Mǎbiān

Mabian lies in the forested mountains of southern Sichuan, along a river flowing towards the Min. Yi communities and hereditary chiefs long inhabited the surrounding uplands. In 1764 the Qing established Mabian department under Xuzhou prefecture, drawing together several districts formerly administered from Pingshan with newly demarcated lands. The new officials faced a mountainous country whose villages and fields were separated by steep ridges and streams.