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In ancient times, the Chinese referred to the peoples to their south collectively as the Yue. Historical texts often refer to the "Hundred Yue" tribes. Historian Lo Hsiang-lin has suggested that these peoples shared a common ancestry with the Xia. 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 miles from Jiaozhi (northern Vietnam) to Kuaiji (southern Jiangsu or northern Zhejiang), the Hundred Yue are everywhere, each with their own clans." Just as the term Celt was used by the Greeks to describe what they perceived to be a broad cultural group, so the term Yue was a culturally relative term for the ancient Chinese. Also like "Celt", Yue is now used in a number of different ways. (see Modern usage below).
Ethnololinguists 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" (鉞), 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, including the Gou-Wu (句吳), Yu-Yue (于越), Yang-Yue (揚越), Min-Yue (閩越), Nan-Yue (南越), Dong-Yue (東越), Shan-Yue (山越), Luo-Yue (駱越) and Ou-Yue (甌越). Most of these names survived into early imperial times and can be roughly construed as cultural groupings.
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 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 (吴太伯), 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 on aquaculture. 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 YueYue was a state in China which existed during the Spring and Autumn Period. The state was famous for the quality of its metalworking, in particular its swords. Ancient Chinese states., were becoming increasingly involved in Chinese politics. In 512 BC, Wu launced a large expedition against the large state of Chusmall seal script, 220 BC) Chu , originally known as Jing and then Jingchu , was an independent state that existed during China's Spring and Autumn period and, subsequently, the Warring States period. At the height of its power, the Chu empire occupied va, based in the Middle Yangzi 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 king Goujian finally conquered Wu and was acknowledged by the northern states of Qismall seal script, 220 BC) See Qi (disambiguation) for other meanings of "Qi". Qi (; pinyin: qi2) was a relatively powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States. Its capital was at Linzi, which is today incorporated i and Jinsmall seal script, 220 BC) Jin was one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period in China. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin was split into three states Han, Zhao and Wei. The split of Jin sometimes refers to as the beginni. 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 the Xiang RiverThe Xiang River (also as Xiangjiang River Chinese: or "", pinyin: Xing Jing, Xing Shi; Wade-Giles: "hsing ching" or "hsing shu"), in older transliterations as the Siang River or Hsiang River is a river in southern China. The river gave Hunan its Chinese a to modern Guangdong and set up commanderies along the main communication routes. Throughout the Han DynastyThe Han Dynasty ( Traditional Chinese characters: , Simplified Chinese characters: , pinyin Hanchao 202 BCE 220 CE) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state and pr period two groups of Yue were identified, that of the Nan-Yue in the far south, who lived mainly in the area of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Vietnam; and that of the Min-Yue who lay to the northeast, centred on the Min River in modern Fujian.
Sinification of these peoples were brought about by a combination of imperial military power, regular settlement and Chinese refugees. The difficulty of logistics and the malarial 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 the Trung Sisters in modern Vietnam, a force of some 10,000 imperial troops was dispatched under General Ma Yuan . Between 100 and 184 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 the Xiongnu or the Xianbei, 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.