The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of

southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

and

northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam or '' Tonkin'' () is one of three geographical regions in Vietnam. It consists of three geographic sub-regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sôn ...

during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swords, and naval prowess. During the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

, the word "Yue" referred to the state of Yue in

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. The later kingdoms of

Minyue Minyue (; Pinyin: ''Mǐnyuè, Mínyuè'') 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 Southward expansion of the Han dynas ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

and

Nanyue Nanyue ( zh, c=南越 or 南粵, p=Nányuè, cy=, j=Naam4 Jyut6, l=Southern Yue, , ), was an ancient kingdom founded in 204 BC by the Chinese general Zhao Tuo, whose family (known in Vietnamese as the Triệu dynasty) continued to rule until ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

were both considered Yue states. During the Zhou and Han dynasties, the Yue lived in a vast territory from

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, while Barlow (1997:2) indicates that the Luoyue occupied the southwest

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

and northern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'' describes the various Yue tribes and peoples can be found from the regions of Kuaiji to

Jiaozhi Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or , was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Commandery (; , ch� ...

. The Yue tribes were gradually assimilated into Chinese culture as the Han empire expanded into what is now southern China and northern Vietnam. Many modern southern

Chinese languages The Sinitic languages (), often synonymous with the Chinese languages, are a group of East Asian analytic languages that constitute a major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is frequently proposed that there is a primary split b ...

bear traces of substrate languages originally spoken by the ancient Yue. Variations of the name are still used for the name of modern Vietnam, in Zhejiang-related names including Yue opera, the

Yue Chinese Yue () is a branch of the Sinitic languages primarily spoken in Northern and southern China, Southern China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang). The term Cantonese is often used to refer ...

language, and in the abbreviation for

Names

The modern term "Yue" (; Early Middle Chinese: ) comes from

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 ...

. It was first written using the pictograph for an axe (a homophone), in

oracle bone Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron which were used in pyromancya form of divinationduring the Late Shang period () in ancient China. '' Scapulimancy'' is the specific term if ox scapulae were used for the divination, ''p ...

and bronze inscriptions of the late

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

(), and later as . At that time it referred to a people or chieftain to the northwest of the Shang.Theobald, Ulrich (2018
"Shang Dynasty – Political History"
in ''ChinaKnowledge.de – An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art''. quote: "Enemies of the Shang state were called ''fang'' , like the Tufang () who roamed the northern region of Shanxi, the Guifang and Gongfang () in the northwest, the Qiangfang, Suifang (), Yuefang (), Xuanfang () and Zhoufang in the west, as well as the Yifang and Renfang () in the southeast." In the early 8th century BC, a tribe on the middle

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

were called the '' Yangyue'', a term later used for peoples further south. Between the 7th and 4th centuries BC "Yue" referred to the state of Yue in the lower Yangtze basin and its people. According to Ye Wenxian, as cited by Wan, the ethnonym of the Yuefang in northwestern China is not associated with that of the Baiyue in southeastern China. The term Baiyue first appears in the '' Lüshi Chunqiu'', compiled around 239 BC. It was later used as a collective term for many non-

Huaxia ''Huaxia'' is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by ancestral populations of the Han people. Etymology The earliest extant authentic attestation of the ''H ...

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

populations of

Southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

and

Northern Vietnam Northern Vietnam or '' Tonkin'' () is one of three geographical regions in Vietnam. It consists of three geographic sub-regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sôn ...

. Ancient texts mention a number of Yue states or groups. Most of these names survived into early imperial times:

History

Prehistory

According to Chunming Wu, the prehistoric ancestors of the Baiyue were actively involved in seafaring in southeastern China. They communicated with 'proto-

Austronesians The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...

' in Southeast Asia and Pacific archipelagos.

Yuyue

During the early

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

, the Chinese came into contact with a people known as the Yuyue, but it is uncertain if they had any connection with the later Yue.

Wu and Yue

From the 9th century BC, two Yue tribes, the Gouwu and Yuyue, came under the cultural influence of their northern Chinese neighbours. These two peoples were based in the areas of what is now southern

and northern

, respectively. Traditional accounts attribute the cultural exchange to Taibo, a

prince who had self-exiled to the south. During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

, the Gouwu founded the state of Wu and the Yuyue the state of Yue. The Wu and Yue peoples hated each other and had an intense rivalry but were indistinguishable from each other to the other Chinese states. It is suggested in some sources that their distinctive appearance made them victims of discrimination abroad. The northern Wu eventually became the more sinicized of the two states. The royal family of Wu claimed descent from

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. J ...

as the founder of their dynasty. King Fuchai of Wu made every effort to assert this claim and was the source of much contention among his contemporaries. Some scholars believe the Wu royalty may have been Chinese and ethnically distinct from the people they ruled. The recorded history of Wu began with King Shoumeng (). He was succeeded in succession by his sons King Zhufan (), King Yuji (, and King Yumei (). The brothers all agreed to exclude their sons from the line of succession and to eventually pass the throne to their youngest brother, Prince Jizha, but when Yumei died, a succession crisis erupted which saw his son King Liao taking the throne. Not much is known about their reigns as Yue history largely concentrates on the last two Wu kings,

Helü of Wu Helü or Helu was king of the state of Wu from 514 to 496 BC, toward the end of the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His given name was Guang (); he was initially known as Prince Guang. Life Prince Guang was the son of King Yumei ...

, who killed his cousin Liao, and his son Fuchai of Wu. Records for the southern state of Yue begin with the reign of King Yunchang (d. 497 BC). According to the ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', the Yue kings were descended from Shao Kang of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

. According to another source, the kings of Yue were related to the royal family of Chu. Other sources simply name the Yue ruling family as the house of Zou. There is no scholarly consensus on the origin of the Yue or their royalty. Wu and Yue spent much of the time at war with each other, during which Yue gained a fearsome reputation for its martial valour: Almost nothing is known about the organizational structure of the Wu and Yue states. Wu records only mention its ministers and kings while Yue records only mention its kings, and of these kings only

Goujian Goujian (; r. 496–465 BC) was a king of the Yue state. He succeeded his father, Yunchang (允常), to the Yue throne. Goujian's reign coincided with arguably the last major conflict of the Spring and Autumn period: the struggle between Wu ...

's life is recorded in any appreciable detail. Goujian's descendants are listed but aside from their succession of each other until 330 BC, when Yue was conquered by Chu, nothing else about them is known. Therefore, the lower echelons of Wu–Yue society remain shrouded in mystery, appearing only in reference to their strange clothing, tattoos, and short hair by northern Chinese states. After the fall of Yue, the ruling family moved south to what is now

and established the kingdom of

. There they stayed, outside the reach of Han Chinese influence until the end of the

and the rise of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

. In 512 BC, Wu launched a large expedition against the large state of Chu, based in the Middle Yangtze River. A similar campaign in 506 BC succeeded in sacking the Chu capital Ying. Also in that year, war broke out between Wu and Yue and continued with breaks for the next three decades. Wu campaigns against other states such as Jin and Qi are also mentioned. In 473 BC, King

of Yue finally conquered Wu and was acknowledged by the northern states of Jin and Qi. In 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by Chu.

Qin dynasty

After the unification of China by

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

, the former Wu and Yue states were absorbed into the nascent Qin empire. The Qin armies also advanced south along the

Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the second-largest tributary (after the Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the fifth-largest ...

to modern Guangdong and set up commanderies along the main communication routes. Motivated by the region's vast land and valuable exotic products, which was inhabited by Yue peoples, Qin Shi Huang allegedly sent half a million troops divided into five armies to conquer the lands of the Yue. The Yue defeated the first attack by Qin troops and killed the Qin commander. A passage from ''Huainanzi'' of Liu An quoted by Keith Taylor (1991:18) describing the Qin defeat as follows: Afterwards, Qin Shi Huang sent reinforcements to confront the Yue. In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Lingqu Canal, which linked the north and south so that reinforcements could be transported to modern Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam, which were subjugated and reorganized into three prefectures within the Qin empire. Qin Shi Huang also imposed sinicisation by sending a large number of Chinese military agricultural colonists to what are now eastern Guangxi and western Guangdong.

Lạc and Âu Việts

Lạc Việt

Lạc Việt, known in Chinese history as Luoyue, was an ancient conglomeration of Yue tribes in what is now modern

and northern

. According to Vietnamese folklore and legend, the Lạc Việt founded a state called Văn Lang and were ruled by the Hùng kings, who were descended from Lạc Long Quân (Lạc Dragon Lord). Lạc Long Quân came from the sea and subdued all the evil of the land, taught the people how to cultivate rice and wear clothes, and then returned to the sea again. He then met and married Âu Cơ, a goddess, daughter of Đế Lai. Âu Cơ soon bore an egg sac, from which hatched a hundred children. The first born son became Hùng King and ancestor of Luoyue people. Despite its legendary origins, Lạc Việt history only begins in the 7th century BC with the first Hùng king in Mê Linh uniting the various tribes. The Lạc Việt also developed the Đông Sơn culture, which was associated with the ethnogenesis of Kinh Vietnamese. In 208 BC, the Western Ou (Xi'ou or Nam Cương) king Thục Phán, a descendant of Shu royalty, conquered Văn Lang.

Âu Việt

The Âu Việt, known in Chinese as Ouyue, resided in modern northeast Vietnam,

Guangdong province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, and Guangxi province. At some point they split and became the Western Ou and the Eastern Ou. In the late 3rd century BC, Thục Phán, a descendant of the last ruler of Shu, came to rule the Western Ou. In 219 BC, Western Ou came under attack from the Qin empire and lost its king. Seeking refuge, Thục Phán led a group of dispossessed Ou lords south in 208 BC and conquered the Lạc Việt state of Văn Lang, which he renamed

Âu Lạc Âu Lạc (chữ Hán: 甌貉 (Peripheral Records/Volume 1:6a): "王既併文郎國，改國號曰甌貉國。""The King then annexed the Văn Lang nation, changed the nation's name to Âu Lạc nation."/甌駱; (Volume 113): "且南方卑濕� ...

. Henceforth he came to be known as An Dương Vương. An Dương Vương and the Ou lords built the citadel Cổ Loa, literally 'Old snail'—so called because its walls were laid out in concentric rings reminiscent of a snail shell. According to legend, the construction of the citadel was halted by a group of spirits seeking to gain revenge for the son of the previous king. The spirits were led by a white chicken. A golden turtle appeared, subdued the white chicken, and protected An Dương Vương until the citadel's completion. When the turtle departed, he left one of his claws behind, which An Dương Vương used as the trigger for his magical crossbow, the "Saintly Crossbow of the Supernaturally Luminous Golden Claw". An Dương Vương also sent a giant called Lý Ông Trọng to the

as tribute. During his stay with the Qin, Lý Ông Trọng distinguished himself in fighting the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

, after which he returned to his native village and died there. In 179 BC, An Dương Vương acknowledged the suzerainty of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, causing

Zhao Tuo Zhao Tuo (), rendered as Triệu Đà in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese, was a Qin dynasty Chinese general and first emperor of Nanyue. He participated in the conquest of the Baiyue peoples of Guangdong, Guangxi and Northern Vietnam. After ...

to become hostile and mobilize forces against Âu Lạc. Zhao Tuo's initial attack was unsuccessful. According to legend, Zhao Tuo asked for a truce and sent his son to conduct a marriage alliance with An Dương Vương's daughter. Zhao Tuo's son stole the turtle claw that powered An Dương Vương's magical crossbow, rendering his realm without protection. When Zhao Tuo invaded again, An Dương Vương fled into the sea where he was welcomed by the golden turtle. Âu Lạc was divided into the two prefectures of

and Jiuzhen.

Dianyue

In 135 BC, the Han envoy Tang Meng brought gifts to Duotong, the king of Yelang, which bordered the Dian Kingdom, located in northern

, and convinced him to submit to the Han. Jianwei Commandery was established in the region. In 122, Emperor Wu dispatched four groups of envoys to the southwest in search of a route to Daxia in Central Asia. One group was welcomed by the king of Dian but none of them were able to make it any further as they were blocked in the north by the Sui and Kunming tribes of the Erhai region and in the south by the Di and Zuo tribes. However, they learned that further west there was a kingdom called Dianyue where the people rode elephants and traded with the merchants from Shu in secret.

Qin successor states

Nanyue

Zhao Tuo was a Qin general originally born around 240 BC in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Zhao (within modern

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

). When Zhao was annexed by Qin in 222 BC, Zhao Tuo joined the Qin and served as one of their generals in the conquest of the Baiyue. The territory of the Baiyue was divided into the three provinces of Guilin, Nanhai, and Xiang. Zhao served as magistrate in the province of Nanhai until his military commander, Ren Xiao, fell ill. Before he died, Ren advised Zhao not to get involved in the affairs of the declining Qin, and instead set up his own independent kingdom centered around the geographically remote and isolated city of

Panyu Panyu, formerly romanized as Punyü, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. Since January 1975, Panyu County has been under Guangzhou's administration. In 1992, Panyu C ...

(modern

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

). Ren gave Zhao full authority to act as military commander of Nanhai and died shortly afterwards. Zhao immediately closed off the roads at Hengpu, Yangshan, and Huangqi. Using one excuse or another, he eliminated the Qin officials and replaced them with his own appointees. By the time the Qin fell in 206 BC, Zhao had also conquered the provinces of Guilin and Xiang. He declared himself King Wu of

(Southern Yue). Unlike

, Zhao respected Yue customs, rallied their local rulers, and let local chieftains continue their old policies and local political traditions. Under Zhao's rule, he encouraged Han Chinese settlers to intermarry with the indigenous Yue tribes through instituting a policy of 'harmonizing and gathering' while creating a syncretic culture that was a blend of Han and Yue cultures. In 196 BC,

Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

dispatched Lu Jia to recognize Zhao Tuo as king of Nanyue. Lu gave Zhao a seal legitimizing him as king of Nanyue in return for his nominal submission to the Han. Zhao received him in the manner of the local people with his hair in a chignon while squatting. Lu accused him of ‘going native’ and forgetting his true ancestry. Zhao excused himself by saying he had forgotten the northern customs after living in the south for so long. In 185 BC, Empress Lü's officials outlawed trade of iron and horses with Nanyue. Zhao Tuo retaliated by proclaiming himself Emperor Wu of Nanyue and attacking the neighboring kingdom of

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

, taking a few border towns. In 181 BC, Zhou Zao was dispatched by Empress Lü to attack Nanyue, but the heat and dampness caused many of his officers and men to fall ill, and he failed to make it across the mountains into enemy territory. Meanwhile, Zhao warred against the neighboring kingdoms of

, Xiou (Western Ou), and Luoluo. After securing their submission, he began passing out edicts in a similar manner to the Han emperor. In 180 BC,

Emperor Wen of Han Emperor Wen of Han (; 203/02 – 6 July 157 BC), personal name Liu Heng (), was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 180 until his death in 157 BC. The son of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Gao and Empress Dowager Bo, Conso ...

made efforts to appease Zhao. Learning that Zhao's parents were buried in Zhending, he set aside a town close by just to take care of their graves. Zhao's cousins were appointed to high offices at the Han court. He also withdrew the army stationed in Changsha on the Han-Nanyue border. In response, Zhao rescinded his claims to imperium while communicating with the Han, however he continued using the title of emperor within his kingdom. Tribute bearing envoys from Nanyue were sent to the Han and thus the iron trade was resumed. In 179 BC, Zhao Tuo defeated the kingdom of

and annexed it. Zhao Tuo died in 137 BC and was succeeded by his grandson,

Zhao Mo Zhao Mo (; ) was the second ruler of Nanyue. He succeeded his grandfather Zhao Tuo (Emperor Wu) in 137 BC and reigned until his death in 124 BC. Name Records from this period were written in classical Chinese and are transliterated, typically i ...

. Upon Zhao Mo's accession, the neighboring king of Minyue, Zou Ying, sent his army to attack Nanyue. Zhao sent for help from the

, his nominal vassal overlord. The Han responded by sending troops against Minyue, but before they could get there, Zou Ying was killed by his brother Zou Yushan, who surrendered to the Han. The Han army was recalled. Zhao considered visiting the Han court in order to show his gratitude. His high ministers argued against it, reminding him that his father kept his distance from the Han to keep the peace. Zhao therefore pleaded illness and never went through with the trip. Zhao did actually fall ill several years later and died in 122 BC. He was succeeded by his son,

Zhao Yingqi Zhao Yingqi (; Vietnamese: ''Triệu Anh Tề'', ? – 115 BC) was the son of Zhao Mo and the third ruler of the kingdom of Nanyue. His rule began in 122 BC and ended with his death in 115 BC. After the Western Han dynasty aided Nanyue in fe ...

. After the

threat was eliminated, Zhao Mo sent his son Yingqi to the Han court, where he joined the emperor's guard. Zhao Yingqi married a

woman from the Jiu family of

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

, who gave birth to his second son,

Zhao Xing Zhao Xing (; Cantonese: ''Ziu6 Hing1'', Vietnamese: ''Triệu Hưng'', ? – 112 BC), was the second son of Zhao Yingqi and the fourth ruler of Nanyue. His rule began in 115 BC and ended with his death in 112 BC, when he was overthrown and k ...

. Yingqi behaved without any scruples and committed murder on several occasions. When his father died in 122 BC, he refused to visit the Han emperor to ask for his leave due to fearing that he would be arrested and punished for his behavior. Yingqi died in 115 and was succeeded by his second son,

, rather than the eldest,

Zhao Jiande Zhao Jiande (, Vietnamese: ''Triệu Kiến Đức'', ?–111 BC) was the last king of Nanyue. His rule began in 112 BC and ended in the next year. He was executed by Western Han forces during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Early life Zhao Ji ...

. In 113 BC,

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

sent Anguo Shaoji to summon Zhao Xing and the Queen Dowager Jiu to Chang'an for an audience with the emperor. The Queen Dowager Jiu, who was Han Chinese, was regarded as a foreigner by the Yue people, and it was widely rumored that she had an illicit relationship with Anguo Shaoji before she married Zhao Yingqi. When Anguo arrived, quite a number of people believed the two resumed their relationship. The Queen Dowager feared that there would be a revolt against her authority so she urged the king and his ministers to seek closer ties to the Han. Xing agreed to and proposed that relations between Nanyue and the Han should be normalized with a triennial journey to the Han court as well as the removal of custom barriers along the border. The prime minister of Nanyue, Lü Jia, held military power and his family was more well connected than either the king or the Queen Dowager. According to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' and ''

Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư The ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' ( vi-hantu, 大越史記全書; ; ''Complete Annals of Đại Việt'') is the official national chronicle of the Đại Việt, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên under ...

'', Lü Jia was chief of a Lạc Việt tribe, related to King Qin of Cangwu by marriage, and over 70 of his kinsmen served as officials in various parts of the Nanyue court. Lü refused to meet the Han envoys which angered the Queen Dowager. She tried to kill him at a banquet but was stopped by Xing. The Queen Dowager tried to gather enough support at court to kill Lü in the following months, but her reputation prevented it. When news of the situation reached Emperor Wu in 112, he ordered Zhuang Can to lead a 2,000 men expedition to Nanyue. However, Zhuang refused to accept the mission, declaring that it was illogical to send so many men under the pretext of peace, but so few to enforce the might of the Han. The former prime minister of Jibei, Han Qianqiu, offered to lead the expedition and arrest Lü Jia. When Han crossed the Han–Nanyue border, Lü conducted a coup, killing Xing, Queen Dowager Jiu, and all the Han emissaries in the capital. Xing's brother,

, was declared the new king. The 2000 men led by Han Qianqiu took several small towns but were defeated as they neared Panyu, which greatly shocked and angered Emperor Wu. The emperor then sent an army of 100,000 to attack Nanyue. The army marched on Panyu in a multi-pronged assault. Lu Bode advanced from the Hui River and Yang Pu from the Hengpu River. Three natives of Nanyue also joined the Han. One advanced from the Li River, the second invaded Cangwu, and the third advanced from the Zangke River. In the winter of 111 BC Yang Pu captured Xunxia and broke through the line at Shimen. With 20,000 men he drove back the vanguard of the Nanyue army and waited for Lu Bode. However, Lu failed to meet up on time and when he did arrive, he had no more than a thousand men. Yang reached

first and attacked it at night, setting fire to the city. Panyu surrendered at dawn. Jiande and Lü Jia fled the city by boat, heading east to appeal for Minyue's aid, but the Han learned of their escape and sent the general Sima Shuang after them. Both Jiande and Lü Jia were captured and executed.

Minyue and Dong'ou

When the Qin fell in 206 BC, the hegemon-king

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

did not make Zou Wuzhu and Zou Yao kings. For this reason they refused to support him and instead joined

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

in attacking Xiang Yu. When Liu Bang won the war in 202 BC, he made Zou Wuzhu king of

; in 192, Zou Yao was made the king of Dong'ou, located in modern Zhejiang. Both Minyue and Dong'ou claimed descent from Goujian. In 154 BC, Liu Pi, the King of Wu, revolted against the Han and tried to persuade Minyue and Dong'ou to join him. The king of Minyue refused but Dong'ou sided with the rebels. However, when Liu Pi was defeated and fled to Dong'ou, the locals killed him to appease the Han, and therefore escaped any retaliation. Liu Pi's son, Liu Ziju, fled to Minyue and worked to incite a war between the Minyue and Dong'ou. In 138 BC, Minyue attacked Dong'ou and besieged their capital. Dong'ou managed to appeal to the Han for help. Opinions at the Han court were mixed on whether or not to help Dong'ou. Grand commandant Tian Fen was of the opinion that the Yue constantly attacked each other and it was not in the Han's interest to interfere in their affairs. Palace counsellor Zhuang Zhu argued that to not aid Dong'ou would be to signal the end of the empire just like the Qin. A compromise was made to allow Zhuang Zhu to call up troops, but only from Kuaiji Commandery, and finally an army was transported by sea to Dong'ou. By the time the Han forces had arrived, Minyue had already withdrawn its troops. The king of Dong'ou no longer wished to live in Dong'ou, so he requested permission for the inhabitants of his state to move into Han territory. Permission was granted and he and all his people settled in the region between the

and

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

. In 137 BC, Minyue invaded

, encompassing the Lingnan region and northern Vietnam. An imperial army was sent against them, with the Minyue king being murdered by his brother Zou Yushan, who sued for peace with the Han. Meanwhile, the Han enthroned Zou Wuzhu's grandson, Zou Chou, as king. After they left, Zou Yushan secretly declared himself king while the Han backed Zou Chou found himself powerless. When the Han found out about this the emperor deemed it too troublesome to punish Zou Yushan and let the matter slide. In 112 BC, Nanyue rebelled against the Han. Zou Yushan pretended to send forces to aid the Han against Nanyue, but secretly maintained contact with Nanyue and only took his forces as far as

Jieyang Jieyang ( zh, s=揭阳, p=Jiēyáng, t=揭陽; Chaozhou dialect: gig4 iên5; Jieyang dialect: gêg4 ion5) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose peopl ...

. Han general Yang Pu wanted to attack Minyue for this betrayal but the Han emperor felt that their forces were already too exhausted for any further military action. Thus, the army was disbanded. The next year, Zou Yushan learned that Yang Pu had requested permission to attack him and saw that Han forces were amassing at his border. Zou Yushan made a preemptive attack against the Han by conquering Baisha, Wulin, and Meiling and killing three commanders. In the winter, the Han retaliated with a multi-pronged attack by Han Yue, Yang Pu, Wang Wenshu, and two Yue marquises. When Han Yue arrived at the Minyue capital, the Yue native Wu Yang rebelled against Zou Yushan and murdered him. Wu Yang was enfeoffed by the Han as marquis of Beishi.

felt it was too much trouble to occupy Minyue as it was a region full of narrow mountain passes. He commanded the army to deport the locals and settle them between the Yangtze and Huai River, leaving the region (modern

) a deserted land.

Han dynasty

In 111 BC, the Han conquered Nanyue and ruled it for the next several hundred years. The former territory of Nanyue was converted into nine commanderies and two outpost commands. Nanyue was seen as attractive to the Han rulers as they desired to secure the area's maritime trade routes and gain access to luxury goods from the south such as pearls, incense, elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells, coral, parrots, kingfishers, peacocks, and other rare luxuries to satisfy the demands of the Han aristocracy. Other considerations such as frontier security, revenue from a relatively large agricultural population, and access to tropical commodities all contributed to the Han dynasty's desire to retain control of the region.

was already a major center for international maritime trade and was one of the most economically prosperous metropolises during the Han dynasty. Regions in the principal ports of modern Guangdong were used for the production of pearls and a trading terminal for maritime silk with India and the Roman Empire. Sinicization of the southern Han dynasty which used to be Nanyue was the result of several factors. Northern and central China was often a theater of imperial dynastic conflict which resulted Han Chinese refugees fleeing to the south. With dynastic changes, wars, and foreign invasions, Han Chinese living in central China were forced to expand into the unfamiliar southern regions. As the number of Han Chinese immigrants into the Yue coastal regions increased, many Chinese families joined them to escape political unrest, military service, tax obligations, persecution, or sought new opportunities. As early arrivals took advantage of the easily accessible fertile land, latecomers had to continue migrating to more remote areas. Conflicts would sometimes arise between the two groups but eventually Han Chinese immigrants from the northern plains moved south to form ad hoc groups and take on the role as powerful local political leaders, many of whom accepted Chinese government titles. Each new wave of Han immigrants exerted additional pressure on the indigenous Yue inhabitants as the Han Chinese in southern China gradually became the predominant ethnic group in local life while displacing the Yue tribes into more mountainous and remote border areas. The difficulty of logistics and the

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

l climate in the south made Han migration and eventual sinicization of the region a slow process. Describing the contrast in immunity towards malaria between the indigenous Yue and the Chinese immigrants, Robert B. Marks (2017:145-146) writes: Over the same period, the Han dynasty incorporated many other border peoples such as the Dian and assimilated them. Under the direct rule and greater efforts at sinification by the victorious Han, the territories of the Lac states were annexed and ruled directly, along with other former Yue territories to the north as provinces of the Han empire.

Trưng Sisters

In 40 AD, the Lạc lord Thi Sách rebelled on the advice of his wife Trưng Trắc. The administrator of Jiaozhi Commandery, Su Ding, was too afraid to confront them and fled. The commanderies of Jiuzhen, Hepu, and Rinan all rebelled. Trưng Trắc abolished the Han taxes and was recognized as queen at Mê Linh. Later Vietnamese sources would claim that her husband was killed by the Han, thus stirring her to action, but Chinese sources make it clear Trưng Trắc was always in the leading position, alongside her sister Trưng Nhị. Together they came to be known as the legendary

Trưng Sisters The Trưng sisters ( (), 𠄩婆徵, literally "Two Ladies amedTrưng", 14 – c. 43) were Luoyue military leaders who ruled for three years after Trung sisters' rebellion, commanding a rebellion of Luoyue tribes and other tribes in ...

of Vietnamese history. A large number of names and biographies of leaders under the Trưng Sisters are recorded in temples dedicated to them, many of them also women. In 42 AD, the veteran Han general Ma Yuan led 20,000 troops against the Trưng Sisters. His advance was checked by Cổ Loa Citadel for over a year, but the Lạc lords became increasingly nervous at the sight of a large Han army. Realizing that she would soon lose her followers if she did not do anything, Trưng Trắc sallied out against the Han army and lost badly, losing more than 10,000 followers. Her followers fled, allowing Ma Yuan to advance. By early 43 AD, both sisters had been captured and executed.

Post-rebellion sinicisation

After the rebellion of the Trưng Sisters, more direct rule and greater efforts at sinicisation were imposed by the Han dynasty. The territories of the Lạc lords were revoked and ruled directly, along with other former Yue territories to the north, as provinces of the Han empire. Division among the Yue leaders were exploited by the Han dynasty with the Han military winning battles against the southern kingdoms and commanderies that were of geographic and strategic value to them. Han foreign policy also took advantage of the political turmoil among rival Yue leaders and enticed them with bribes and lured prospects for submitting to the Han Empire as a subordinate

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

. Continuing internal Han Chinese migration during the Han dynasty eventually brought all coastal Yue peoples under Chinese political control and cultural influence. As the number of Han Chinese migrants increased following the annexation of Nanyue, the Yue people were gradually absorbed and driven out into poorer land on the hills and into the mountains. Chinese military garrisons showed little patience with the Yue tribes who refused to submit to Han Chinese imperial power and resisted the influx of Han Chinese immigrants, driving them out to the coastal extremities such as the river valleys and highland areas where they became marginal scavengers and outcasts. Han dynasty rulers saw the opportunity offered by the Chinese family agricultural settlements and used it as a tool for colonizing newly conquered regions and transforming those environments. Displaced Yue tribes often staged sneak attacks and small-scale raids or attacks to reclaim their lost territories on Chinese settlements termed "rebellions" by traditional historians but were eventually stymied by the strong action of the Han dynasty's military superiority. Historians, however, found that Han dynasty rule did not significantly impact the demographics of Vietnam and that the local Chinese became more Vietnamized than local Viets were Sinocized. According to historian Wang Gungwu, the Lingnan region was populated by Chinese merchants, foreign traders, and rebellious Man and Lao southern barbarians. While growing merchant settlements under Chinese rule in Guangzhou and Long Biên drove out the "barbarians" or assimilated them, most of the area was still underdeveloped. Most of Jiaozhi outside of Chinese-ruled urban centers such as Luy Lâu, Long Biên, and Cổ Loa were populated by unsinicized indigenous people.

Shanyue

The Shanyue "Mountain Yue" were one of the last groups of Yue mentioned in Chinese history. They lived in the mountain regions of modern

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

and

. Yan Baihu, or "White Tiger Yan", was a bandit leader of possibly Shanyue origins. When

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175 – 5 May 200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xian ...

came to Wu Commandery in 195, Yan Baihu gave refuge to the displaced Xu Gong and threatened the flank of Sun Ce's army. However, Sun Ce paid him no attention and the two avoided any altercations. In 197,

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

's agent Chen Yu provoked Yan into rebellion. Sun Ce sent Lü Fan to drive out Chen Yu while he himself attacked Yan. The defeated Yan fled south to join Xu Zhao but died soon afterwards. Remnants of Yan's band joined Xu Gong in 200 to threaten Sun Ce's rear as he attacked

Huang Zu Huang Zu (, ) (died between February and April 208) was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, ...

in the west. Sun Ce decided to retreat and finish off the bandits once and for all, only to fall into an ambush and die at their hands. In 203, they rebelled against the rule of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, Sun Ce's brother, and were defeated by the generals Lü Fan,

Cheng Pu Cheng Pu () (170-210), courtesy name Demou, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors: Sun Jian (Sun Quan's f ...

, and

Taishi Ci Taishi Ci () (166–206), courtesy name Ziyi, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He had served as a minor Han official, before eventually coming to serve warlords Liu Yao, Sun Ce, and Sun Ce' ...

. In 217, Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun supreme commander of an army to suppress martial activities by the Shanyue in Guiji (modern

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

). Captured Shanyue tribesmen were recruited into the army. In 234, Zhuge Ke was made governor of Danyang. Under his governorship, the region was cleansed of the Shanyue through systematic destruction of their settlements. Captured tribesmen were used as front line fodder in the army. The remaining population was resettled in lowlands and many became tenant farmers for Chinese landowners.

Post-Han

The fall of the Han dynasty and the following period of division sped up the process of sinicisation. Periods of instability and war in northern and central China, such as the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

and during the

Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty The Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty (or Song–Yuan War) was the final phase of the Mongol conquest of China, beginning under Ögedei Khan () and being completed under Kublai Khan () . It is considered the last great military achievement ...

sent waves of Han Chinese into the south. Subsequent intermarriage and cross-cultural dialogue between the Han Chinese immigrants and indigenous peoples of southern China gave rise to modern Chinese demographics, with a dominant Han Chinese majority and non-Han Chinese indigenous minority. Different dialect groups in present southern China also arose from these demographic events. By the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

(618–907), the term "Yue" had largely become a regional designation rather than a cultural one, as with the

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in what is now Zhejiang province. During the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

, a bridge known as the Guojie qiao (World Crossing Bridge) was built at

Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the p ...

between the modern border of

Jiangsu province Jiangsu is a coastal province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

and

Zhejiang province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. On the northern side of the bridge stands a statue of King Fuchai of Wu and on the southern side, a statue of King

of Yue. Modern

Lingnan Lingnan (; ) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern China, Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong & Macau and Northern Vietnam. Background The ar ...

culture contains both Nanyue and Han Chinese elements: the modern Cantonese language resembles Middle Chinese (the prestige language of the Tang dynasty), but has retained some features of the long-extinct Nanyue language. Some distinctive features of the vocabulary, phonology, and syntax of southern

varieties of Chinese There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the m ...

are attributed to substrate languages that were spoken by the Yue. There is also evidence that southern Han culture adopted Baiyue customs, including their maritime practices, superstitions and worship of water goddesses.

Legacy

In ancient China, the characters and (both in

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

and in

Jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...

) were used interchangeably, but they are differentiated in modern Chinese: * The character refers to the original territory of the state of Yue, which was based in what is now northern

, especially the areas around

and

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

. It is also used to write

, a word adapted from ''Nanyue'' (), (literal English translation as ''Southern Yue''). This character is also still used in the city Guangzhou for the Yuexiu () district, and when referring to the Nanyue Kingdom. * The character is associated with the southern province of

. Both the regional dialects of

and the standard form, popularly called

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

, are spoken in Guangdong,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and in many Cantonese communities around the world.

Vietnam

is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of Yue, derived from

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

. The modern name of

derives from

, or Nam Việt, except reversed.

Tanka people

Genetics

According to a 2022 study, genetic characteristics of the Baiyue lineage are well-preserved in present Kra-Dai populations from southern China and northern Vietnam. Enriched with ~85% Baiyue ancestry, the Li people are distinguishable from other Kra-Dai populations in terms of not mixing with neighboring groups like Han Chinese and ancient Guangxi populations. They also share stronger genetic connections with Austronesians who harbor more divergent ancestry, such as the Ami, Atayal, and Kankanaey. However, there is evidence of admixture between Li and Han Chinese about 2000 years ago, with some Li having about 56.56% Han ancestry as a result. Other studies suggest that Longli Bouyei and Qiandongnan Dong populations, are equally as good as Li in representing the 'ancestral Kra-Dai population'. In fact, there is genetic evidence of an earlier divergence date between Li and Kinh Vietnamese than Li and Dai. Because of extensive admixture between Han settlers and Baiyue, Kra-Dai ancestry is more common in southern Han although this ancestry can also be found in northern Han to a lesser extent. Among Han sub-groups,

Cantonese people The Cantonese people ( zh, s=广府人, t=廣府人, j=gwong2 fu2 jan4, cy=Gwóngfú Yàhn, first=t, labels=no) or Yue people ( zh, s=粤人, t=粵人, j=jyut6 jan4, cy=Yuht Yàhn, first=t, labels=no), are a Han Chinese subgroup originating fro ...

represent the southernmost sub-group although other studies suggest that Fujianese and Taiwanese Han are equally as southern. Both Guangdong and Fujian Han Chinese derive 35.0–40.3% of their ancestry from Late Neolithic Fujianese sources, which peaks in Ami, Atayal and Kankanaey, suggesting significant genetic contribution from Kra-Dai-speaking peoples, or groups related to them, to these Han sub-groups. Because of their significant southern ancestry, the Cantonese are predisposed to

nasopharyngeal carcinoma Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), or nasopharynx cancer, is the most common cancer originating in the nasopharynx, most commonly in the postero-lateral nasopharynx or pharyngeal recess (fossa of Rosenmüller), accounting for 50% of cases. NPC occurs ...

and may differ from other Han in terms of skin tone, build and stature.

Culture

The Han referred to the various non-Han "barbarian" peoples of southern China as "Baiyue", saying they possessed habits like adapting to water, having their hair cropped short and tattooed. The Han also said their language was "animal shrieking" and that they lacked morals, modesty, civilization and culture. According to one Han Chinese immigrant of the 2nd century BC, "The Yue cut their hair short, tattooed their body, live in bamboo groves with neither towns nor villages, possessing neither bows or arrows, nor horses or chariots." They also blackened their teeth. Yue Battleship model

Militarily, the ancient states of Yue and Wu were distinct from other Sinitic states for their possession of a navy. Unlike other Chinese states of the time, they also named their boats and swords. A Chinese text described the Yue as a people who used boats as their carriages and oars as their horses. The marshy lands of the south gave the Gouwu and Yuyue people unique characteristics. According to Robert Marks, the Yue lived in what is now Fujian province gained their livelihood mostly from fishing, hunting, and practiced some kind of swidden rice farming. Prior to Han Chinese migration from the north, the Yue tribes cultivated wet rice, practiced fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture, domesticated

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

, built

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

s, tattooed their faces and dominated the coastal regions from shores all the way to the fertile valleys in the interior mountains. Water transport was paramount in the south, so the two states became advanced in shipbuilding and developed maritime warfare technology mapping trade routes to Eastern coasts of China and Southeast Asia.

Swords

The Yue were known for their swordsmanship and producing fine double-edged swords (). '' Kao Gong Ji'' stated that Wu and Yue manufactured the best double-edged swords.Jun Wenren (translator) (2013) ''Ancient Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology: Translation and Annotation of the Kaogong Ji (the Artificers' Records)''. New York: Routledge. p. 4. quote: "The knives of Zheng, the axes of Song, the pen-knives of Lu, and the double-edged swords of Wu and Yue are famous for their origin. In no other places, can one make these things so well. This is natural because of the qi of the earth." According to the '' Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue'', King

met a female sword fighter called Nanlin (Yuenü) who demonstrated mastery over the art, and so he commanded his top five commanders to study her technique. Ever since, the technique came to be known as the "Sword of the Lady of Yue". The Yue were also known for their possession of mystical knives embued with the talismanic power of dragons or other amphibious creatures. The ''

Zhan Guo Ce The ''Zhan Guo Ce'' (Wade-Giles, W-G: ''Chan-kuo T'se''), also known in English language, English as the ''Strategies of the Warring States'' or ''Annals of the Warring States'', is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political ma ...

'' mentions the high quality of southern swords and their ability to cleave through oxen, horses, bowls, and basins, but would shatter if used on a pillar or rock. Wu and Yue swords were highly valued and those who owned them would hardly ever use them for fear of damage, however in Wu and Yue these swords were commonplace and treated with less reverence. The ''Yuejue shu'' (Record of Precious Swords) mentions several named swords: Zhanlu (Black), Haocao (Bravery), Juque (Great Destroyer), Lutan (Dew Platform), Chunjun (Purity), Shengxie (Victor over Evil), Yuchang (Fish-belly), Longyuan (Dragon Gulf), Taie (Great Riverbank), and Gongbu (Artisanal Display). Many of these were made by the Yue swordsmith Ou Yezi. Even after Wu and Yue were assimilated into larger Chinese polities, memory of their swords lived on. During the

, Liu Pi King of Wu (195–154 BC) had a sword named Wujian to honour the history of metalworking in his kingdom. File:Sword of Goujian, Hubei Provincial Museum, 2015-04-06 09.jpg, The

Sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

, King of Yue File:Deciphering the sword.jpg, Inscription on the Sword of Goujian File:WuYue State Bronze Jian (Sword) (26114346874).jpg, Bronze Yue sword with criss cross pattern File:吴王夫差剑05096.jpg,

Spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

of Fuchai, King of Wu File:吴王夫差剑05098.jpg, Base of the Spear of Fuchai File:吴王夫差盉.png, Bronze vessel of a Wu king

Language

Knowledge of Yue speech is limited to fragmentary references and possible

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

s in other languages, principally Chinese. The longest is the ''

Song of the Yue Boatman The Song of the Yue Boatman () is a short song in an ancient language of southern China in the Yangtze River valley said to have been recorded around 528 BC. A transcription using Chinese characters, together with a Chinese version, is preser ...

'', a short song transcribed phonetically in Chinese characters in 528 BC and included, with a Chinese version, in the '' Garden of Stories'' compiled by Liu Xiang five centuries later.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

"The power of language over the past: Tai settlement and Tai linguistics in southern China and northern Vietnam"
Jerold A. Edmondson, in ''Studies in Southeast Asian languages and linguistics'', ed. by Jimmy G. Harris, Somsonge Burusphat and James E. Harris, 39–64. Bangkok, Thailand: Ek Phim Thai Co. Ltd. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yue Peoples Ancient Vietnam Bouyei people Cantonese people Dai people History of Fujian Nanyue History of Guizhou History of Zhejiang Kam people Li people Tai peoples Tày people Yue (state) Zhuang people Baiyue Vietnamese people

Names

History

Prehistory

Yuyue

Wu and Yue

Qin dynasty

Lạc and Âu Việts

Lạc Việt

Âu Việt

Dianyue

Qin successor states

Nanyue

Minyue and Dong'ou

Han dynasty

Trưng Sisters

Post-rebellion sinicisation

Shanyue

Post-Han

Legacy

Vietnam

Tanka people

Genetics

Culture

Swords

Language

See also

References

Sources

External links