Nong Quanfu


Nong Quanfu, also recorded as Nùng Tồn Phúc was a Nùng/Zhuang chieftain and zhou-level official of Guangyuan located in the modern-day Cao Bang in the 11th century AD. He was the father of the Nùng/Zhuang chieftain Nong Zhigao, who revolted against Annamese rule in 1048, established the Kingdom of Changsheng, and besieged Guangzhou for two months in 1052.

Biography

Nong Quanfu was a son of Nong Minfu, a local chieftain of Guangyuan. Nong Minfu received the titles minister of works and grand master of splendid happiness bearing the golden pocket with purple trimming from the Song court, which he eventually passed on to his son, Nong Quanfu. Nong Quanfu was then granted the additional authority to rule Thang Do prefecture in the southeastern corner of the present-day Jingxi county, in Guangxi. His younger brother and brother-in-law controlled two other nearby prefectures. Quanfu's home prefecture was a great source of gold, which together with his domination over local trade route along the Bang river must have largely increased his wealth and political influence. Around 1020, Nong Quanfu married A Nong, a shamaness and the daughter of a noted chieftain of the Nong clan. Later, A Nong became his primary political advisor. Under A Nong's instruction, Quanfu killed his brother who was a leader in the Cen clan and took his land. Nung/Zhuang chieftains allocated lands to followers in a true feudal system, with some attributes of slave-holding practices. The amount of land controlled by a chieftain affected the number of men he could field, a powerful incentive to expansive warfare. The Nong clan eventually controlled 14 majors dongs, compared to 5 claimed by the Huang clan. Quanfu found the Kingdom of Longevity and took for himself the exalted title Luminous and Sage Emperor. He gave his wife A Nong the title Enlightened and Virtuous Empress. Quanfu then broke off all ties with Annamese ruler Ly Phat Ma, but was finally captured and executed by the Annamese ruler in 1039.