Yue (state)
Encyclopedia
Yue was a state in China
which existed during the Spring and Autumn Period (722–479 BCE) and the Warring States Period
(475–221 BCE), in the modern province of Zhejiang
. During the Spring and Autumn Period, its capital was in Guiji (会稽), near the modern city of Shaoxing
. After the conquest of Wu
, the kings of Yue moved their capital north, to Wu (modern Suzhou
).
According to Sima Qian
, its rulers claimed to be descended from Yu the Great
, and the annotation to the Guoyu
mention that their surname was Mi.
, in the late 6th century BC. After several decades of conflict, King Goujian of Yue managed to destroy and annex Wu in 473 BC, and Yue became one of the powerful states in the early Warring States Period
.
In 334 BC, the State of Yue, under the rule of Wu Jiang , the sixth generation descendant of Goujian, was eventually defeated and annexed by Chu
. The second son of Wu Jiang, Ming Di, was appointed by the ruler of Chu to administer a place called Wu Cheng (the present day Wuxing District
of Huzhou City in Zhejiang province), which was situated south of the Ou Yang Ting (pavilion), so named because it was built on the south and yáng (sunny) side of the Ou Yu Mountain, and hence was given the title of Ou Yang Ting Hou (roughly equivalent to a Marquess
). After Chu was subjugated by Qin during the Warring States Period in 223 BC, the title was abolished by the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng
. Descendants of the former rulers took up the surname Ou 歐, Ouyang
歐陽 or Ou Hou 歐侯 (since disappeared) in remembrance of his official title.
The state was famous for the quality of its metalworking and in particular its swords. Examples include the extremely well preserved Sword of Goujian and sword of King Zhou Gou (州勾王). The beauty Xi Shi
was also a native of the state.
and set up the Minyue kingdom. This successor state lasted until around 150 BC
, when it miscalculated an alliance with the Han Dynasty
.
Minyue cities, neatly constructed from stone, have been excavated in Wuyishan City, which already contains a UNESCO
natural and cultural heritage site. Minyue tombs showing the Yue burial customs have recently been discovered.
. The opinions are :
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
which existed during the Spring and Autumn Period (722–479 BCE) and the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
(475–221 BCE), in the modern province of Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
. During the Spring and Autumn Period, its capital was in Guiji (会稽), near the modern city of Shaoxing
Shaoxing
Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...
. After the conquest of Wu
Wu (state)
The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
, the kings of Yue moved their capital north, to Wu (modern Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
).
According to Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
, its rulers claimed to be descended from Yu the Great
Yu the Great
Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
, and the annotation to the Guoyu
Guoyu (book)
The Discourses of the States or Guoyu is a classical Chinese history book that collected the historical records of numerous states from Western Zhou to 453 BC. Its author is unknown, but it is sometimes attributed to Zuo Qiuming, a contemporary of Confucius...
mention that their surname was Mi.
Yue in History
Ancient Chinese texts do not mention Yue until the wars which opposed it to its northern neighbour, the state of WuWu (state)
The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
, in the late 6th century BC. After several decades of conflict, King Goujian of Yue managed to destroy and annex Wu in 473 BC, and Yue became one of the powerful states in the early Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
.
In 334 BC, the State of Yue, under the rule of Wu Jiang , the sixth generation descendant of Goujian, was eventually defeated and annexed by Chu
Chu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
. The second son of Wu Jiang, Ming Di, was appointed by the ruler of Chu to administer a place called Wu Cheng (the present day Wuxing District
Wuxing District
Wuxing District is a district in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China....
of Huzhou City in Zhejiang province), which was situated south of the Ou Yang Ting (pavilion), so named because it was built on the south and yáng (sunny) side of the Ou Yu Mountain, and hence was given the title of Ou Yang Ting Hou (roughly equivalent to a Marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
). After Chu was subjugated by Qin during the Warring States Period in 223 BC, the title was abolished by the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
. Descendants of the former rulers took up the surname Ou 歐, Ouyang
Ouyang
Ouyang is one of the most common two-character Chinese compound surnames in the world. However, it is not one of the top two hundred Chinese surnames, as documented by the Language Publication Society, Beijing in 1990...
歐陽 or Ou Hou 歐侯 (since disappeared) in remembrance of his official title.
The state was famous for the quality of its metalworking and in particular its swords. Examples include the extremely well preserved Sword of Goujian and sword of King Zhou Gou (州勾王). The beauty Xi Shi
Xi Shi
Xi Shi was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue....
was also a native of the state.
Exile Government and Absorption into Han Dynasty
After the fall of Yue, the ruling family moved south to what is now northern FujianFujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and set up the Minyue kingdom. This successor state lasted until around 150 BC
150 BC
Year 150 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flamininus and Balbus...
, when it miscalculated an alliance with the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
.
Minyue cities, neatly constructed from stone, have been excavated in Wuyishan City, which already contains a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
natural and cultural heritage site. Minyue tombs showing the Yue burial customs have recently been discovered.
Yue in astronomy
There is two opinions about the representing star of Yue in Chinese astronomyChinese astronomy
Astronomy in China has a very long history, with historians considering that "they [the Chinese] were the most persistent and accurate observers of celestial phenomena anywhere in the world before the Arabs."...
. The opinions are :
- Yue, together with WuWu (state)The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
is represented with the star Zeta AquilaeZeta AquilaeZeta Aquilae is a triple star system in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional names Deneb el Okab, from an Arabic term ذنب العقاب ðanab al-cuqāb meaning "the tail of the falcon", and the Mandarin names Woo and Yuë, derived from and represent the state Wu , an old state was located at...
(and share with Epsilon Aquilae) in asterism Left Wall, Heavenly Market enclosureHeavenly Market enclosureTian Shi Yuan, the Heavenly Market Enclosure , is one of the San Yuan or Three enclosures. Stars and constellations of this group are visible during late summer and early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere . The summer triangle lies directly to the northwest.-Asterisms:The asterisms are :...
(see Chinese constellationChinese constellationChinese constellations are the way the ancient Chinese grouped the stars. They are very different from the modern IAU recognized constellations. This is because the IAU was based on Greco-Roman astronomy instead of Chinese astronomy....
)., and also represented with the star 19 Capricorni in in asterism Twelve States, GirlGirl (Chinese constellation)The Girl mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.- Asterisms :...
mansion. (see Chinese constellationChinese constellationChinese constellations are the way the ancient Chinese grouped the stars. They are very different from the modern IAU recognized constellations. This is because the IAU was based on Greco-Roman astronomy instead of Chinese astronomy....
). - Yue, together with WuWu (state)The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
is represented with the star Zeta AquilaeZeta AquilaeZeta Aquilae is a triple star system in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional names Deneb el Okab, from an Arabic term ذنب العقاب ðanab al-cuqāb meaning "the tail of the falcon", and the Mandarin names Woo and Yuë, derived from and represent the state Wu , an old state was located at...
(and share with Epsilon Aquilae)., and Yue also represented with the star Psi CapricorniPsi CapricorniPsi Capricorni is a star in the constellation Capricornus. ψ Capricorni is a yellow-white F-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +4.13. It is approximately 47.9 light years from Earth...
.
People from Yue
- YuenüYuenüYuenü was a swordswoman from the state of Yue, in the modern province of Zhejiang. She is also known as Aliao.-Life and legacy:From a young age, she learned archery and how to use a sword by hunting with her father. The King of Yue planned to attack the state of Wu and when he heard about her...
, swordswoman, whose exposition on the art of the sword is the earliest recorded theory on this topic
surname
- Si (姒:Sa) : royal of Yue state from Si (姒) clan of Xia DynastyXia DynastyThe Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...
- Gu (顧:Go) : royal of Yue state
- Jen (任:Yam:Yum:Yim:Ren) : clan in ShaoxingShaoxingShaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...
, later join to Chu (state)Chu (state)The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong... - Si (斯:Sa) : clan in HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, ZhejiangZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Further reading
- Zhengzhang Shangfang [郑张尚芳]. 1990. "Some Kam-Tai Words in Place Names of the Ancient Wu and Yue States" [古吴越地名中的侗台语成份]. In Minzu Yuwen 6.
External links
- Eric Henry: The Submerged History of Yuè (Sino-Platonic Papers 176, May 2007; PDF)