Tusi, often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain ethnic minorities in central China, western China, southwestern China, and the Indochinese peninsula nominally on behalf of the central government. As succession to the Tusi position was hereditary, these regimes effectively formed numerous autonomous petty dynasties under the suzerainty of the central court. This arrangement is known as the Tusi System or the Native Chieftain System. It should not be confused with the Chinese tributary system or the Jimi system.
The Gyalrongic languages constitute a branch of the Qiangic languages of Sino-Tibetan, but some propose that it may be part of a larger Rung languages group and do not consider it to be particularly closely related to Qiangic but suggest that similarities between Gyalrongic and Qiangic may be from areal influence. However, other work suggests that Qiangic as a whole may in fact be paraphyletic, with the only commonalities of the supposed "branch" being shared archaisms and areal features that were encouraged by language contact. Jacques & Michaud (2011) propose that Qiangic including Gyalrongic may belong to a larger Burmo-Qiangic group based on some lexical innovations.
Jonê County is a county in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China. Its postal code is 747600. Its area is 4,954 km2 (1,913 sq mi), and its population is over 100,000 people. It is administered from Liulin.
Jinchuan County or Quqên is a county in the northwest of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The seat of county is Dowu Town (Lewu).
Xiaojin County, also known as Tsanlha from its Tibetan name, is a county in the northwest of Sichuan Province, China. It is the southernmost county-level division of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.
Zamthang County or Ndzamthang County, or Rangtang County is a county in the northwest of Sichuan Province, China, bordering on the Banma County of Qinghai Province to the north. It is one of 13 counties under the administration of and lies the westernmost county-level division of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Zamthang is on the upper reaches of the Dadu River, bordering the Barkam County and Ngawa County on the east and northeast, and adjoining Jinchuan County on the south, and Sêrtar County, Luhuo County and Dawu County in the west and south. Zamthang, which means "the field of Jambhala" in Tibetan, lies in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau and in the historical region of Amdo. The vast majority of the population is Tibetan (30,200), followed by Han people (3949), Qiang people (269) and Hui people (78).
Gyalrong or rGyalrong, also rendered Jiarong, or sometimes Gyarung, is a subbranch of the Gyalrongic languages spoken by the Gyalrong people in Western Sichuan, China. Lai et al. (2020) refer to this group of languages as East Gyalrongic.
The Chiefdom of Lijiang was a Nakhi autonomous Tusi chiefdom that ruled Lijiang during Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty.
Kingdom of Chakla or Chala was a kingdom in the Tibetan region of Kham.
Gonpo Namgyal (1799–1865), also known as Bulungwa, was a Tibetan rebel leader from the Nyarong who unified the region, then all of Kham in a series of campaigns from the 1840s to the 1860s, warring against the Qing Dynasty and the Ganden Phodrang. While he was initially successful in evading his powerful enemies, he was eventually captured and killed, putting an end to his state of Nyarong.
The Jinchuan campaigns, also known as the Suppression of the Jinchuan Hill Peoples, were two wars between Qing Empire and the rebel forces of Gyalrong chieftains ("Tusi") from the Jinchuan region. The first campaign against Chiefdom of Chuchen happened in 1747 when the Tusi of Greater Jinchuan Slob Dpon attacked the Chiefdom of Chakla (Mingzheng). The Qianlong Emperor decided to mobilize forces and suppress Slob Dpon, who surrendered to the central government in 1749. The second campaign against Chiefdom of Tsanlha took place in 1771, when the Jinchuan Tusi Sonom killed Gebushiza Tusi of Ngawa County in Sichuan Province. After Sonom killed Gebushiza Tusi, he helped Tusi of Lesser Jinchuan, Skal bzang, to occupy the lands belonging to the other Tusi in the region. The provincial government ordered Sonom to return lands and accept the trial at the Ministry of Justice immediately. Sonom refused to retreat his rebels. The Qianlong Emperor was furious and gathered 80,000 troops and entered Jinchuan. In 1776, Qing troops sieged the castle of Sonom to force his surrender.
Chiefdom of Chuchen, also known as Rabden or the Chiefdom of Greater Jinchuan, was an autonomous Gyalrong Tusi chiefdom that ruled Greater Jinchuan during the Qing dynasty. The rulers of Chuchen used the royal title Namkha Gyalpo, literally "king of Namkha".
Chiefdom of Tsanlha, also known as Chiefdom of Lesser Jinchuan, was an autonomous Gyalrong chiefdom that ruled Lesser Jinchuan during Qing dynasty. The rulers of Tsanlha used the royal title Tsanlha Gyalpo.
Chiefdom of Bathang, or Chiefdom of Batang, was an autonomous Tusi chiefdom that ruled Bathang during the Qing dynasty period.
Chiefdom of Lithang, or Chiefdom of Litang, was an autonomous Tusi chiefdom that ruled Litang during the Qing dynasty period. Lithang, Bathang, Chakla and Derge were called the "Four Great Native Chiefdoms in Kham" (康区四大土司) by the Chinese.
Chiefdom of Yao'an, ruled by the Gao clan, was a Bai autonomous Tusi chiefdom during Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty. The chiefdom located at the convergence of Yunnan and Sichuan.
The Tibetan People's Republic or Bodpa People's Republic, officially known as the Chinese Soviet Central Bodpa Autonomous Government was a short-lived contingent of the Northwest Chinese Soviet Federation established on May 5, 1936. It was a Tibetan autonomous government under the Chinese Communist Party established by the Chinese Red Army during the Long March to assist local Tibetans in Dawu County, Luhuo County, Yajiang County and Garzê County.
Trokyap or Chuosi was a Gyalrong Tibetan kingdom located in today's southern Zamthang County and north of Jinchuan County of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province of China. It was one of the 18 Gyalrong kingdoms. In 1700, it submitted to the Qing rule and its leader received the title "Pacification Commissioner". It regained autonomy after the Xinhai Revolution in 1912. In the late 1930s, the nationalist Kuomintang government placed it under Xikang jurisdiction. The kingdom is abolished by the Chinese Government in 1952.
