Abstract: Misled by the one-sided account in Li Jing's Yunnan Zhi Lue or A Brief History of Yunnan, a prevailing official narrative gradually took hold from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) onward, asserting that Yunnan had not revered Jin classics and was completely isolated from its studies and its transformative teachings before the 13th century. Consequently, both the influence of Jin classics studies on Yunnan before the Yuan and the initiative shown by Yunnan in exchanging Jin classics studies and culture with the heartland were significantly underestimated. In reality, Jin classics studies had been circulating in Yunnan as early as the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.). It was continuously preserved and transmitted among the prominent Han families who settled in Yunnan from the Wei and Jin periods through the early Tang Dynasty, or from the 3rd through the 7th centuries. In the following one or two centuries, it even became a mainstream component of the intellectual and cultural landscape of the local Nanzhao Kingdom (738-902) and continued to play a vital role within the sphere of “Confucian-Buddhist” culture during the Dali Kingdom (937-1254) period. Throughout this entire process, both the heartland and the frontier regions, as well as the Han and the other minority ethnic groups, made significant contributions. The persistent transmission of Jin classic studies in Yunnan before the Yuan Dynasty serves not only as crucial testimony to the cultural exchanges and integration within the Chinese nation but also as an important foundation for fostering a sense of community for the Chinese nation.

Key words: Jin classics studies, Yunnan in the Qin and Han dynasties, Nanzhao Kingdom, Dali Kingdom, inter-ethnic exchange, communication and integration