Tusi

Tusi (tu-szu), also known as Headmen or Chieftains, were tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing-era Chinese governments, principally in Yunnan. The arrangement is generally known as the Native Chieftain System.

The system originated from Yuan accommodations following the conquest of Dali in AD 1253 by Mongol forces under the command of Kublai, the brother of the Great Khan. The former ruling Duan dynasty were appointed as its governors general. and local leaders coöpted under a variety of titles as administrators of the region. Some credit the Turkoman governor Shams al-Din with introducing the components of the system. Duan Xingzhi, the last king of Dali, was appointed as the first local ruler, and he accepted the stationing of a pacification commissioner there. After Kublai's departure, unrest broke out among certain factions. In 1255 and 1256, Duan Xingzhi was presented at court, where he offered the Yuan Emperor Mengu maps of Yunnan and counsels about the vanquishing of the tribes who had not yet surrendered. Duan then led a considerable army to serve as guides and vanguards for the Mongolian army. By the end of 1256, Uryankhadai had completely pacified Yunnan. In 1381, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang sent a force against the last remnant of the forces of the Yuan Dynasty, led by the Prince of Liang Basalawarmi, who committed suicide. This left Duan Gong, a successor of Duan Xingzhi, as the last representative of remnant Yuan forces. He refused to surrender and attempted to have the former Dali kingdom recognized as a tributary state. When defeated in battle, the surviving Duan brothers were taken captive and escorted in to the capital. There they were given an insignificant office in the interior. From then on, "permanent chieftains were replaced by transferable officials," formally appointed by the Ming court.

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