Gòngshān

Gongshan lay in the deep Nu and Dulong river valleys of northwestern Yunnan, separated by the Gaoligong Mountains. Nu and Dulong communities cultivated suitable terraces and slopes and used the surrounding forests, while paths connected them with Tibetan, Naxi and Lisu neighbours. The older Chinese records called the Dulong Qiu, a name attached to the river as well as its inhabitants.

Under the Yuan and Ming, this country belonged to the western frontier of the Lijiang administration and the sphere of the Mu hereditary rulers. Direct government remained distant from many settlements. In the eighteenth century, officials at Kangpu and Yezhi claimed authority over sections of the Nu and Dulong valleys. From 1730, the Dulong were required to deliver annual tribute in wax, hemp cloth and hides to Kangpu. Monasteries and Tibetan intermediaries also asserted religious dues in parts of the upper valley, creating overlapping demands on households. The same mountain routes that admitted tribute collectors brought iron implements, salt and other outside goods. For the inhabitants, connections across the mountains thus joined useful exchange to unequal political obligations and the danger of coercion.