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Finally, in 1053, he was driven away from Guangxi and escaped to the Kingdom of Dali in Yunnan. 45 What is of interest is how Nong Zhigao is to be described in Chinese history. First, most general histories written in modem times have ignored him altogether, including the two semi-official histories, the Tongshi and the Shigao. Secondly, at the level of local Zhuang history, he is still regarded as a Zhuang Chinese, even as a victim of Han Chinese (the Song court's) callousness and neglect. Thirdly, Zhuang historians have argued that his rebellion against the Song court had been just and popular and that he was really a Zhuang national hero unjustly excluded from history written by Han Chinese.

2 This subject touches on the issue of legitimacy or zheng-tong, one that Song historians themselves had long anticipated. 33 But they had done so by assuming Han Chinese superiority and would not have expected all Han Chinese to come under Mongol rule when the Song fell. The Mongols, however, redefined China to cover all within the Yuan empire and later, the Manchus were to do the same again for the Qing empire. And since modem China claims to have inherited all the lands of the Qing empire, it in tum has had to accept that all these lands from China today and all who live within its borders are Chinese.

54-62. 27. 364-84. The new section 'Minzu pingdeng he yapo' is on pages 375--8. 28. 33-6. A useful summary of the debate in 22 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 450-2. 23-7. 24. This may be compared with Deng Guangming and Zhang Xiching, 'Luelun aiguozhuyi he minzu yingxiong' ('A brief discussion on patriotism and national heroes'), Renmin Ribao, 8 December 1981. 27. The difficulty with the case of Yue Fei 'the national hero' and Chin Kuai 'the traitor' has been the subject of many debates, most notably on Yue Fei as a Song or a Han Chinese hero and Chin Kuai as a traitor to the Han Chinese.