Shuǐxī

Shuixi, the country west of the Yachi River, was the domain of a powerful hereditary Yi ruling house in the mountains of Guizhou. The An family governed numerous communities through local chiefs and maintained relations with successive Chinese dynasties. Their lands lay across the roads leading from Guizhou city toward Bijie and Sichuan.

After the death of the chief Aicui in the early Ming, his widow Shexiang governed while their son was young. She travelled to court to protest against the conduct of a Ming commander, and the relationship between the house and the dynasty was restored. The Shuixi rulers maintained relay stations across their territory and sent their children to study. In the 1620s An Bangyan took up arms against the Ming and besieged Guizhou city. The ensuing wars diminished the power of the hereditary house and transformed the government of the region.