The Enhancement Role of Ming Dynasty Enlightenment Policies on National Identity of the Tusi in Western Yunnan:An Analysis of Imperial Buddhism Scrolls Housed in the Yunnan Provincial Museum
It is generally understood that the Ming Dynasty marked a significant era of Yunnan's integration into a multi-ethnic China.In the process of accelerating the integration of Yunnan and the Central Plains,records further show Bud-dhism was used to carry out—what can be called—enlightenment policies in Yunnan:The three imperial Buddhist scrolls,now housed in the Yun-nan Provincial Museum,were bestowed upon Mu Tusi(native official in imperial China)by the im-perial court during the Wanli period in the Ming dynasty as part of this context.This evidently was a politically symbolic act that reinforced the nation-al identity of the Tusi under the Ming Dynasty's en-lightenment policies in western Yunnan.Records further attest that,politically,the Tusi and the Central Dynasty formed a reciprocal political alliance.The court gave the Tusi legal au-thority over local affairs,and the Tusi actively strengthened ties with the central dynasty.Under this policy of enlightenment,the Tusi in western Yunnan actively donated temples in Jizu Mountain.In addition,the central dynasty often sent scrip-tures to the major temples in Jizu Mountain,fur-ther encouraging these donations.Donating tem-ples became a way for the Tusi in western Yunnan to express their political identity to the central dy-nasty.By all accounts,Tusi power was dual in na-ture,deriving both from the central dynasty and their own local society.With this advancing na-tional integration,local traditional power structures gradually weakened,and donating temples became a way for the Tusi to assert their right to speak within the society.The Tusi's motivation for dona-ting monasteries and requesting sutras from the central court was driven not only by religious be-liefs but also by the need to accumulate political capital.Culturally,the political identity established under the Tusi system seemingly involved both ex-ternal influence and internal adoption.Moreover,records report that through the prolonged interac-tion with the central dynasty,the Tusi's national i-dentity became increasingly internalized.On the one hand,it shows that the court and Tusi used shared religious beliefs to strengthen cultural iden-tity:The Ming rulers favored the Karma Kagyu lineage,and the Mu clan Tusi consequently also established a close tributary relationship with this Buddhist school.On the other hand,it was reflec-ted in the demands of Tusi's active integration into Han culture.The spread of Han Buddhism objec-tively accelerated the diffusion of Han culture in Yunnan.In addition,Mu Tusi apparently admired Han culture,actively embraced it,and even re-wrote family history to strengthen ties with Central Plains culture.Therefore,through ongoing commu-nication and interaction with the central dynasty,the national identity of the Tusi grew to actively in-tegrate into mainstream Chinese culture.To sum it up,the above-mentioned three Buddhist scrolls symbolize the interaction between the central government and the Tusi under their policy of enlightenment during the Ming dynasty.What is more,the Tusi's active monastery dona-tions and their active integration into Han culture,arguably illustrate how Buddhism was used to pro-mote education during the Ming Dynasty,and to gradually construct and strengthen the national i-dentity of the Tusi in western Yunnan.
royal scroll paintingsJizu MountainTusinational identity
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