Yelang

Yelang (Chinese: ; pinyin: Yèláng), initially known as Zangke (Chinese: 牂柯), was an ancient political entity first described in the 3rd century BC that was centered in what is now western Guizhou province, China. Estimated to have been active for over 200 years, it was an alliance of tribes, rather than a conventional state.

According to Geoff Wade, the inhabitants of Yelang called themselves Zina, and it is possibly the source of Sanskrit Cīna (चीन)."

Yelang is believed to have been an alliance of tribes covering parts of modern day Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan.

The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian described Yelang as west of the Mimo and Dian, south of Qiongdu (in what is now southern Sichuan), and east of the nomadic Sui and Kunming. Some people have identified the seat of the kingdom as Bijie (Chinese: 毕节) in today's Liupanshui area, in modern Guizhou province, whilst others suggest the capital moved throughout the region over time.

The Yelang were a farming people.

Yelang people wore their hair up and decorated themselves with jewellery such as bracelets and necklaces.

Archaeologists have retrieved relics from Yelang graves including "bronze swords, U-shaped bronze hairclips, turquoise bracelets and jade necklaces", as well as "various bronze, porcelain and stone vessels visibly different from those belonging to other cultures studied in China, like the Han, Dian and Bashu cultures".

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