Dali Kingdom
The Dali (Great Li) Kingdom or Dali State (Bai language: Dablit Guaif; simplified Chinese: 大理国; traditional Chinese: 大理國; pinyin: Dàlǐ Guó) was a kingdom centred in what is now Yunnan Province of China. Established by Duan Siping in 937, it was ruled by a succession of 22 kings until the year 1253, when it was conquered by an invasion of the Mongol Empire. The capital city was at Dali.
History
The Dali Kingdom was preceded by the Nanzhao dynasty, which was overthrown in 902. Three dynasties followed in quick succession, until Duan Siping seized power in 937 and established Dali.Gao Shengtai forced the puppet king Duan Zhengming to abdicate and become a monk in 1095, and renamed the state Dazhong. He returned the power to the Duan family upon his death. Duan Zhengchun renamed the state Hou Li (literately "Later Li") in the next year.
The Duan family claimed descent from a Han Chinese family originating from Wuwei in Gansu province.
The 11th king of Nanzhao established Buddhism as the state religion. Ten of the 22 kings of Dali gave up the throne and became monks.