- Yue peoples
Yue (traditional: or ; simplified: or ; pinyin: Yuè; Wade-Giles: Yüeh4; Cantonese: Yuht; Vietnamese: ; also seen as Yueh or Yuet) refers to ancient semi-
Sinicized or non-Sinicized peoples of southernChina , originally those along the eastern coastline of present-day Zhejiang province. In archaic Chinese, a number of characters (越,粵,鉞) were often used interchangeably to represent the same meaning.Origins and ancient usage
In ancient times, the northern
Han Chinese referred to the peoples to their south collectively as the Yue. Historical texts often refer to the "Hundred Yue" tribes (CJKV|t=|s=|p=Bǎi Yuè|cy=Baak Yuht|v=Bách Việt). There is little evidence, however, that the Yue peoples held any common identity. The "Treatise of Geography" in "Han Shu" notes: "In the seven or eight thousand li from Jiaozhi to Kuaiji (modern southernJiangsu or northernZhejiang ) the Hundred Yue are everywhere, each with their own clans." Just as the termCelt was used by theGreeks to describe what they perceived to be a broad cultural group, so the term Yue was a culturally relative term for the ancient Chinese.Fact|date=March 2008 Also like "Celt", Yue is now used in a number of different ways. (see "Modern usage" below).Ethnolinguists have suggested that the pronunciaton of Yue may be related to a type of hemp produced in what is now Zhejiang. The character itself is related to the character for "ceremonial axe" (CJKV|t=|s=), usually considered a symbol of royal or imperial authority. A number of stone axes have been found in the area of
Hangzhou , and there is evidence that the ceremonial axe was a southern invention.Ancient texts mention a number of Yue peoples. Most of these names survived into early imperial times and can be roughly construed as cultural groupings:
Sinification and displacement
From the Ninth century BC, two northern Yue peoples, the Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue, were increasingly influenced by their Chinese neighbours to their north. These two states were based in the areas of what is now southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang respectively. Their aristocratic elite learnt the written
Chinese language , adopted Chinese political institutions and military technology. Traditional accounts attribute the cultural change to the Grand Earl of Wu (吳太伯), a Zhou prince who had fled to the south. The marshy lands of the south gave Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue unique characteristics. They did not engage in extensive agrarian agriculture, relying instead more heavily onaquaculture . Water transport was paramount in the south, so the two states became advanced in shipbuilding and developed riverine warfare technology. They were also known for their fine swords.In the
Spring and Autumn Period , the two states, now called Wu and Yue, were becoming increasingly involved in Chinese politics. In 512 BC, Wu launched a large expedition against the large state of Chu, based in the MiddleYangtze River . A similar campaign in 506 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. In 473 BC, the Yue kingGoujian finally conquered Wu and was acknowledged by the northern states of Qi and Jin. In 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by Chu.After the unification of China by
Qin Shi Huang , it became incorporated into the Chinese empire. The Qin armies also advanced south along theXiang River to modern Guangdong and set up commanderies along the main communication routes. Throughout theHan Dynasty period two groups of Yue were identified, that of the Nan-Yue in the far south, who lived mainly in the area of what is nowGuangdong ,Guangxi , andVietnam ; and that of the Min-Yue who lay to the southeast, centred on theMin River in modernFujian .Sinification of these peoples was brought about by a combination of imperial military power, regular settlement and Chinese refugees. The difficulty of logistics and the
malaria l climate in the south made the displacement and eventual sinification of the Yue peoples a slow process. When the Chinese came into contact with local Yue peoples, they often wrested control of territory from them or subjugated them by force. When a serious rebellion broke out in 40 AD by theTrung Sisters in what is now modern Vietnam, a force of some 10,000 imperial troops was dispatched under General Ma Yuan. Between100 and184 no less than seven outbreaks of violence took place, often calling for strong defensive action by the Chinese.As Chinese migrants gradually increased, the Yue were gradually forced into poorer land on the hills and in the mountains. Unlike the nomadic peoples of
Central Asia , such as theXiongnu or theXianbei , however, the Yue peoples never posed any serious threat to Chinese expansion or control. Sometimes they staged small scale raids or attacks on Chinese settlements - termed "rebellions" by traditional historians. The Chinese for their part regarded them as being highly uncivilised and prone to fight one another.While most Yue peoples were eventually sinicized, the
Kam-Tai (Daic ): Zhuang, Buyi, Dai, Sui (Shui), Kam (Dong), Hlai(Li), Mulam, Maonan, Ong-Be(Lingao), Thai, Lao, Shan, andVietnamese peoples retained their ethnic identities. Some of these peoples also have their own nation-states today. In particular, the Vietnamese people broke free from Chinese rule in the 10th century and have their own state to this day.Legacy
The fall of the Han Dynasty and the succeeding period of division sped up the process of sinification. A state in modern Zhejiang province during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period , for example, called itself "Wu-Yue ". Likewise, the "Viet" in "Vietnam" (literally, "Viet South") is acognate of the "Yue".The impact of Yue culture on Chinese culture has not been determined authoritatively but it is clear that it is significant. The languages of the ancient states of Wu and Yue form the basis the modern
Wu language Fact|date=April 2007 and to some extent the Min languages of Fujian.Linguistic anthropologist s have also determined that a number of Chinese words can be traced to ancient Yue words. An example is the word "jiang" (江), meaning river. To some extent, some remnants of the Yue peoples and their culture can also be seen in some minority groups of China and the Vietnamese people retain the identity.Modern usage
In modern Chinese, the characters of "越" and "粵" (both yuè) are differentiated. The former is used to refer to the original territory of the Yue Kingdom, the area of what is now northern
Zhejiang , southernJiangsu , andShanghai , especially the areas aroundShaoxing andNingbo . The opera of Zhejiang, for example, is called "Yue Opera" ("yueju", 越劇). The first character "越" is also associated withVietnam . The second character "粵" (yuè) is associated with the southern province ofGuangdong . Popularly called "Cantonese", both the standard form and regional dialects of the Yue language are spoken inGuangdong ,Guangxi ,Hong Kong ,Macau and in many Cantonese communities around the world.See also
*
Zhonghua Minzu
*Chinese people
*Cantonese people
* Southern Min (Fujianese and Taiwanese people)
*Hakka people
*Teochiu (Teochew or Chaozhou) people
*Austro-Tai
*Daic
**Kam-Tai
**Tai-Kadai
**Zhuang
*Vietnamese people External links
* [http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/pol.pdf The power of language over the past: Tai settlement and Tai linguistics in southern China and northern Vietnam]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90192 Tai-Kadai Linguistic Classification]
* [http://Li-Hui.net Dr.Hui Li, A Genetics Anthropologist on Daic populations]
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