kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Yelang

300 BCE – 27 BCE (approx.)

The largest kingdom of the south-western peoples in Guizhou, remembered for a king who asked a Han envoy whether Han was larger than Yelang.

Origins

Yelang was a polity of the south-western peoples in western Guizhou and neighbouring Yunnan and Guangxi, emerging in the late Warring States period. It controlled the Zangke River route down to the Pearl River and the lands of Nanyue.

Rule and society

The Records of the Grand Historian describe Yelang as a settled kingdom of farmers with walled towns. Han envoys reached it in 135 BCE seeking a route to Nanyue, and the marquis Duotong accepted Han titles. Its ruler's question to the envoys about which state was larger gave rise to the Chinese idiom for self-importance born of ignorance.

Decline and legacy

After the Han Dynasty conquered Nanyue in 111 BCE, Yelang submitted and its ruler received the title of king, while Han established Zangke Commandery. Around 27 BCE the Han governor Chen Li executed the king, Xing, for rebellion and the kingdom was abolished.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Yelang. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yelang
MLA
“Yelang.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yelang. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Yelang.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yelang.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Yelang’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yelang (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻