Abstract: During the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, the Dianchi Lake region was home to a large number of parallel aristocratic lineages and political centers. The so-called “Zhuang Qiao as King of Dian” recorded in the literature is a legend that arose against a backdrop of multiple factors. The family of the “King of Dian”, from whose tomb (M6 at Shizhaishan, Jinning) the golden seal of the “King of Dian” was excavated, was regarded by the Han dynasty as descended from “Zhuang Qiao”. The popularity of this legend held appeal for the Han dynasty, for the Shizhaishan family in question, and for Sima Qian, who recorded it. For the Han dynasty, the legend provided historical justification for Huaxia governance over the indigenous ethnic tribes of the southwest and the Dianchi Lake region. For the family, an ancestral origin located in the remote outside could enhance the mystique and legitimacy of its rule. In reality, however, the Dianchi Lake region at that time sheltered a number of aristocratic families and political centers that ran in parallel with the “King of Dian” family of Shizhaishan, whose tomb scales and unearthed numbers of high-ranking ritual vessels surpassed those of the so-called “King of Dian’s tomb”. Among these multi-center aristocratic groups, there was both a tendency toward “mutual support among those sharing the same surname” and competition in such domains as ritual and the economy.

Key words: Zhuang Qiao as King of Dian, legend, multi-center, parallel existence, Dianchi Lake region