The area of the modern province of Yunnan was once habited by different Non-Chinese tribes, ancestors of many of the national minorities of today. Among these peoples, the "Dark -Man" (Wuman 烏蠻, said to be ancestors of the Yi Minority 彝族) and the "White-Man" (Baiman 白蠻, said to be ancestors of the Bai Minority 白族) were the predominant nations. The Dark-Man were able to found six tribes with a royal chieftain called zhao 詔 (Nanzhao 南詔 hence means "Southern Kingdom"), these tribes were called Mengshe 蒙舍 (short: Meng 蒙), Mengsui 蒙嶲, Langqiong 浪穹, Dengtan 邆賧, Shilang 施浪, and Yuexi 越析. In 649 AD the chieftain of the Mengshe tribe, Xinuluo 細奴邏 founded a kingdom (Da-Meng Guo 大蒙國) in the area of Lake Erhai 洱海 as "qijiawang 奇嘉王 Outstanding King" but accepted the supremacy of the Tang Dynasty. King Piluoge 皮邏閣 was able to unite the six Man tribes and established his capital at Yangjumie 陽苴咩 near modern Dali 大理/Yunnan. In 738 Piluoge was officially enfeoffed as King of Yunnan 雲南 by the Tang court. Under Piluoge and his son Geluofeng 閣羅鳳 the realm of Nanzhao extended its territory and became an important political and cultural center of southeastern China and the surrounding mountainous areas, inhabited by different tribes of different ethnicities. Although the Tang court protected the unification of the Man tribes by the Nanzhao rulers, the Chinese had to face a military challenge after this southeastern kingdom also developed military strength, especially after the Tang administration had installed the prefecture of Yaozhou 姚州 and the regional government of Nanjian 南劍. Nanzhao united with the northeastern Tibetian kingdom of Tubo 吐蕃 whose ruler bestowed the king of Nanzhao with the title of "zanpuzhong 贊普鍾 Eastern Ruler", and the Nanzhao-Tubo alliance defeated the armies of the Chinese chancellor Yang Guozhong 楊國忠. When Tang China was disturbed by the insurrection of An Lushan 安祿山, Nanzhao was able to develop substantial strength enough to stay unchallengend until the end of Tang. In 794 King Yimouxun 異牟尋 forged an alliance with the Tang court and helped the Chinese to defeat the kingdom of Tubo. Nevertheless Nanzhao troops permanently endangered Chinese territories and controlled large areas of the south of modern Sichuan. Like many neighboring states of China, the kingdom of Nanzhao adopted some patterns of the Chinese administratorial system, like the six ministries (in Nanzhao called liucao 六曹, compare Tang administration system), later divided into three agencies (santuo 三托) and nine courts (jiushuang 九爽). The highest minister was the chancellor (qingpingguan 清平官). The kingdom was administered by military commissioners (jiedushi 節度使) and commanders-in-chief (dudu 都督) that controlled the prefectures (jian 瞼). Sons of the Nanzhao aristocracy visited the Tang capital Chang'an to obtain Chinese education, and the Chinese Zheng Hui 鄭回 acted as royal mentor and chancellor. Poems of the Nanzhao aristocracy and courtiers are included into the collection Quantangshi 全唐詩. Chinese artisans and craftsmen were employed at the Nanzhao court, and Buddhism found many believers among the Nanzhao population. Chongsheng Monastery 崇聖寺 and the famous three pagodas at Dali were constructed during the Nanzhao period. In 907 Zheng Maisi 鄭買嗣, a descendant of Zheng Hui, usurped the throne and ended the rule of the Meng family of Nanzhao.

Kings of Nanzhao 南詔 617-902 Kingdom of Da-Meng Guo 大蒙國 Meng Xinuluo 蒙細奴邏 (Duluo 獨羅) 617-674 Meng Luosheng 蒙邏盛 Meng Shengluopi 蒙盛邏皮 Meng Piluoge 蒙皮邏閣 697-748 Meng Geluofeng 蒙閣羅鳳 748-779 -----Changshou 長壽 769-779 Meng Yimouxun 蒙異牟尋 780-808 -----Shangyuan 上元 784-? -----Yuanfeng 元封 ? Meng Xungequan 蒙尋閣勸 809 Meng Quanlongcheng 蒙勸隆晟 810-816 -----Longxing 龍興 810-816 Meng Quanli(sheng) 蒙勸利(晟) 817-823 -----Quanyi 全義 817-819 -----Dafeng 大豐 820-823 Meng Quanfengyou 蒙勸豐祐 824-859 -----Baohe 保和 824-839 ? -----Tianqi 天啟 ? Meng Shilong 蒙世隆 860-877 -----Jianji 建極 860-872 ? -----Fayao 法堯 ? Meng "Dafengmin" Longshun 蒙大封民隆舜 878-897 -----Zhenming 貞明 878-? -----Chengzhi 承智 ? -----Datong 大同 ? -----Cuoye 嵯耶 ? Meng Shunhuazhen 蒙舜化貞 898-902 -----Zhongxing 中興 898-902 Kingdom of Da-Changhe 大長和 903-927 Zheng Maisi 鄭買嗣 903-909 -----Anguo 安國 903-909 Zheng Renmin 鄭仁旻 910-926 -----Shiyuan 始元 910-912? -----Tianrui jingxing 天瑞景星 ? -----Anhe 安和 ? -----Zhenyou 貞祐 ? -----Chuli 初曆 ? -----Xiaozhi 孝治 Zheng Longtan 926-927 -----Tianying 天應 927 Kingdom of Da-Tianxing 大天興 928-929 Zhao Shanzheng 趙善政 928-929 -----Zunsheng 尊聖 928-929 Kingdom of Da-Yining 大義寧 930-937 Yang Ganzhen 楊干真 930-937 -----Xingsheng 興聖 930 -----Daming 大明 931-937