reiterated her Club and Club days, hundreds of individuals of the statue was odd posture, delicate, simple, vivid, full of changes, different character, the image of realism, a A lifelike, Hainei the clay sculpture is well-known artistic treasures, it is the division of plastic Lebanon-repair, he Sichuan Baoguang Si End 500 arhats like plastic, to Kunming, presiding over this huge project, the outstanding performance of artistic creation can be interesting That in the 500 arhats in the Qiongzhu Si, in "Jesus Lohan." It reflects the end of the 19th century leaves, Western missionaries have spread the Christian areas in Yunnan. National priorities for the Buddhist temple.



Lijiang Old Castle









Dali historical and cultural cities at the same time-wearing national scenic spot in Dali double crown. Dali main scenic area of Cangshan, Erhai Lake, and the Dali Bai style, Weishan historical and cultural city.

Dali in the Cangshan between the Erhai Lake dam area, the West rely upon the word of the bar Cangshan, East Bin Bibo Dangyang of Erhai Lake, the "water around the Cangshan, Cangshan adopt the ancient city," the show-and-hung, and Goju The landscape pattern of economic environment, and add luster to the ancient city of Zenghui. If the bar screen Cangshan, magnificent; pearl-like lake, clear as a mirror, plus the dam area of the Pastoral idyllic scenery, the beautiful pose a magnificent plateau landscape, covered by rivers and mountains between the rich historical and cultural monuments And the National Customs, Lingqi more charming and attractive.


In short, Dali numerous historical and cultural sites, notable characteristics, Cang Zuoer touching beautiful scenery, rich Qi Li Bai style, coupled with the Dali and the new district is undocked from the development and interrelated, making both Gufeng Dali still exist, but also Comprehensive sustainable development, Cang er in the embrace of nature, to always maintain youth and vigor, become the shining a bright pearl!

Dali is a plateau of the monsoon climate, there was no obvious winter heat, the Four Seasons safe travel. But at the turn of summer and autumn temperature dropped quickly after the rain, the local "into a rainy autumn", so then to the Dali tourism best bring a few tourists Qiu Yi, to prevent cold.

Dali, Guanming. Zhang Xing Yu. When Qi set up Spring and Autumn. "Said Lu Chun Gong not": "pipe-in Huangong said; prison must compromise, not kill Koo, Wu innocence, Hill Chapter string if not, please buy that Dali." Han Jing Di Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Ai, the East Han Xiandi when Ting Yu will have renamed Dali, was the beginning of the Southern Dynasties Leung said Dali, known as the Northern Qi Dynasty Dali Si-qing, along successive said.

[RollingWave]

There really isn't a whole lot to go on with Dali, I even went through Taiwan's national archieve (which is also pretty up to date on the mainland works, my main Xi-Xia reference are all mainland works) I found one very tiny book that talked on the topic and that tiny book spent more time talking about it's predecessor Nan Zhao than it did about Dali. (there are however a boatload of works talking about it's literature and works of art)

suffice to say, Dali didn't amount to much militarily, it was a shadow of the once might kingdom of Nan Zhao which plagued the Tang dynasty. the area is very isolated from it's neighbors. so there wasn't a whole of efforts by it's neighbors to attack it (only Pagan did once and it was more of a mass raid than a intended conquest) or for Dali to attack it's neighbors.

I will scan in the book in a few days. it basically says that Dali had a very limited military but had exquist armor / weapons and was the main provider of horses to the Song dynasty. however it maintained a very limited military and never had much intention of expanding out of the safe confines of Yunan. When the Song was on it's way reunited China and took back Shi-Quan, the generals asked for Zhao Quan Yin to attack into Dali, but he rumoredly put a axe accross the Dali border and said "the land beyond does not belong to me" , at that time they havn't finished off the South eastern kingdom yet and after that the North became a bigger problem. so that was left the way it is. The Dali Kings were in a semi state of tributory to the Song but it seems that they only paid an offical tribute ONCE in the entire existence of the Song. Still, the two sides were on relatively friendly terms.

Some things we can tell .

1. Dali's predecessor Nan Zhao focused on training horse archers, and it was noted that Dali supplied plenty of horses to the Song.

2. Many troops from Dali go barefooted.

3. it's armors were exquist and often even exotic, incorperating rhino and elephant hides into Song style lamellar armor.

4. it's swords and polearms were well reputed for it's workmanship, but apparently more because of the fact that they were made for artistic purpose than practical (i.e they didn't have to arm a nation for war so they have the lesuire to produce pretty weapons instead of as many as you can in a limited time, which is the same logic on why the Katanas of the 1750s were better than the Katanas of the 1550s)

[Yelü Dashi]

hmmm, sometimes I randomly check the AUH threads over the ali213.net and clanlong, to see what our mainland Chinese fans/critics have to say. I often wonder if there isn't decent stuff hidden there.

RW, any chance you could have a quick survery of the any threads which might useful / translate it for us ?

was only reminded of this as there was something on the dali which may or may not be useful. my reading chinese is worse than 3 year old kid from inner mongolia....

大理军队分为常备军、乡兵与夷卒三种。常备军数量不大，但战 斗力很强，其精兵称「罗苴子」。乡兵是大理军事力量的基础，战时临时从各村邑抽调。村邑成员平时为民，战时为兵。夷卒是少数民族武装，也属临时性质，战时 方从少数民族地区征调。夷卒骁勇善战，常与「罗苴子」并为前驱。大理主管军事事务的高级官员称大军将，属于一种荣誉职务，节度使、都督、清平官、曹长均可 领有。其下则有演习、演览、缮裔、缮览、澹酋、澹览、幕伪、幕览等职。

罗苴子是大理常备军中的精兵，又称「四军苴子」。罗苴子从乡兵中择优选拔，需要经过五次严格的测试。其军装备划一，勇猛善战，走险如飞。大理每次战斗，均 以罗苴子充任先锋。负排是国王和诸镇大军将的亲兵，从罗苴子中选拔出来，穿韦衫裤，腰系「佉苴」（韦带），又名「朱弩佉苴」

http://game.ali213.net/viewthread.ph...=2#pid21835358

[RollingWave]

yes, this is very helpful indeed. it matches with what i find but gives a name for it's unit.

basically, the Dali forces can be divided into standing army , milita, tribal forces. the standing army is basically the imperial guards. only stationed at the major cities, it's a professional force called 羅苴子 Lo-Ju Zhi. (mostly heavy infantry, maybe some cavalry type) , it's milita forces only mobilize in war time (which is like.. never) . and the fierce mountain tribesman are pretty decent soliders.

[RollingWave]

I got these during my xi-xia research as well. they were useful in some respect as text source but it would seem like we need some serious guess work on the Dali military.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Essentially, the Dali troops consist of

1.Imperial army : which is the only real permanent standing army they had, some of it's soldiers were called Lo Ju Zhi, they have good equipment, but not particularly numerous.

2.Milita : mobilized in an emergency, but considering that in it's entire existence it faced 1 major raid from Pagan before the Mongols arrived, it pretty much meant the militas were never mobilized.

3.Tribal troops: fierce tribesman from the Yunnan mountains. not particularly disciplined or well armed, but hardy folks that's good at fighting in their native terrains.

Considering that Dali never really attacked anyone and very few factions even attempted to attack it. it is understandable that it didn't have much of a military and simply relied on the terrains as defense. I guess that means we give them a blend milita roster., some solid Heavy infantries for their imperial army, and a nice array of light troops for their tribal units (ZOR units too, since some of them helping the Mongols was the main reason Dali eventually fell)

Also gathered from this is their city set up. they have 5 major cities. they were.

Da Li: 大理 the capital. also called 哈刺章 (Ha Chi Zhang) modern day Da Li city in Yunnan

Shan Chan : 善闡, almost as large as Da Li, modern day Kun Ming city (capital of modern day Yunnan province, largest city in the area) the native called it 押赤 (Ya Chi)


Yon Chan : 永昌, the ancient city around the western edges of Yunnan, native called it 金齒 (Jin Chi)


Li Jian : 麗江, the famous tourist site today of a well preserved city since the Yuan dynasty (the old settlement was burned to the ground by the Mongols but since have been kept in it's orignal form) the natives called it 察罕章 (Cha Han Zhang)


An Ning : 安寧, a city not too far west from Shan Chan, probably the smallest of the 5. the native called it 赤禿哥几 (Chi Tu Ke Ji)

If you think that 5 is too many , I guess An Ning would be the first to go obviously, Dali and Shan Chan are a must, Yon Chan and Li Jian depends on you. I am not exactly sure where An Ning is actually, since the world in simplified chinese is quiet difficult to read, and more importantly I can't find any similar cities on the modern map, so I think 4 cities would probably make the most sense. here is is from Google map i circled them out in red.

[mirratord]

Essentially, the Dali troops consist of

1.Imperial army : which is the only real permanent standing army they had, some of it's soldiers were called Lo Ju Zhi, they have good equipment, but not particularly numerous.

2.Milita : mobilized in an emergency, but considering that in it's entire existence it faced 1 major raid from Pagan before the Mongols arrived, it pretty much meant the militas were never mobilized.

3.Tribal troops: fierce tribesman from the Yunnan mountains. not particularly disciplined or well armed, but hardy folks that's good at fighting in their native terrains.

Considering that Dali never really attacked anyone and very few factions even attempted to attack it. it is understandable that it didn't have much of a military and simply relied on the terrains as defense. I guess that means we give them a blend milita roster., some solid Heavy infantries for their imperial army, and a nice array of light troops for their tribal units (ZOR units too, since some of them helping the Mongols was the main reason Dali eventually fell)

good god, I tried to find some pictures for the tribal warriors and now this question must be asked...

Who wants to help me sift through 25 minorities?

why does it seem like I'm the only one going after Dali? PLEASE I NEED HELP!

[RollingWave]

good god, I tried to find some pictures for the tribal warriors and now this question must be asked...

Who wants to help me sift through 25 minorities?

why does it seem like I'm the only one going after Dali? PLEASE I NEED HELP!

We have to just do a general representation here, so you look at the few most prominent group. a lot can change over a whole thousand year though.

Still, we know for a fact that the minority composition of the area hasn't changed very significantly since then, so the key groups you should still look at is the Bai people, the Yi people, the Miao (which is really the largest non-han group in China proper , so they could be used elsewhere too) and maybe the 壯族 as well.

I'm looking around, but I find it annoying that nowadays you can only find the girls dress. I find this the new sexist against men! (also most of the mainland sites just provide descriptions... that's sooooo helpful when we're talking about clothes uh-huh )

here's a example of a Bai male clothing I guess



example of Miao

[Yelü Dashi]

We've already placed Dali's settlements.

Kingdom of Dali

Jian Chan (Capital)
Mou Tong
Dong Chuan
Shi Cheng
Lan Na
Dali
Wei Chu
Teng Chong
Yong Chang
Jing Long
Zui Ning

Lijiang is not included as it was founded during the Yuan and wasn't really siginificant before this period.

[mirratord]

http://www.dali.gov.cn/DefaultStyle/...x?PageId=81594
yay?
letsee here, it says Dali is
-Buddhist
-imitative of Han Chinese
-influenced by India?
i dunno how useful that site is gonna be but it has some information on Dali history, culture and some pictures of architecture...
http://www.triposo.com/cn-dali
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_tr...tent_33724.htm
the last site says City of Dali had 3 Pagodas built and it says that the inscriptions date from about the time of the conquering of Dali by the Mongols so it definitely fits in with the timeline of this mod. It also says its a city of streams? Is there a way to build that in with the M2TW engine or no?

[mirratord]

no i want to check out all 25 minorities because of your troop tree tier thing

this is actually important if you want to do an accurate representation of tribal aux.

[RollingWave]

then start looking, if you have trouble I guess I can do another research on the minority groups of China in a few weeks (when the new year period starts)

[Kara Qalem]

There really isn't a whole lot to go on with Dali, I even went through Taiwan's national archieve (which is also pretty up to date on the mainland works, my main Xi-Xia reference are all mainland works) I found one very tiny book

Same problem here in London, I searched Dali on the British Library Catalog, it had about 500 hits, none were about the Kingdom of Dali. Searching Nanzhao brought up 1 hit on Buddhist art in the region....in German. There does seem to be a lack of academic literature or worse interest in the Kingdom of Dali.

However I did stumble across this museum on the web http://www.dlzbwg.cn/En/Photo_48.htm which might provide a decent amount of info if anyone has the opportunity to visit. i would love to myself but I'm currently stuck in Britain for the time being.

[Yelü Dashi]

I have been there ! Not much in the way of useable info. the odd weapon and reproduction painting etc - but it reminds that I should upload my photos from my whole Yunnan trip, there may be a few morsels in there for inspiration.

[mirratord]

hmm, a possibility for Dali infantry would be the Yi minority
i saw a few pictures on the internet of some interesting Yi armor but there are actually 2 problems

1) looks a bit like tibetan armor
2) the pictures are behind the great chinese firewall

edit:

Leather Armor of the Yi minority
Yi minority males greatly worship leather armor, believing the armor will protect their entire family. The Yi people’s martial spirit is reflected in their worship of leather armor.

Leathern Armor of the Yi minority

The armor is generally made of cow leather and painted with a dragon figure and cloud edgings. Black, red and yellow are frequently used in Yi minority art and craftwork as the black stands for dignity, red for gallantry and yellow for brightness in their culture.

anyone know any good concept artists?

[RollingWave]

Well part of the lack of knowledge seem to have to do with three things.

1. Mongols destroying a lot of their relics / archives .

2. It is technically a Chinese dynasty so the SE Asian countries don't care much for it, but it is also not the main Chinese dynasty of the time so the traditional historians didn't not keep a whole lot of records on them.

3. the Yunan area is far more humid than say.. the Xi-Xia area. which means relics are far less likely to survive 1000 years.

[mirratord]

from kara qalem

Anyway I'll tell you want I remember.

1- The Jingpo and the Achang were the same people in the 12th century and were positioned in the north of the Dali Kingdom at the time. They were vassals to the Dali according to Song documents. They didn't know how to smelt iron until the 15th century but the jingpo even today rely heavily on trade to get their knives and stuff. So i'm guessing thy either would have used the weapons of surronding cultures or maybe made weapons out of stone, wood or bone or even bamboo. I can't be fully sure.
2- The Bulang had unbridled horseman and barefooted archers according to the Ming. Yes that was 15th century but I don't think it would have changed that much from the 12th century.

heh, i dont have much aside from what ive already posted
midterms yanno

[mirratord]

you know, you can find a lot of things if you look hard enough




oh babyyyyy

edit:forgot to tell you guys it is Yi leather armor, great for a militia type unit no?

edit 2: MOARRRR


ok maybe a bit stereotypical, but the hani seems like a great fit for tribal aux
http://www.chinahighlights.com/trave...ality/hani.htm

http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ind...ngdom-of-dali/

List of Dali Kings

1. Duan Siping (893-944)
Chieftain of the Bai tribe in Yunnan, formed a federation of 37 tribes and revolted against the corrupt government. Duan Siping then established the Kingdom of Dali in the year 937, with Dali City as its capitol. Siping was a loyal follower of the Buddhist faith and erected many Buddhist temples during his 8-year reign. After his death Siping was known as the Great Ancestor Holy Martial Civil Emperor.

2. Duan Siying
Son of Siping. Succeeded his father in 944, but in the same year his throne was usurped by his uncle Duan Siliang. Siying was then forced to become a Buddhist monk (Other sources claim that Siying died shortly after becoming king and was succeeded by his uncle). Siying was known as Emperor Wenjing.

3. Duan Siliang (? - 951)
Brother of Siping, uncle of Siying. Usupred his nephew's throne and forced Siying to become a monk. Siliang was titled Holy Compassionate Emperor.

4. Duan Sicong (? - 968)
Son of Siliang. Titled Emperor Guangci.

5. Duan Sushun (? - 985)
Son of Sicong. Emperor Yingdao.

6. Duan Suying (? - 1009)
Son of Sushun. Succeeded his father in 986. Was bestowed the title Loyal King by Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song dynasty. Suying was known as Emperor Shaoming.

7. Duan Sulian (? - 1022)
Son of Suying. Attacked Vietnam in the year 1014 but was defeated. He gained the title of Emperor Jingming. After his death he was succeeded by his nephew, Duan Sulong.

8. Duan Sulong (? - 1041)
Grandson of Suying, nephew of Sulian. Because Sulian's son had already died and his grandson Suzhen was too young, Sulong succeeded the throne in 1022. In 1026, Sulong abdicated the throne in favour of his nephew, heir-apparent Duan Suzhen, and became a monk. He died in 1041 and was titled Emperor Jianyi.

9. Duan Suzhen (? - 1039)
Grandson of Sulian, nephew of Sulong. Succeeded his uncle in the year 1026 and died in 1039 (some sources say that he became a monk in 1041). Emperor Shengde.

10. Duan Suxing (? - 1044?)
Grandson of Suzhen. Succeeded his grandfather because his father had already deceased. Suxing built many palaces and enjoyed luxury, wealth and women. The Dali citizens were unhappy with their king and dethroned Suxing, giving the throne to Prince Duan Silian. Suxing was known as Emperor Tianming.

11. Duan Silian
Great-great grandson of Duan Siping (Great Ancestor). Became King in 1044, due to an uprising of the Dali citizens in which Duan Suxing was dethroned. During his reign, Silian relied heavily on his advisor, Marquis Gao Shengtai. Since then, the power of the Imperial Duan family slowly moved into the hands of the Gao clan. Silian abdicated in 1075 in favour of his son Duan Lianyi in order to become a Buddhist monk. Silian was known as Emperor Xiaode.

12. Duan Lianyi (? - 1080)
Son of Silian. Succeeded his father as King of Dali in 1075, but was killed by minister Yang Yizhen in 1080. Duan Lianyi was known as Emperor Shangde.

NOTE: In JinYong Novels TLBB, Duan Lianyi is the father of Duan Yanqing (Leader of the Four Villains).

13. Duan Shouhui
Nephew of Lianyi. When his uncle was murdered by Yang Yizhen who tried to usurp the throne, the Gao Family attacked Yang and killed him. The head of the Gao Family, Gao Zhisheng, then supported Duan Shouhui to become king in 1080. Shouhui was only a puppet-king, for all the real power lies in the hands of Gao Zhisheng. In the same year, he abdicated in favour of his cousin Duan Zhengming. Shouhui himself became a monk at the Celestial Dragon Temple.

14. Duan Zhengming
Grandson of Duan Silian. Like his cousin Duan Shouhui, Duan Zhengming was a puppet-king who had to listen to Gao Zhisheng. In 1094, he was forced by Gao to become a Buddhist monk. Gao Zhisheng then became king himself. This was the end of the First Dali Duan Dynasty. Zhengming was known as Emperor Baoding.

NOTE: another character that being used in Jin Yong novels TLBB, he is the same Emperor Baoding in TLBB.

15. Duan Zhengchun
Younger brother of Zhengming. After a 2-year reign, Gao Zhisheng told his sons at his deathbed that they should return the throne to the Duan family. So in 1096 after Gao Zhisheng's death, Duan Zhengchun was crowned King of Dali, this was the beginning of the Latter Dali Duan Dynasty. in 1108, Zhengchun became a monk and was succeeded by his son Duan Heyu. Zhengchun was known as Emperor Wenan.

NOTE: Father of Duan Yu, old playboy in TLBB.

16. Duan Zhengyan
Son of Zhengchun. After succeeding his father in 1108, Duan Heyu changed his name into Duan Zhengyan. Duan Zhengyan banned one member of the Gao family who commited a crime, and this man died shortly after. Two servants of this man wanted to avenge their master's death. They planned to assasinate the King on his way to the temple. The plan failed and the two assasins were caught, but Zhengyan respected the two for their loyalty and instead of punishing them, he bestowed them titles and granted them rewards. The two loyal servants refused the King's offer and insisted in dying to serve their master in the afterlife. Zhengyan executed the two assasins and built a tomb to honor these two gentlemen.
In 1116, Zhengyan was granted the title King of Dali by emperor Huizong of the Northern Song.
Zhengyan's sons contended with each other for become heir which sorrowed Zhengyan very much. In order to end his sons' rivalry, Zhengyan abdicated and became a monk in 1147. Duan Zhengyan was known in history as Emperor Xuanren and with his 39-year long reign, he was the longest ruling King of the Dali Empire.

NOTE: Yep, Duan Zhengyan is the historical DUAN YU.

17. Duan Zhengxing
Son of Duan Zhengyan, succeeded his father in 1147. Became a monk in 1172 and abdicated. He was known as Emperor Zhengkang.

18. Duan Zhixing (? - 1200)
Son of Zhengxing. His 28-year long reign was marked by various rebellions and political turmoil. Zhixing died in 1200 and was titled Emperor Gongji.

NOTE: Reverend Yideng of Condor Trilogy.

19. Duan Zhilian (? - 1204)
Son of Zhixing. Ruled for only 4 years and died. He was titled Emperor Xiangtian and was succeeded by his younger brother Zhixiang.

20. Duan Zhixiang (? - 1238?)
Son of Zhixing, younger brother of Zhilian. During his reign, the Kingdom prospered. He was titled Emperor Shenzong after his death in 1238 (some sources claim he became a monk and abdicated).

21. Duan Xiangxing (? - 1251)
Son of Xiangxing. In 1244 the Mongol troops attacked Dali without success. Xiangxing died in 1251 and was titled Emperor Kaoyi.

22. Duan Xingzhi (? - 1260)
Son of Xiangxing, succeeded his father in 1251. In 1253 Khubilai attacked Dali with an army consisting of 100.000. Xingzhi's ministers then killed the Mongolian emissary and hung the body on a tree. Soon, Dali City fell under the attacks of the Mongolian hordes and Xingzhi fled to the south. The next year, he was captured by Mongolian troops. In 1255, Xingzhi and his uncle Duan Fu were brought before Möngke Khan. Xingzhi then presented the map of Dali to the Mongolian Khan and told his plans of governing and pacifying the area. Xingzhi was then bestowed the title of Prince by Möngke and received the supervision over the Yunnan region. Xingzhi and his uncle then returned to Yunnan with Mongolian troops and crushed those tribes that resisted Mongolian rule. Duan Xingzhi then became the first Yuan Governor of Yunnan Province. In 1260, Xingzhi went to Dadu (Beijing) to pay hommage to Emperor Khubilai, but died on his way to the capitol. Duan Xingzhi was the last monarch of the Dali Kingdom, but his descendants remained governers of Yunnan during the Yuan dynasty.

[Marcion]

With the historical record for this place looking so thin, I'm wondering if it's really worthwhile to actually make them a full faction, maybe just an AOR with some unique ethnic units...

[RollingWave]

given that AUH isn't exactly pushing the faction limit (30) , and they were quite a well established and fully functional state (not just a collection of tribes) , there's no real reason it shouldn't be in IMHO.

From what we know about them, the roster should probably look something along the lines of ....

barracks: tribal warriors, javelin, light axe / swordsmen, two handed swordsmen in light armor as the most powerful tribal warriors. and then it's core imperial troops, mostly heavy infantry similar to the Song model with some minor differences.

range : tribal bowmens, trained crossbowmens.

stable : not a whole lot here, mostly light tribal cavalries (a light spear cav and a javelin one I guess) who has stronger terrain advantage than most other light cav. and then a imperial guards version of heavier cav.

cities : mostly civilian militias along the song line.

In essencences, they're a faction that shares some similiarity with the Song dynasty but is still different in many, they don't have as many heavy stuff, will have less if any gunpowder stuff, but with wider tribal warrior selection that gives them a very good light infantry set which will make them tough to beat in dense forest / rough terrains where cavalries are not particuarly applicable and bows have a hard time making clear shots.