and
Yue during the
Warring States period Prehistory According to Chunming Wu, the prehistoric ancestors of the Baiyue were actively involved in seafaring in southeastern China. They communicated with 'proto-
Austronesians' in Southeast Asia and Pacific archipelagos. Ethnically, the Baiyue were mostly Austronesian and
Kra–Dai although some were perhaps related to
Hmong-Mien,
Austroasiatic etc. The Baiyue were different groups of people, not necessarily related to each other.
Yuyue During the early
Zhou dynasty, 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
Jiangsu and northern
Zhejiang, respectively. Traditional accounts attribute the cultural exchange to
Taibo, a
Zhou dynasty prince who had self-exiled to the south. During the
Spring and Autumn period, 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 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, 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 Yue kings were descended from
Shao Kang of the
Xia dynasty. 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'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
Fujian and established the kingdom of
Minyue. There they stayed, outside the reach of Han Chinese influence until the end of the
Warring States period and the rise of the
Qin dynasty. 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
Goujian 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 and Yue peoples, 210 BC After the unification of China by
Qin Shi Huang, the former Wu and Yue states were absorbed into the nascent
Qin empire. The Qin armies also advanced south along the
Xiang River 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.
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
Guangxi and northern
Vietnam. 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, 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. 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
Qin dynasty as tribute. During his stay with the Qin, Lý Ông Trọng distinguished himself in fighting the
Xiongnu, after which he returned to his native village and died there. In 179 BC, An Dương Vương acknowledged the suzerainty of the
Han dynasty, causing
Zhao Tuo of
Nanyue 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
Jiaozhi 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
Yunnan, 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 , second King of
Nanyue. The seal's characters, shown in detail on the lower left, read ('Imperial Seal of Emperor
Wen), which demonstrates the first Nanyue rulers' Emperor status within Nanyue itself.
Liubo game pieces from the tomb of King
Zhao Mo of
Nanyue () Zhao Tuo was a
Qin general originally born around 240 BC in the
state of
Zhao (within modern
Hebei). 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 (modern
Guangzhou). 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
Nanyue (Southern Yue). Unlike
Qin Shi Huang, 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. 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.
Panyu 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. As early arrivals took advantage of the easily accessible fertile land, latecomers had to continue migrating to more remote areas. 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
malarial 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 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. 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.
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 and during the
Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty 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 (618–907), the term "Yue" had largely become a regional designation rather than a cultural one, as with the
Wuyue state during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in what is now Zhejiang province. During the
Song dynasty, a bridge known as the Guojie qiao (World Crossing Bridge) was built at
Jiaxing between the modern border of
Jiangsu province and
Zhejiang province. On the northern side of the bridge stands a statue of King
Fuchai of Wu and on the southern side, a statue of King
Goujian of Yue. Modern
Lingnan 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 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==