Yue (,
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
: ''*''), also known as Yuyue (), was a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the
Spring and Autumn and
Warring States
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
periods of China's
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
in the modern
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
. Its original capital was Kuaiji (modern
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...
); after its conquest of
Wu, Yue relocated its court north to the city of
Wu (modern-day
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
). Yue was conquered by
Chu
Chu or CHU may refer to:
Chinese history
* Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty
* Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu
* Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...
in 306 BC.
History
A specific kingdom, which had been known as the "Yue Guo" () in modern
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
, was not mentioned until it began a series of wars against its northern neighbor
Wu during the late 6th century BC. According to the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'' and ''
Discourses of the States
The ''Guoyu'' (), usually translated ''Discourses of the States'', is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of speeches attributed to rulers and other men from the Spring and Autumn period (771–476). It comprises a total of ...
'', the Yue are descended from Wuyu, the son of
Shao Kang
Shao Kang (, his surname was Sì 姒) was the sixth king of the Xia dynasty of ancient China. He was the son of Xiang. His father was killed in a battle against Han Zhuo's two sons, Han Jiao and Han Yi; Shao Kang's mother Ji managed to escape an ...
which as known as the sixth king of the
Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
.
With help from Wu's enemy
Chu
Chu or CHU may refer to:
Chinese history
* Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty
* Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu
* Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...
, Yue was able to be victorious after several decades of conflict. The famous Yue King
Goujian
Goujian () (reigned 496–465 BC) was the king of the Kingdom of Yue (越國, present-day northern Zhejiang) near the end of the Spring and Autumn period (春秋). He was the son of Marquis Yunchang.
Goujian's reign coincided with arguably th ...
destroyed and annexed Wu in 473 BC. During the reign of
Wuqiang (), six generations after Goujian, Yue was partitioned by Chu and
Qi in 306 BC.
During its existence, Yue was famous for the quality of its metalworking, particularly its swords. Examples include the extremely well-preserved
Swords of Goujian and
Zhougou.
The Yue state appears to have been a largely indigenous political development in the lower
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
. This region corresponds with that of the old corded-ware Neolithic, and it continued to be one that shared a number of practices, such as tooth extraction, pile building, and cliff burial.
Austronesian speakers also still lived in the region down to its conquest and sinification beginning about 240 BC.
What set the Yue apart from other Sinitic states of the time was their possession of a navy. Yue culture was distinct in its practice of naming boats and swords. A Chinese text described the Yue as a people who used boats as their carriages and oars as their horses.
Rulers of Yue family tree
Their
ancestral name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...
is rendered variously as either
Si () or
Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
***Luoland, the ...
(雒 or 駱).
Aftermath
After the fall of Yue, the ruling family moved south to what is now northern
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
and set up the
Minyue
Minyue () was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the dynasty expanded southward. The kingdom existed approximately from ...
kingdom. This successor state lasted until around 150 BC, when it miscalculated an alliance with the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.
Mingdi, Wujiang's second son, was appointed minister of Wucheng (present-day
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...
's
Wuxing District
Wuxing District () is the central district of the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Administrative divisions
As of 2020, Wuxing District has 13 Subdistricts and 5 Towns and 1 Townships under its administration.
Wuxing District's ...
) by the king of Chu. He was titled Marquis of Ouyang Ting, from a pavilion on the
south side of
Ouyu Mountain. The first
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
emperor
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
abolished the title after his conquest of Chu in 223 BC, but descendants and subjects of its former rulers took up the surnames
Ou,
Ouyang
Ouyang () is a Chinese surname. It is the most common two-character Chinese compound surname, being the only two-character name of the 400 most common Chinese surnames, according to a 2013 study, and is one of the few two-character surnames that ha ...
, and
Ouhou () in remembrance.
When the religious leader
Xu Chang launched a rebellion against the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
in 172 CE, he declared the state of Yue restored and appointed his father Xu Sheng as "King of Yue". The rebels were crushed in 174.
Astronomy
In
Chinese astronomy
Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the twe ...
, there are two stars named for Yue:
*Yue (along with
Wu) is represented by the star
Zeta Aquilae
Zeta Aquilae, or ζ Aquilae, is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is readily visible with the naked eye, being of the third magnitude. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, ...
in the "Left Wall" of the
Heavenly Market enclosure
The Heavenly Market Enclosure (天市垣, ''Tian Shi Yuan''), is one of the ''San Yuan'' or Three enclosures
Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( C ...
*Yue is also represented by the star
Psi Capricorni
Psi Capricorni, Latinized from ψ Capricorni, is a single star in the southern zodiac constellation of Capricornus. It is a yellow-white hued star that is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.13. The d ...
or
19 Capricorni in the "Twelve States" of the mansion of the
Girl
A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
.
Biology
The
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Yuyuevirus
''Yuyuevirus'' is a genus of negative-strand RNA viruses which infect invertebrates. Member viruses have bisegmented genomes. It is the only genus in the family ''Yueviridae'', which in turn is the only family in the order ''Goujianvirales'' an ...
'' and the virus
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
''
Yueviridae
''Yuyuevirus'' is a genus of negative-strand RNA viruses which infect invertebrates. Member viruses have bisegmented genomes. It is the only genus in the family ''Yueviridae'', which in turn is the only family in the order ''Goujianvirales'' an ...
'' are both named after the state.
People from Yue
*
Yuenü
Yuenü () was a swordswoman from the state of Yue, in the modern Chinese province of Zhejiang. She is also known as ''Maiden of the Southern Forest''.
In Chinese mythology, she is a reincarnation of Jiutian Xuannü.
Life and legacy
Yuenü lived ...
, swordswoman & author of the earliest-known exposition on swordplay
*
Xi Shi
Xi Shi (Hsi Shih; , ) was, according to legends, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue.
In traditional st ...
, a famous beauty of the ancient Yue Guo.
Language
Possible languages spoken in the state of Yue may have been of
Tai-Kadai and
Austronesian origins. Li Hui (2001) identifies 126 Tai-Kadai cognates in
Maqiao
''A Dictionary of Maqiao'' () is a novel written by Chinese writer Han Shaogong. It was first published in 1996 and was translated into English by Julia Lovell in 2003. ''Yazhou Zhoukan'' selected it as one of the top 100 greatest Chinese novels i ...
Wu dialect spoken in the suburbs of
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
out of more than a thousand lexical items surveyed. According to the author, these cognates are likely traces of '
old Yue language
The Old Yue language ( zh, c=古越語, p=''Gu Yueyu'') is an unknown unclassified language (or many different languages). It can refer to Yue, which was spoken in the realm of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. It can also refer to the v ...
' (gu Yueyu 古越語).
See also
*
Tai languages
The Tai or Zhuang–Tai languages ( th, ภาษาไท or , transliteration: or ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spoken of the Tai–Kadai languages, including Standard Thai or Sia ...
*
Tai-Kadai languages
*
Austronesian languages
*
Austro-Tai languages
The Austro-Tai languages, sometimes also Austro-Thai languages, are a proposed language family that comprises the Austronesian languages and the Kra–Dai languages.
Related proposals include Austric ( Wilhelm Schmidt in 1906) and Sino-Austrone ...
*
Tai peoples
Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, an ...
*
Austronesian peoples
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...
*
Austro-Tai peoples
The Austro-Tai languages, sometimes also Austro-Thai languages, are a proposed language family that comprises the Austronesian languages and the Kra–Dai languages.
Related proposals include Austric ( Wilhelm Schmidt in 1906) and Sino-Austrone ...
*
Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, ...
*
Minyue
Minyue () was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the dynasty expanded southward. The kingdom existed approximately from ...
*
Wu (state)
Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language.
Wu was located at the ...
*
Dong'ou Kingdom
Dong'ou () also known as Ouyue (), was an ancient kingdom in modern Wenzhou and Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The realm of Dong'ou was given to Zou Yao by Emperor Gaozu of Han in 192 BC. During the Han campaigns against Minyue in 138 BC, th ...
*
Âu Việt The Âu Việt or Ouyue () were an ancient conglomeration of Baiyue tribes living in what is today the mountainous regions of northernmost Vietnam, western Guangdong, and northern Guangxi, China, since at least the third century BCE. They were belie ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Zhengzhang Shangfang (; ; 9 August 1933 – 19 May 2018) was a Chinese linguist, known for his reconstruction of Old Chinese.
Zhengzhang was born as Zheng Xiangfang ( ; ) in Yongjia County, on the outskirts of Wenzhou. As and have the same ...
1999. "An Interpretation of the Old Yue Language Written in
Goujiàn's ''Wéijiă lìng''"
践"维甲"令中之古越语的解读 In ''Minzu Yuwen'' 4, pp. 1–14.
*
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Zhengzhang Shangfang (; ; 9 August 1933 – 19 May 2018) was a Chinese linguist, known for his reconstruction of Old Chinese.
Zhengzhang was born as Zheng Xiangfang ( ; ) in Yongjia County, on the outskirts of Wenzhou. As and have the same ...
1998. "Gu Yueyu" 古越語
he old Yue language
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
In Dong Chuping 董楚平 et al. Wu Yue wenhua zhi 吳越文化誌
ecord of the cultures of Wu and Yue Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1998, vol. 1, pp. 253–281.
*
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Zhengzhang Shangfang (; ; 9 August 1933 – 19 May 2018) was a Chinese linguist, known for his reconstruction of Old Chinese.
Zhengzhang was born as Zheng Xiangfang ( ; ) in Yongjia County, on the outskirts of Wenzhou. As and have the same ...
1990. "Some Kam-Tai Words in Place Names of the Ancient Wu and Yue States"
吴越地名中的侗台语成份 In ''Minzu Yuwen'' 6.
External links
*Eric Henry
The Submerged History of Yuè(''Sino-Platonic Papers'' 176, May 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yue
334 BC
4th-century BC disestablishments in China
History of Jiangsu
History of Shanghai
History of Zhejiang
Shaoxing
States and territories disestablished in the 4th century BC