Dian Kingdom

Dian (Chinese: 滇) was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian buried their dead in vertical pit graves. The Dian language was likely one of the Tibeto-Burman languages. The Han Empire's annexation of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BCE eventually led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery. Dian culture started from at least the 8th century BCE, until it fell under the control of the Han dynasty in 109 BCE.