The Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, PR. China ...

VISITATION REPORT: STUDY OF INDONESIAN NATION ANCESTORS IN THE YUNNAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM, KUNMING, PR. CHINA Reported by: Adhita Sri Prabakusuma International Student of Food Science and Technology College of Yunnan Agricultural University Corresponding e-mail: [email protected]

A. Introduction he Yunnan Provincial Museum is placed in Kunming’s south, precised on Guangfu Road in Guangdu District, right across the street of Guandu Old Town. The museum houses a great and modern exhibition, as well as a collection center of valuable artifacts from tomb excavations at Jinning on the southern rim of Dianchi Lake, Kunming. Yunnan Provincial Museum is a comprehensive museum dedicating itself to showing all of the social evolution, historical archaeological remains, and cultural statuses of Yunnan Provinve systematically. The Old Museum, initially first built by Yunnan Provincial Government in 1951, and then this old museum has moved from Kunming downtown to Guandu and has re-opened as the New Museum on May 18th, 2015.

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The Yunnan Provincial Museum has collected more over than 400,000 pieces of cultural relics from all areas of Yunnan Profince in the forms of archaeological excavations, purchasing, auction, and donations, and it has been of being the largest one of the richest collection of cultural relics in Yunnan Province. It thereabouts covers an area of 150 acres with a building area of 60,000 square meters. The building design inspiration of the new museum originates from the Yunnan Folk House, called Yi Ke Yin and the exterior interface shape of the main building has been inspired by the geological features of Stone Forest Shilin. This paper provides a brief overview of the short process that was used to gather and then analyze the data from the site visits of the Yunnan Provincial Museum that was visited as part of the Chinese Language Cources for new international students of Yunnan Agricultural University. B. Objectives The objectives of the study visit to the Yunnan Provincial Museum are to know and respect concerning to historical legacy of Social-culture of Yunnan’s civilization. Besides, also to collect data about multiple diverse of Yunnan’s history development and the parentage history of Indonesian nation ancestors who originated came from Yunnan Province. C. Participants The participants of the study visit are the international graduate students of Yunnan Agricultural University and undergraduate students from Myanmar. D. Time and Place This study visit held on November 1st, 2017 at Yunnan Provincial Museum, Guangfu Road, Guangdu District, Kunming Shi, Yunnan Sheng, PR. China at 09:00-11:30 AM local time.

Visitation Report: The Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, PR. China

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E. Method It breaks this process down into three phases: (1) preparations, (2) doing the site visits, and (3) data collection. For each phase an explanation is provided of what we were seeking to do as well as how we did this portion of the study. F. Result The results of the site visit are: (1) Preparations The primary task of the preparation was to use a modified grounded theory approach, that employed a site visit process fot the data collecting methods. That were designed to gather a significant amount of data in a short amount of time. This part of the site visit was focused on gathering information about what was Yunnan Provincial Museum to provide a lot of valuable information about the social evolution, historical archaeolo-gical remains, and cultural statuses of Yunnan Provinve systematically. The prepa-rations covered pre-eliminary study both by read online literature about it and check first information from the brochures provided on the museum front office. (2) Doing the site visits The primary task of the site visits was to gather as much qualitative (interview and observation) data as possible from several of the key stakeholders of Yunnan Provincial Museum that were visited. This was done in order to gain a much richer and deeper understanding of how was Yunnan’s civilization developed time by time. Historical explanation of the Yunnan’s civilization as follow below: a. Early history: Cambrian Period Waggoner and Collins (1994) stated that, the Cambrian Period as an early history marks an important center point in the life history on the Earth. This event is often called as the "Cambrian Explosion," because of the relatively short time over which this diversity of forms appears. It is the time when most of the major groups of animals first appear in the fossil record. It was once thought that Cambrian rocks contained the first and oldest fossil animals, but these are now found in the earlier Ediacaran (Vendian) strata. Based on our visit and literature study, the Maotianshan Zeolites from the early Cambrian Period were discovered in Chengjiang County in 1984. It dates back to around 530 million years ago and is regarded in the international paleobiological circle as one of the most amazing discoveries of the 20th century. These zeolites are known as one of “the three greatest wonders of the early organic evolution on the earth” due to their varied, intact and well-preserved individual traces of animal forms, indicating the beginning of an eruption of the early living things on the earth. Of these three wonders, the other two are the Ediacaran Zeolites discovered in 1946 in Australia and the Burgess Zeolites discovered in 1909 in Canada, the former dating back to 600 million years ago and the latter to 515 million years ago.


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According to the investigation accomplished by geologist, finded that all the geological stratisfactions since 2.5 bilions years ago. From a vas expanse of ocean in the prehistoric times to vibrant and distictive views today, the land of Yunnan has experienced tremendous geological change during 2.5 bolions years. Based on our visit and literature study, Yunnan is a significant birthplace of human beings, which has been proved since 1956 by the discoveries of Lama anthropoid fossils in Kaiyuan County (which dates back to 15 million years ago), in Lufeng County (which dates back to 8 million years ago) and in Yuanmou County (which dates back to about 3 to 4 million years ago). Yuanmou County in 1965 (dating back to 1.7 million years ago) are said to be the earliest human fossils so far in both China and Asia, and this actually marks the beginning of Chinese history.

Fig. 1. Participant in Front of Archaeological Historical Evidence. Cultural relics from the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age were found in Yunnan Province in such areas as the riversides or lake districts of Jinsha River, Dianchi Lake, Erhai Lake, and all these relics are signs of the social development of Yunnan. Some studies and researches on Yi people’s Ten-month Solar Calendar also attempt to prove that Yunnan is the origin of Chinese civilization. b. Early dynasties During the Primitive Society and the Slave Society, Yunnan witnessed a series of great events. Yu, the reputed king of the Xia Dynasty 2070 B.C.-1600 B.C., divided China into nine parts, and Yunnan was located in Liangzhou. During the Yin and the Shang periods (1600 B.C-1046 B.C.), Yunnan was inhibited by minority groups such as Dian, Laojin, Mimo, Xi, Zuodu, Kunming, and Sui. These minority groups were called “southwestern tribal groups” due to the fact that Yunnan was located in the remote southwestern China (Cinaoggi, 2017). The information about the early dynasties can be found completely in the 3th floor of the museum. Many pictures, artifacts, sclupture, miniature of the kingdom building were shown there. The visitors can know and look all of them by themself.


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c. Kingdom of Dian (Cinaoggi, 2017) In 279 B.C. during the Warring States Period, a general named Zhuang Qiao, who was from the State of Chu, commanded his troops into the Dian area and established the first kingdom in Yunnan the Kingdom of Dian, which lasted from the Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty. Based on our visit, the ancient Kingdom of Dian had a high technology of making bronze articles including weapons, productive tools and so on. They can made the articles on the bronze matterials. The bronze articles discovered in the Lijia Mountain in Chengjiang County show that Among them, the Copper Statue of Cow and Tiger is the most typical and is regarded as the symbol of Yunnan bronze culture. During the Warring States Period ( 770 B.C.-221B.C.), the king of the State of Qin united the six states and declared himself First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221B.C.-207B.C.), which marked China’s entry into the feudal society. Emperor Qin ordered the construction of the Five-chi-wide Road (1 chi equals 1/3 meter), which started from Yibin in Sichuan province and ended in Qujing in Yunnan. He also appointed officials to administer those areas along the road, which indicated the beginning of the Chinese Central Government’s rule over Yunnan. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-8A.D.), Zhang Qian was appointed an envoy to go to Xiyu (the western regions). He heard that in the southwest of the country, an ethnic area, there was a road called “Shu-Indian Road” from Chengdu to India. Therefore, in 122 B.C., the first year of the Yuanshou Period, Emperor Wu sent his officials and troops to find out this road, well known as the Southern Silk Road later. Yet the attempt failed because of the blocks laid by the Kunming minority ethnic group in Erhai area. Emperor Wu got so angry that he ordered to dig in his capital city a large lake where soldiers were trained to fight against the local people in Erhai area. Thirteen years later in 109 B.C. was the second year of the Yuanfeng Period, the Han Government commanded troops to Erhai area for a punitive expedition. The attempt succeeded and Yizhou Prefecture was set up there, under which there were 24 counties, Yunnan County being one of them, located in the present Xiangyun County in Dali Prefecture. The term “Yunnan” appeared in a report to Emperor Wu, which said that colorful clouds were seen in the southwestern area. Upon reading this report, Emperor Wu ordered his officials to find out that place. This is the initial occurrence of the name of Yunnan (meaning “clouds in the south”) in China’s official documents. Emperor Wu also appointed king of the Dian Kingdom and granted him an official gold seal. This seal was discovered later which proved the existence of the Kingdom of Dian. After conquering the Southwest, the West Han Dynasty (206 B.C.~8A.D.) successively established seven prefectures in this area, four of which Visitation Report: The Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, PR. China

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were parts of the present Yunnan. In this way, Han Dynasty strengthened its rule over Yunnan. In 69 A.D., in the 12th year of Yongping Period, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 A.D.-220A.D.) strengthened his rule and established Yongchang Prefecture in Yunnan. Among the 105 prefectures in the entire country, Yongchang Prefecture owned the second largest population. All this symbolized the confirmation of the borderline in West Yunnan. d. Period of Three Kingdoms (Cinaoggi, 2017) At the end of the Han Dynasty, China was divided into three separate states, known to people as the “Period of Three Kingdoms” (220 A.D.-280 A.D.). These kingdoms referred to the Wei Kingdom in the north, the Shu Kingdom in the southwest, and the Wu Kingdom in the southeast. Then Yunnan was under the control of the Shu State. During the period of Three Kingdoms, Yunnan Province, the west of Guizhou Province and the southwest of Sichuan Province were called the Southwestern Area and were all under the control of the Shu Kingdom. Zhu Geliang, Prime Minister of the Shu Kingdom, commanded troops to suppress the revolts of Meng Huo, the commander-in-chief of the Yi tribe, and other leaders of the local tribes in May 225 A.D. The Southwestern Area was conquered and brought under the control of the Shu Kingdom. In 271 A.D. the Western Jin government united the four neighboring prefectures into Ningzhou, which became one of the 19 administrative divisions of the central government of China. Later the Cuan clansmen rose up and became the dominant force in Yunnan. And Wei County, the capital seat of Ningzhou (the present Qujing City), was then the political center of Yunnan. e. Sui and Tang dynasties: the Kingdom of Nanzhao (Cinaoggi, 2017) During Sui and Tang dynasties (581 A.D.-907 A.D.), there were six tribes around Erhai Lake and they gradually became powerful. Among the six tribes, the Nanzhao tribe grew rapidly in strength. Besides these political powers, Tibet in the northwest of China turned out to be a strong force which made threats against the territory of the Tang Government. Wars took place successively between the two. In 707 A.D., the Tang Government fought against the Tibetan tribe and won the battle in Hehai area. To celebrate this victory, an iron post was erected in that place. Later, in order to ally itself with the political power of Nanzhao for defense, The Tang government helped Nanzhao to unite the other five tribes. In 738 A.D., the 26th year of the Kaiyuan Period, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty made the leader of the Nanzhao Tribe Pi Luoge the King of Yunnan. This symbolized the foundation of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, which lasted for 247 years with 13 kings successively on the throne. During the Tianbao Period (742 A.D.-755A.D.), however, the Tang government adopted poor policies towards the Nanzhao Kingdom, which resulted in two wars. Then the two aliens broke up and their relationship took a turn for the worse. Visitation Report: The Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, PR. China

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f. Dali Kingdom (Cinaoggi, 2017) In 937 A.D., Duan Siping established the Dali Kingdom in Erhai area. It replaced the Nanzhao Kingdom and lasted for 315 years with 22 successive kings. In 960 A.D., during the Song Dynasty (960 A.D.-1279 A.D.), the relationship between the Dali Kingdom and the Song Government was even worse, so Emperor Huizong of the Song Government drew a line over the Dadu River and said that the areas beyond the line did not belong to the Song Empire any longer. On the contrary, although the Dali Kingdom was beyond the line, it wanted to build a friendly relationship with the Song Government. However, the Song Government was not as strong as the Tang Government. Furthermore, the emperor of the Song Empire misunderstood the relationship between the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Tang Government, so the Song Government did not respond to the Dali Kingdom’s request for being a vassal state of it. The Nanzhao Kingdom and the Dali Kingdom were both two important periods in the history of Yunnan and also China, they were starting and ending at almost the same time as the Tang and Song dynasties. During these two periods, Dali was the political and economic center of Yunnan. In 1253 Kublai Khan commanded the Mongolian troops to cross the Jinsha River. They managed by taking their sheep’s or oxen’s viscera, pumping them up and using them as leather rafts to cross the river. As a result, the Dali Kingdom was conquered. In 1271, the Yuan Dynasty began to play its part in Chinese history until its end in 1368. g. Yunnan Province (Cinaoggi, 2017) The Yuan Government set up to Yunnan Province as one of its eleven provinces. At the time, Yunnan was formal and officially titled as a provincial administration, whose provincial center was moved from Dali to Kunming. Since then, Yunnan has been functioning as a the provincial administration. Also in this period, the Yuan Government established in Yunnan the chieftain system called “Local Officials Appointed System”, chiefs of the local ethnic groups selected to govern the local people. Under the lead of Sayyidadjall (Omer Shams Aldin) and others, the agricultural sector of Yunnan Province growth fastly.

G. Dicussion Based on the history of the ancient Indonesian nation that we learned in the school, academically known that, the ancestors of the Indonesian nation originated from the Yunnan or Hindia Rear. Most Indonesians (especially in the western hemisphere) are Austronesians. They were allied with ethnic groups in Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Cambodia. The clump of this nation came from the Yunnan province of southern China and was driven by the Mongols by war and they finally “evacuate” to the plains of Southeast Asia including to Indonesia. In other words, the Indonesian nation was


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basically allied with other Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia. The clump was often called the Malay clump. In contrast, the tribes living in the eastern part of Indonesia were not from the Yunan or the Rear Indies. They were fragments of the black Melanesian race, also called the Pacific Rim. The tribes in Papua, Timor and Alor, for example, have similarities with other Melanesian sub-clusters such as Aborigines (Australia) and Maori (New Zealand) as well as Pacific tribes such as Fiji, Solomon, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. By looking at the origin of our ancestors, it was true that the Indonesian people were from the same family or race as other nations in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, which of course there was a certain part of the nature and character of the nation, culture and customs that have similarities to each other. The Indonesia nation ancestors came from Yunnan Province of Southern China. It was very impessive to able for knowing and learning our parentage history in the Yunnan Provincial Museum. H. Conclusion The conclusions of the study visit to the Yunnan Provincial Museum were known that historical legacy of Social-culture of Yunnan’s civilization was very long, dinamics, and it has many connection with another neighbour nations of China. Besides that, Yunnan Province has multiple diverse of historical values and spirit. Yunnan Province is also ancestral land of the Indonesian nation parentage. It was researched and learned by Indonesian historical scientist more than 50 years ago. I. References Anonim, 2017. Yunnan Provincial Museum. Taken from: http://wondersofyunnan.com [accessed: November 5th, 2017]. Cinaoggi, 2017. The history of yunnan. Taken from: https://china-underground.com [accessed: November 5th, 2017]. Dirrect interview to the Yunnan Provincial Museum officer. The guide book of the The Yunnan Provincial Museum. Waggoner, B.M. and Collins, A.G. 1994. The Cambrian Period. Taken from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu [accessed: November 5th, 2017].

Acknowledgment: (1) Mr. CHEN Liang as the Head of International Office who has given us enough time to visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum and to learn furthermore about the history of Indonesian nation ancestors. (2) Ms. ZHAO Linyu as our Chinese Language Laoshi who has given us enough time to visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum and to learn furthermore about the history of Indonesian nation ancestors.


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