Chueang
Legendary hero of Dai people, ruler of Ngeonyang and the first king of Chiang Hung
Chueang (Thai: พญาเจือง, RTGS: Phaya Chueang; Chinese: 叭真), or Phaya Coeng, or Yi Chueang (ยี่เจือง), is the legendary hero of the Tai people who ruled as first king of the Lü Kingdom establishing a capital at Jinghong.
Biography
According to The Chiang Mai Chronicle, Chueang was a son of Chom Pha Rueang, ruler of Ngoenyang, whom he succeeded in 1148 CE. An alternative tradition, however, identifies Chueang as the eldest son of Khun Chomtham, the founding monarch of the Phayao Kingdom and a descendant of Lao Chakkaraj of Ngoenyang. In this account, Chueang ascended the throne of Phayao upon the death of his father in 1148 CE.
The Chronicle of Chiang Saen records that during Chueang's reign—whether centered at Mueang Phayao or Fang—Tao Kwa (ท้าวกวา) of Mueang Kaew Prakan (เมืองแกวประกัน), a polity commonly identified with Xiangkhouang (Muang Phuan), and his younger brother Phraya Chanthaburi (พระยาจันทบุรี) of modern Vientiane, launched a large-scale military invasion of Mueang Ngoenyang in 1150s. At that time, Ngoenyang was ruled by Chueang's uncle, identified in the chronicles as Khun Chin or Khun Chuen (ขุนชิน or ขุนชื่น). Unable to repel the invading forces, Khun Chin sought military assistance from the Chueang brothers. The elder brother Ai Chueang (อ้ายเจือง) died in the battle, while the younger Chueang successfully expelled the invaders and subsequently restored the throne to his uncle and then appointed his own son, Lao Ngoen Rueang, to oversee the polity.
Following this campaign, Chueang led his forces eastward, subjugating several polities before ultimately capturing Mueang Kaew Prakan. He is reported to have ruled from this center until 1180 CE, at which point he transferred authority over Mueang Kaew Prakan to his son, Tao Pha Rueang (ท้าวผาเรือง), and subsequently proceeded to found Chiang Hung as a new political center in the upper Mekong region. In contrast, the Chronicle of Chiang Saen contradicts this account, stating that Chueang never ruled at Mueang Kaew and that authority there was instead entrusted to his middle son, also named Chueang. Meanwhile, the Legend of Chiang Mai claims that Chueang married a daughter of Tao Kwa of Mueang Kaew named Nang U Kaew (นางอู่แก้ว), with whom he had a son named Tao Pha Rueang.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chueang” as legendary hero of Dai people, ruler of Ngeonyang and the first king of Chiang Hung. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as legendary hero of Dai people, ruler of Ngeonyang and the first king of Chiang Hung. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7180640. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1148 and 1180.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chueang” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.