Daizu ethnic group of Yunnan province in the studies of the Chinese historian fang Guoyu (1903-1983)

In 1936-1957 Chinese historiographer Fang Guoyu (1903-1983), a representative of the Naxi ethnic group and a native of Yunnan province, had been collecting and studying Chinese historical sources in order to investigate the history of Tai peoples on Yunnan during the Yuan dynasty. Moreover, he spent his whole life compiling the multivolume work “The Collection of the Yunnan Historical Sources” (Yunnan shiliaocongkan雲南史 料叢刊, 1990-1998). Any researcher of the ethnic history of the peoples inhabiting Yunnan should keep in mind the results of Fang Guoyu`s work. His contribution is not limited to the overall and accurate analysis of the sources in Chinese and other languages, even more important in the optics that he chose to study the Tai groups, seen as developing their own small polities in the borderland of present day China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand independently from China, and having interacted with the neighboring peoples such as the Han Chinese, the Yizu, the Burmese etc. Such approach may be considered innovative for the early XX century Chinese history-writing with its strong inclination for “Sinocentrism”.

1. Fang Guoyu ed. Collection of Materials on the History of Yunnan. Vol 3. Kunming: Yunnan daxue chubanshe, 1998/ (In Chin).

2. Moskalev P.E. On the History of the SinoSiamese Relations in the XIII — first half XV centuries. Southeast Asia: Current Issues of the Development. 2021, Vol. I (№ 50). Pp. 262 – 270 (In Rus.).

3. Yang Chunfang. Review of the “Draft of the Short Daizu History” by Fang Guoyu. Xinan guji yanjiu. 2015, № 9. Pp. 87- 92. http:// https://www.sohu.com/a/124982300_488316 (дата обращения: 24.09.2025) (In Chin.).

4. Yos Santasombat. Lak Chang: A Reconstruc tion of Tai Identity in Daikong. Canberra: Pan Danus Books, 2001.

5. Zavidovskaya E.A. Review of the Historical Sources Оn the South and Southwest of Yunnan Province. Modern Oriental Studies. 2024; Vol. 6 (3). Pp. 150-166 (In Rus.).

6. Zavidovskaya E.A. Review of the Chinese Sources On The History of the Southern Regions of Yunnan Provimce. Russia-China: History and Culture: Collection of Papers of the XVII Scientific Conference (Kazan, Nov.13-16, 2024). Ed. P.P.Muhkametdianov. Kazan, 2024а. Pp. 57-61 (In Rus.).

7. Zavidovskaya E.A. Information on Ethnic Groups of Yunnan from Qing “Albums with Dian Barbarians” and Other Sources from Tang to Qing Periods. Oriental Courier. 2024b, Issue. №1, Pp. 170-183 (In Rus.).

8. Zavidovskaya E.A. Challenges in Systematization of the Data on Indigenous Ethnic Groups of Yunnan Province Mentioned in the Handwritten XIX Century Aalbums From the Collection of the Oriental Department of the Scientific Library of Saint- Petersburg State University. Russia-China: History and Culture: Collection of Papers of the XVI Scientific Conference. Kazan, 2023. Pp. 61-68 (In Rus.).