Kāinán

Kainan belonged to the Jingdong country of southwestern Yunnan, where Tai hereditary rulers became imperial officeholders. In 1382, as Ming armies advanced into Yunnan, the local ruler E Tao sent representatives to Chuxiong, surrendering the gold credentials and seals granted by the Yuan. The Ming retained a native prefect in Jingdong, allowing the ruling family to continue exercising local authority under imperial recognition.

The family came to use the Chinese surname Tao. Its heirs increasingly received a Confucian education: a school was established at Jingdong in 1442, and members of the ruling house studied Chinese learning. Written Chinese also entered the family's public and commemorative life, as surviving tomb inscriptions attest. Through the Ming and Qing centuries, this hereditary court combined Tai origins with institutions and practices adopted from the empire, making Jingdong's political culture distinctive within the southwestern frontier.