1
西南夷君長以什數，夜郎最大； 其西靡莫之屬以什數，滇最大； 自滇以北君長以什數，邛都最大：此皆魋結，耕田，有邑聚。 其外西自同師以東，北至楪榆，名為巂、昆明，皆編發，隨畜遷徙，毋常處，毋君長，地方可數千里。 自冄以東北，君長以什數，徙、筰都最大； 自筰以東北，君長以什數，冄駹最大。 其俗或士箸，或移徙，在蜀之西。 自冄駹以東北，君長以什數，白馬最大，皆氐類也。 此皆巴蜀西南外蠻夷也。
Among the chieftains of the southwestern Yi, who numbered in the dozens, Yelang was the most powerful. To the west, the peoples affiliated with Mimo also numbered in the dozens, with Dian being the greatest among them. North of Dian, the chieftains again numbered in the dozens, with Qiongdu the most prominent. All these peoples wore their hair in topknots, cultivated the fields, and lived in towns and settlements. Beyond these settled peoples, stretching from Tongshi in the west eastward and north to Dieyu, were the tribes known as Sui and Kunming. They braided their hair, followed their herds from pasture to pasture, had no permanent settlements and no chieftains, and their lands stretched across several thousand li. To the northeast of Ran, the chieftains numbered in the dozens, with Xi and Zuodu the most powerful among them. Farther to the northeast of Zuo, the chieftains again numbered in the dozens, with Ranmang the greatest. Some of these peoples were settled while others were nomadic, and they all lived to the west of Shu. Northeast of Ranmang, the chieftains numbered in the dozens, with Baima the most prominent. All of them belonged to the Di people. All of these were the outlying barbarian peoples beyond the southwest of Ba and Shu.
2
始楚威王時，使將軍莊蹻將兵循江上，略巴、黔中以西。 莊蹻者，故楚莊王苗裔也。 蹻至滇池，地方三百里，旁平地，肥饒數千里，以兵威定屬楚。 欲歸報，會秦擊奪楚巴、黔中郡，道塞不通，因還，以其眾王滇，變服，從其俗，以長之。 秦時常頞略通五尺道，諸此國頗置吏焉。 十餘歲，秦滅。 及漢興，皆棄此國而開蜀故徼。 巴蜀民或竊出商賈，取其筰馬、僰僮、髦牛，以此巴蜀殷富。
In the reign of King Wei of Chu, he dispatched General Zhuang Qiao to lead an army up along the Yangtze River, subjugating the lands west of Ba and Qianzhong. Zhuang Qiao was himself a descendant of King Zhuang of Chu. When Qiao reached Dian Lake, he found a region spanning three hundred li, flanked by flat, fertile land stretching for thousands of li. He subdued the area by force of arms and claimed it for Chu. He intended to return and report his success, but Qin had meanwhile seized Chu's commanderies of Ba and Qianzhong, cutting off his route home. Left with no choice, he turned back, proclaimed himself king of Dian at the head of his followers, adopted the local dress and customs, and governed the people. During the Qin dynasty, the official Chang E opened a rough path known as the Five-Foot Road, and officials were stationed among the various states of the region. A little over a decade later, the Qin dynasty collapsed. When the Han dynasty arose, the court abandoned all these states and simply reopened the old frontier passes of Shu. Merchants from Ba and Shu would slip across the frontier to trade, bringing back Zuo horses, Bo slaves, and yaks, and through this commerce the people of Ba and Shu grew prosperous.
3
建元六年，大行王恢擊東越，東越殺王郢以報。 恢因兵威使番陽令唐蒙風指曉南越。 南越食蒙蜀枸醬，蒙問所從來，曰「道西北牂柯，牂柯江廣數里，出番禺城下」。 蒙歸至長安，問蜀賈人，賈人曰：「獨蜀出枸醬，多持竊出市夜郎。 夜郎者，臨牂柯江，江廣百餘步，足以行船。 南越以財物役屬夜郎，西至同師，然亦不能臣使也。」 蒙乃上書說上曰：「南越王黃屋左纛，地東西萬餘里，名為外臣，實一州主也。 今以長沙、豫章往，水道多絕，難行。 竊聞夜郎所有精兵，可得十餘萬，浮船牂柯江，出其不意，此制越一奇也。 誠以漢之彊，巴蜀之饒，通夜郎道，為置吏，易甚。」 上許之。 乃拜蒙為郎中將，將千人，食重萬餘人，從巴蜀筰關入，遂見夜郎侯多同。 蒙厚賜，喻以威德，約為置吏，使其子為令。 夜郎旁小邑皆貪漢繒帛，以為漢道險，終不能有也，乃且聽蒙約。 還報，乃以為犍為郡。 發巴蜀卒治道，自僰道指牂柯江。 蜀人司馬相如亦言西夷邛、筰可置郡。 使相如以郎中將往喻，皆如南夷，為置一都尉，十餘縣，屬蜀。
In the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, the Grand Herald Wang Hui attacked the Eastern Yue, and the Eastern Yue killed their king, Ying, and submitted his head in response. Riding the momentum of this campaign, Hui dispatched Tang Meng, the Prefect of Fanyang, to deliver veiled warnings to the Southern Yue. The Southern Yue served Tang Meng a citrus sauce from Shu. When he asked where it came from, they told him, 'It comes by way of Zangke to the northwest. The Zangke River is several li across and flows down to the walls of Panyu.' When Tang Meng returned to Chang'an, he questioned merchants from Shu. They told him, 'Only Shu produces this citrus sauce. Traders smuggle large quantities of it out to sell in Yelang. Yelang sits along the Zangke River, which is over a hundred paces wide — more than enough to sail boats upon. The Southern Yue uses its wealth to command the allegiance of Yelang and the peoples westward to Tongshi, but even so it cannot truly bring them to heel as subjects.' Tang Meng then submitted a memorial to the Emperor, arguing, 'The King of Southern Yue rides beneath a yellow canopy with a great banner at his left, and his domains stretch more than ten thousand li from east to west. In name he is an outer vassal, but in truth he is the lord of an entire province. At present, approaching by way of Changsha and Yuzhang, the waterways are frequently impassable and the route extremely difficult. I have learned that Yelang commands elite troops numbering over a hundred thousand. Were we to launch boats down the Zangke River and strike without warning, it would be a masterstroke for subduing the Yue. With the might of Han and the riches of Ba and Shu behind us, opening a road through Yelang and installing officials there would be the simplest of undertakings.' The Emperor approved the plan. Tang Meng was appointed Palace Gentleman General and given command of a thousand soldiers with over ten thousand supply personnel. He entered through the Zuo Pass from Ba and Shu and secured an audience with Duotong, the Marquis of Yelang. Tang Meng lavished gifts upon him, impressed upon him the might and benevolence of Han, and negotiated an agreement to install officials, with the marquis's own son appointed as a local magistrate. The smaller settlements surrounding Yelang all coveted Han silks, yet they believed that the treacherous roads would forever prevent Han from exerting real control over them. For the time being, they agreed to Tang Meng's terms. When Tang Meng returned and made his report, the court established the Commandery of Jianwei. Soldiers from Ba and Shu were conscripted to construct a road from Bodao toward the Zangke River. Sima Xiangru, a man of Shu, likewise argued that commanderies could be established in the western Yi territories of Qiong and Zuo. Sima Xiangru was dispatched as a Palace Gentleman General to win them over. The arrangements followed the same pattern as with the southern Yi: a commandant was appointed, more than ten counties were established, and all were placed under the jurisdiction of Shu.
4
當是時，巴蜀四郡通西南夷道，戍轉相馕。 數歲，道不通，士罷餓離溼死者甚眾； 西南夷又數反，發兵興擊，秏費無功。 上患之，使公孫弘往視問焉。 還對，言其不便。 及弘為御史大夫，是時方筑朔方以據河逐胡，弘因數言西南夷害，可且罷，專力事匈奴。 上罷西夷，獨置南夷夜郎兩縣一都尉，稍令犍為自葆就。
At that time, four commanderies of Ba and Shu were engaged in opening roads to the southwestern Yi, with garrisons relaying provisions from one to the next. After several years the roads were still impassable, and great numbers of soldiers perished from exhaustion, starvation, and the fevers of the damp climate. The southwestern Yi also rose in revolt repeatedly. Troops were dispatched to suppress them, but the campaigns only squandered resources without result. The Emperor grew alarmed and sent Gongsun Hong to investigate the situation firsthand. Upon his return, Gongsun Hong reported that the enterprise was ill-advised. When Gongsun Hong rose to the position of Imperial Secretary, the court was then building the fortress of Shuofang to command the Yellow River and drive back the Hu. He repeatedly argued that the southwestern Yi campaign was doing more harm than good and ought to be suspended so the court could concentrate its strength against the Xiongnu. The Emperor abandoned the western Yi campaign, retaining only two counties and a single commandant for the southern Yi and Yelang, and allowed the Commandery of Jianwei to consolidate on its own.
5
及元狩元年，博望侯張騫使大夏來，言居大夏時見蜀布、邛竹、杖，使問所從來，曰「從東南身毒國，可數千里，得蜀賈人市」。 或聞邛西可二千里有身毒國。 騫因盛言大夏在漢西南，慕中國，患匈奴隔其道，誠通蜀，身毒國道便近，有利無害。 於是天子乃令王然于、柏始昌、呂越人等，使閒出西夷西，指求身毒國。 至滇，滇王嘗羌乃留，為求道西十餘輩。 歲餘，皆閉昆明，莫能通身毒國。
In the first year of the Yuanshou era, Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, returned from his mission to Daxia. He reported that while in Daxia he had seen cloth from Shu, Qiong bamboo, and walking sticks. When he inquired where they came from, the people told him, 'From the kingdom of Shendu to the southeast, several thousand li away, where they are purchased from merchants of Shu.' It was further reported that some two thousand li west of Qiong lay the kingdom of Shendu. Zhang Qian pressed his case with enthusiasm: Daxia lay to the southwest of Han and admired the Middle Kingdom, but was frustrated that the Xiongnu blocked the way between them. If a route through Shu could be opened, the road through Shendu would be far shorter and more convenient — offering nothing but advantage. The Emperor thereupon ordered Wang Ranyu, Bo Shichang, Lu Yueren, and others to slip through the western Yi territories and press westward in search of the kingdom of Shendu. When the envoys reached Dian, the King of Dian, Chang Qiang, detained them and dispatched more than ten parties to find a westward route on their behalf. After more than a year, every party was blocked by the Kunming people, and none managed to reach Shendu.
6
滇王與漢使者言曰：「漢孰與我大？」 及夜郎侯亦然。 以道不通故，各自以為一州主，不知漢廣大。 使者還，因盛言滇大國，足事親附。 天子注意焉。
The King of Dian asked the Han envoys, 'Which is greater — Han, or my kingdom?' The Marquis of Yelang asked the very same question. Because the roads between them were impassable, each ruler fancied himself the lord of an entire province, with no notion of how vast the Han empire truly was. When the envoys returned, they spoke with great enthusiasm of Dian as a powerful state well worth cultivating as an ally. The Emperor took careful note of their report.
7
及至南越反，上使馳義侯因犍為發南夷兵。 且蘭君恐遠行，旁國虜其老弱，乃與其眾反，殺使者及犍為太守。 漢乃發巴蜀罪人嘗擊南越者八校尉擊破之。 會越已破，漢八校尉不下，即引兵還，行誅頭蘭。 頭蘭，常隔滇道者也。 已平頭蘭，遂平南夷為牂柯郡。 夜郎侯始倚南越，南越已滅，會還誅反者，夜郎遂入朝。 上以為夜郎王。
When the Southern Yue rose in rebellion, the Emperor sent the Marquis of Chiyi to muster southern Yi troops through Jianwei. The lord of Qielan feared that if he marched his warriors far from home, neighboring states would prey upon the elderly and weak left behind. He and his people therefore revolted, killing the Han envoy and the Grand Administrator of Jianwei. The Han court then mobilized convicts from Ba and Shu along with eight colonels who had served in the campaign against the Southern Yue, and together they crushed the rebellion. Since the Yue had already been defeated, the eight Han colonels did not press farther south. Instead they turned their army around and, on the return march, punished Toulan. Toulan was the power that had long blocked the road to Dian. Once Toulan was pacified, the remaining southern Yi were subdued and their lands were organized into the Commandery of Zangke. The Marquis of Yelang had long relied upon the Southern Yue for support. Now that the Southern Yue were destroyed and the returning army had punished the rebels, Yelang submitted and presented himself at court. The Emperor bestowed upon him the title of King of Yelang.
8
南越破後，及漢誅且蘭、邛君，并殺筰侯，冄駹皆振恐，請臣置吏。 乃以邛都為越巂郡，筰都為沈犁郡，冄駹為汶山郡，廣漢西白馬為武都郡。
After the fall of the Southern Yue, when Han punished Qielan and the lord of Qiong and put the Marquis of Zuo to death, the Ranmang were all seized with terror. They requested permission to submit as vassals and have Han officials installed among them. Qiongdu was reorganized as the Commandery of Yuesui, Zuodu as the Commandery of Shenli, Ranmang as the Commandery of Wenshan, and Baima in western Guanghan as the Commandery of Wudu.
9
上使王然于以越破及誅南夷兵威風喻滇王入朝。 滇王者，其眾數萬人，其旁東北有勞寖、靡莫，皆同姓相扶，未肯聽。 勞寖、靡莫數侵犯使者吏卒。 元封二年，天子發巴蜀兵擊滅勞寖、靡莫，以兵臨滇。 滇王始首善，以故弗誅。 滇王離難西南夷，舉國降，請置吏入朝。 於是以為益州郡，賜滇王王印，復長其民。
The Emperor dispatched Wang Ranyu to leverage the military prestige won by the defeat of the Yue and the punishment of the southern Yi, and to persuade the King of Dian to present himself at court. The King of Dian commanded tens of thousands of subjects. To his northeast lay Laojin and Mimo, peoples of the same clan who supported one another, and they refused to comply. Laojin and Mimo repeatedly attacked the Han envoys, officials, and soldiers. In the second year of the Yuanfeng era, the Emperor dispatched troops from Ba and Shu to annihilate Laojin and Mimo, then turned his army upon Dian. The King of Dian had been the first among the southwestern rulers to show goodwill, and for this reason his life was spared. The King of Dian distanced himself from the unrest of the southwestern Yi, surrendered his entire kingdom, and requested that Han officials be installed and that he be permitted to present himself at court. The territory was thereupon organized as the Commandery of Yizhou. The King of Dian was granted a royal seal and permitted to continue governing his people.
10
西南夷君長以百數，獨夜郎、滇受王印。 滇小邑，最寵焉。
Of the hundreds of chieftains among the southwestern Yi, only Yelang and Dian received the honor of a royal seal. Dian was but a small state, yet it was the most favored of all.
11
太史公曰：楚之先豈有天祿哉？ 在周為文王師，封楚。 及周之衰，地稱五千里。 秦滅諸候，唯楚苗裔尚有滇王。 漢誅西南夷，國多滅矣，唯滇復為寵王。 然南夷之端，見枸醬番禺，大夏杖、邛竹。 西夷后揃，剽分二方，卒為七郡。
The Grand Historian remarks: Did the ancestors of Chu truly enjoy the mandate of Heaven? In the days of Zhou, their forebear served as tutor to King Wen and was enfeoffed as the lord of Chu. By the time of Zhou's decline, their territory was said to stretch five thousand li. When Qin destroyed the feudal lords, only among the descendants of Chu did the kingship of Dian endure. When Han subjugated the southwestern Yi and destroyed many of their states, only Dian was once again honored with the rank of king. Yet the whole affair of the southern Yi began with the chance discovery of citrus sauce in Panyu and of walking sticks and Qiong bamboo in Daxia. The western Yi were gradually subdued, their raiding peoples split between two fronts, and in the end seven commanderies were carved from their lands.