Summary

According to the History of Song: Guangyuan Zhou Man Zhuan (《宋史·廣源州蠻傳》), he followed his father, Nong Quanfu (儂全福), as the head of local Zhuang people in Quảng Uyên/Guangyuan (present-day Cao Bằng Province).

In 1042, at the age of 17, Zhigao declared independence and established a new state, Dali (大曆, not to be confused with the concurrent Dali Kingdom (大理)). For his efforts, Zhigao was captured by Vietnamese troops and held at Thang Long for several years. After his release in 1048, Zhigao announced the founding of the Nantian (南天, "Southern Heavens") Kingdom. Following his announcement, Vietnamese court launched an attack on Zhigao's stronghold, succeeding only in relocating Zhigao's force and his followers farther north into Song territory. In 1052, Zhigao proclaimed the establishment of the Danan Kingdom (大南, "Great South") and declared himself the Renhui (仁惠, "Benevolent and Kind") Emperor. He then took Nanning, swept through the southeast en route to Guangdong, besieged Guangzhou for 57 days. After lifting the siege at Guangzhou, Nong Zhigao moved north, rapidly defeating a succession of Song forces due to his superior mobility. Then the Zhuang turned south and west, retaking Yong (Nanning) in the 10th month of 1052, which had again fallen into Song hands. At Yong, Nong Zhigao immediately began building boats, announcing his intention to attack Guangzhou again and found the state Nanyue there. A succession of Song forces were sent against him, but he defeated them in the mountains around Yong. The Song Emperor dispatched Di Qing, a career military official, to battle against Zhigao, and eventually managed to defeat Zhigao's army. After that he and his people fled to Yunnan, Thailand and Laos.

The defeat of Nong Zhigao may have ultimately been due to the failure of the Huang and Cen clans among the Zhuang to support him. Both the Huang and Cen clans had lost territory to the Nong clan of Nong Zhigao, and was disturbed by the Nong intrusions. One weakness of the Zhuang combined forces is their cavalry. The region was a horse-trading center and there were specialized mounted units in which both man and horse were heavily armored, but the mountainous terrain and many rivers restricted the utility of cavalry.

Veneration

The modern-day veneration of Nong Zhigao and his father Nong Quanfu and his mother A Nong in Cao Bằng province is closely tied to the shared regional identity of people from this region. Nong Zhigao remains a hero and a 「man of prowess,」 and worship includes practices that highlight the particular strengths of Nong Zhigao, including his willingness to face up to the aggression of both Song and Đai Viêt authorities and his ambition to unify and heighten the status of his region's people. From the historical record, one can also see that, by the late 19th century, annual festivals devoted to the spirit of Nong Zhigao were regionally important. It is equally apparent that the appeal of these festivals extended beyond clan or ethnic affiliations to the general populace that has often included communities on both sides of the modern political border. At Du-zhun village in Guangxi there was a Spirit Temple to him where lightning and thunder manifestations were still being recorded in the 18th century.

In stark contrast to the wealth of evidence for worship activity in northern Viet Nam, there is little confirmation in the Chinese historical record of the existence of temple sites dedicated to Nong Zhigao in China. In fact, most relevant Chinese sources only describe stelae and temples that honor the names of the Song generals who crushed Nong Zhigao′s bid for independence. Only in the last few years has the issue of a public memorial to Nong Zhigao in China been addressed. On January 8, 1997 a local group of Nong Zhigao′s descendants and their supporters from the Guangxi township of Jingxi (靖西) and the tiny village of Xia Lei (下雷) took the initiative to revive interest in this rebel′s life and deeds. The vice-director of the Center for Zhuang studies in Nanning, Pan Qixu (潘其旭), had earlier been invited to Xia Lei to authenticate the discovery of the cave believed to be Nong Zhigao′s dwelling and storehouse at the time he founded his first kingdom. A modern stele was then erected on this site. A large group of provincial officials and leading academics from Guangxi reportedly attended the commemoration ceremony.

Controversy

This ceremony did generate some controversy. Funds for this stele had to be raised privately. Organizers of this event said that high-level political figures have avoided involvement in the project, voicing concerns over its 「separatist」 implications. Nevertheless, the goal of bringing Nong Zhigao back into the public eye was largely successful, as the long list of small donors to the stele installation suggested. A glance at the large donors list, however, reveals that 32 out of the 34 persons included had the surname Nong. This fact suggests that although distant Han officials fear that the memorial could be used to fan regional 「Pan-Tai」 sentiments, older clan associations may shape local identification with this site.

Local disputes aside, this recent Guangxi memorial and the continuing regional popularity of the temples in Viet Nam are signs that the region has recovered from the 「dark days」 of the 1980s when the Sino-Vietnamese border remained tense and frosty diplomatic relations curbed official crossborder activities. Communities that honor Nong Zhigao still span a region that contains many historical sites of bloody confrontation between Chinese and Vietnamese armies. However, these communities share a common thread of identity, preserved in part by a devotion to the figure of Nong Zhigao.

生平

出身

儂智高早年受漢族文化影響較深，能寫文章，曾考進士不中。其父儂全福為當地勢力最大的部族首領，于1029年後在當地建立「長生國」（一作「長其國」），自稱「昭聖皇帝」，立其妻阿儂為「明德皇后」，封儂智聰為「南衙王」。儂全福一度依附大瞿越李朝，但不久又宣布獨立，不接受李朝的宗主地位。1039年（李太宗通瑞五年），李朝皇帝李太宗率軍突襲長生國，焚毀城寨，俘虜儂全福、儂智聰等五人至昇龍。儂智高與其母阿儂逃脫。

繼位

李太宗雖殺死儂全福、儂智聰等人，卻任命儂智高為廣源州知州，增授雷火、平安、婆四洞及思琅州之地。儂智高遂奉行依附北宋的策略，七次奉上黃金要求內附，但北宋擔心此舉將激怒大越，未予以答應。儂遂于1041年（宋仁宗慶曆元年）自立為王，國號「大曆國」。這招致了李朝又一次軍事進攻，儂智高被俘。但是，儂智高在表示願意臣服于李朝之後，李太宗將儂智高釋放，任命他為廣源州知州，增授雷火、平安、婆四洞及思琅州之地，。1043年，又派魏徵出使廣源州，賜予儂智高都印，拜授太保官職。

1045年（慶曆五年），儂智高占領安德州，宣布建立「南天國」，年號景瑞，再次與李朝決裂。1048年（景瑞三年），李朝派太尉郭盛溢攻打儂智高，儂智高投降李朝。次年，儂智高開始襲擾北宋，希望能在北宋和大越之間建立一個獨立勢力。

儂智高其後仍多次向北宋求取官職，均被北宋地方官員拒絕，在此情況之下，儂智高決定全力反宋，希望能乘宋軍主力不在南方之機迅速控制嶺南地區，並以此為基本與北宋議和。

起事

皇祐四年（1052年）四月初六，儂智高以五千人起兵。五月初一（5月31日），攻占邕州（在今廣西壯族自治區南寧市），守將張日新等戰死，邕州指揮使元斌貝被儂智高生擒。儂智高在邕州自立為「仁惠皇帝」，國號「大南」，年號啟歷，一應官制都按照中國規制設立，兵員增至一萬餘人。

五月初九，儂率主力東征，一路勢如破竹，「一人持牌以蔽身，二人持槍以殺人，眾進如堵，弓矢莫能加」，連下橫（今廣西橫縣）、貴（今廣西貴港市）、潯（今廣西桂平縣）、龔州、藤（今廣西藤縣）、梧（今廣西梧州市）等十二州；唯潯州、封川、康州抵抗，孫抗下落不明，曹覲、趙師旦殉國。1052年6月21日（五月廿六）進圍廣州。英州知州蘇緘認為廣州是中心地區，不去救援就會無義，便將公務暫委下屬，親自招募數千兵士前往救援。蘇緘捕殺了儂智高手下謀士黃師宓之父，使對手喪失鬥志，乘機狙擊而立下戰功。宋仁宗為表嘉獎，任蘇緘為供備庫副使、廣東都監，管押兩路兵甲，遣中使賜朝衣、金帶。但後來在追擊的戰鬥中失利，主將陳曙被誅，蘇緘也被降為房州司馬。由于廣州城池堅固，儂智高又缺乏攻城器械，被迫在圍攻57天不克後撤圍北上。此時，儂智高全軍已發展為5萬人。其後，儂智高軍隊席捲廣西、廣東各地，並計劃北上攻打湖南。

1052年10月（陰曆九月），宋仁宗被迫撤回西夏前線的主力，任命狄青為樞密副使，率兵南征儂智高。狄青為提振軍心，在桂州城南一廟宇內撒出百板銅錢，結果百枚銅錢字面無一不朝上，全軍歡聲雷動。狄青先鋒楊文廣于年底抵達桂州，與儂軍相遇，作戰不利，一度被困。狄青傳令在西軍主力未到之前，廣南西路各部不得主動出擊。1月30日，狄青為整頓軍紀，將擅自出兵大敗而潰于崑崙關（今廣西邕寧、賓陽交界處）的廣西鈐轄陳曙等三十一人處斬，孫沔、余靖相顧愕眙，陳曙是經略安撫使余靖的部下，余靖上前謝罪說：「曙之失律，亦靖節制之罪也。」狄青回答說：「舍人文臣，軍旅之責非所任也。」，於是「兵將股慄，咸思用命」。

1053年初，狄青主力抵達廣西。儂智高中狄青的緩兵之計，被狄青偷襲崑崙關得手，被迫在正月十八日己未與狄青決戰于邕州歸仁鋪戰役，儂智高軍的特點是標槍與蠻牌互為彌補，在歸仁鋪的平原上，無法抵擋宋軍騎兵的衝擊。是役宋軍追奔十五里，斬首二千二百餘級，生擒五百餘人，尸甲如山，積于道路，將相死者五十七人。大南國黃師宓、儂建侯、儂志忠均戰歿于陣。儂智高率殘兵退入邕州，當晚縱火燒城遁于銅柱之外。邕州城破之時，儂智高依附于特磨寨（又稱特磨道或特磨峒，在今雲南廣南縣一帶）之儂夏卿，練習騎戰，以圖東山再起。儂智高很早就知道難以抗衡狄青的騎兵，他在寫給結峒酋長黃守陵的信中，坦承自己的軍隊如與宋軍的騎兵作戰，不太可能獲勝。二月二十九日己亥，狄青班師至桂林。

儂智高派梁珠前往李朝求援，李朝派指揮使武珥前往救援，但援軍未至，儂智高又被狄青擊敗。儂智高率兵五百及六妻六子逃奔大理國，被安置于元江流域。皇祐五年十二月（1054年），余靖以楊元卿、陳充等人率六州之兵襲擊特磨寨，生擒儂智高之母阿儂、弟儂智光、二子儂繼封、儂繼明。次年，儂智高因故被大理國朝廷處決。

歷史形象

傳統的中、越史料皆將儂智高視同叛逆之人。而由于儂智高引起的戰亂嚴重的極大損害了嶺南漢族的利益，因此在漢族史書中，儂智高往往被描寫成為惡魔或者邪惡巫師形象。

最早為儂智高鳴不平的學者是黃現璠。1962年4月2日，黃現璠在《廣西日報》上發表《儂智高起兵反宋是正義的戰爭》一文，後又撰寫了《儂智高》一書，嘗試全面論証儂智高起兵反宋的正義性。廣西壯族自治區人民政府原主席韋純束以及一些學者相繼評價。