Dian Kingdom 8th-1st C. BCE

September 27, 2023

Dian Kingdom 8th-1st C. BCE

The Dian Kingdom was an advanced civilization in what is modern-day southwest China. It was occupied by the Han Dynasty and incorporated into China after that. From what I've gathered, the people of the Dian Kingdom were probably closely related to the Baiyue people from southern China and northern Vietnam. Wikipedia says they may have spoke a Tibeto-Burman language. I found it interesting that some of these people look Caucasoid though and were wearing clothing similar to Scythians. The image I compared of the Dian man to the Indo-Scythian has a similar facial structure, hat, and even the same type of pants (sorry, I don't have time to tidy up the comparison photos more).

The Dian art theme of the four tigers attacking an ox is found in the same pre-Han period among the Xiongnu at Aluchaideng, and a similar motif appears at Tillya Tepe a couple centuries later. The theme is the same but the style is very different, still it indicates a connection to these places of the world through trade and exposure.

Some of the scenes with soldiers show a variety of different equipment styles and certain subjects have distinct fashion styles (like the people wearing the items that make their ears look huge). I watched a couple documentaries on genetics of the Dian and they were only able to find genetic info for one person, who was identified as similar to the Baiyue people. I'll link those youtube videos in sources below. I assume these people were primarily related to modern day Vietnamese and southern Chinese (or other people nearby) but may have had close interactions with (and even immigrants from) Scythian cultures despite their distance from them, which is interesting.

From the videos: "According to the final count, the amount of bronze ware excavated from Lijia Mountain is almost half the amount of the Shang Dynasty bronze ware excavated in Yinxu, Henan."

3rd C. BCE.

Unknown date.

Parasol holder? 3rd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Bronze lamp, 2nd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Parasol holder. 3rd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Bronze Cowrie Container with Gilt Warrior and Four Oxen. China; Western Han period (206 BC-AD 8). Excavated at Shizhaishan, Jinning county, Yunnan Province. Collection of the Yunnan Provincial Museum.

2nd C. BCE - 1st C. CE

Very similar facial features, hat, and pants. Dated to within the same period of around 2nd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Similar style weapon and some similarities in armor.

These Dian's facial features don't explicitly appear Caucasian but their dress reminds me of the Scythian from Kalchayan's dress dated to the same period.

Similar art themes indicating cultural exposure, probably through trade or travel.

From Sino-Platonic papers. University of Pennsylvania.

Tigress fights bull surrounded by her cubs, 150-50 BCE. Bronze.

Parasol holder? 150-50 BCE.

Couldn't find date for this one, probably similar to other statues built for holding a parasol, 3rd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

150-50 BCE.

Bronze sword, 100 BCE.

Bronze sword, 5th-3rd C. BCE.

Bronze armor, 3rd C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Swordsmen dancing with flat disks above snake. 150-50 BCE.

Unknown date.

5th C. BCE - 1st C. CE.

Hunters. 480-220 BCE.

People watching a bull dance from a grandstand. The bull is entering the arena where 10 bull dancers with long scarves are waiting for him. 150-50 BCE.