1.
Warring States period
–
The Warring States Period derives its name from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han dynasty. The political geography of the era was dominated by the Seven Warring States, namely, Qin, The State of Qin was in the far west, with its core in the Wei River Valley and Guanzhong. This geographical position offered protection from the states of the Central Plains, the Three Jins, Northeast of Qin, on the Shanxi plateau, were the three successor states of Jin. These were, Han, south, along the Yellow River, Zhao, the northernmost of the three. Qi, located in the east of China, centred on the Shandong Peninsula, described as east of Mount Tai, Chu, located in the south of China, with its core territory around the valleys of the Han River and, later, the Yangtze River. Yan, located in the northeast, centred on modern-day Beijing, late in the period Yan pushed northeast and began to occupy the Liaodong Peninsula Besides these seven major states, some minor states also survived into the period. Yue, On the southeast coast near Shanghai was the State of Yue, Sichuan, In the far southwest were the States of Ba and Shu. These were non-Zhou states that were conquered by Qin late in the period, in the Central Plains comprising much of modern-day Henan Province, many smaller city states survived as satellites of the larger states, though they were eventually to be absorbed as well. Zhongshan, Between the states of Zhao and Yan was the state of Zhongshan, the Spring and Autumn period was initiated by the eastward flight of the Zhou court. There is no one single incident or starting point for the Warring States era, some proposed starting points are as follows,481 BC, Proposed by Song-era historian Lü Zuqian, since it is the end of the Spring and Autumn Annals. 476–475 BC, The author, Sima Qian, of Records of the Grand Historian who chose the year of King Yuan of Zhou. 403 BC, The year when Han, Zhao and Wei were officially recognised as states by the Zhou court, author Sima Guang of Zizhi Tongjian tells us that the symbol of eroded Zhou authority should be taken as the start of the Warring States era. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, during the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. Other major states also existed, such as Wu and Yue in the southeast, the last decades of the Spring and Autumn era were marked by increased stability, as the result of peace negotiations between Jin and Chu which established their respective spheres of influence. This situation ended with the partition of Jin, whereby the state was divided between the houses of Han, Zhao and Wei, and thus enabled the creation of the seven major warring states. This allowed other clans to gain fiefs and military authority, and decades of struggle led to the establishment of four major families. The Battle of Jinyang saw the allied Han, Zhao and Wei destroy the Zhi family, with this, they became the de facto rulers of most of Jins territory, though this situation would not be officially recognised until half a century later. The Jin division created a vacuum that enabled during the first 50 years expansion of Chu and Yue northward
2.
Han dynasty
–
The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han
3.
Fuzhou dialect
–
The Fuzhou dialect, also Fuzhounese, Foochow or Hok-chiu, is the prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken mainly in eastern Fujian province. Like many other varieties of Chinese, the Fuzhou dialect is dominated by monosyllabic morphemes which carry lexical tones, while the Eastern Min branch that it belongs to is closer to Southern Min than to other Sinitic branches such as Mandarin or Hakka, they are still not mutually intelligible. Centered in Fuzhou City, the Fuzhou dialect covers eleven cities and counties, Fuzhou City Proper, Pingnan, Gutian, Luoyuan, Minqing, Lianjiang, Minhou, Changle, Yongtai, Fuqing and Pingtan. It is also the local language in many northern and middle Fujian cities and counties such as Nanping, Shaowu, Shunchang, Sanming. Fuzhou dialect is widely spoken in some regions abroad, especially in Southeastern Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. The city of Sibu in Malaysia is called New Fuzhou due to the influx of immigrants there in the late 19th century and early 1900s. Similarly, quite a significant number of Fuzhounese have emigrated to Singapore, Taiwan, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, in older works, the variety is called Foochow dialect, based on the Chinese postal romanization of Fuzhou. In Chinese, it is sometimes called 福州語, native speakers also refer to it as Bàng-uâ, meaning the everyday language. After the Qin Dynasty conquered the Minyue kingdom of southeast China in 110 BC and it once served to standardize the language and is still widely quoted as an authoritative reference book in modern academic research in Min Chinese phonology. In 1842, Fuzhou was open to Westerners as a treaty port after the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, but due to the language barrier, however, the first Christian missionary base in this city did not take place without difficulties. In order to convert Fuzhou people, those missionaries found it necessary to make a careful study of the Fuzhou dialect. Their most notable works are listed below,1856, M. C, White, The Chinese language spoken at Fuh Chau 1870, R. S. Maclay & C. C. Baldwin, An alphabetic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Foochow dialect 1871, baldwin, Manual of the Foochow dialect 1891, T. B. Adam, An English-Chinese Dictionary of the Foochow Dialect 1893, Charles Hartwell, Three Character Classic of Gospel in the Foochow Colloquial 1898, baldwin, An Alphabetic Dictionary of the Chinese Language of the Foochow Dialect, 2nd edition 1905, T. B. Adam, An English-Chinese Dictionary of the Foochow Dialect, 2nd edition]1906, The Foochow translation of the complete Bible 1923, T. B. Adam & L. P. Peet, An English-Chinese dictionary of the Foochow dialect, 2nd edition 1929, one of their most famous works was the Japanese-Chinese Translation, Fuzhou Dialect published in 1940 in Taipei, in which katakana was used to represent Fuzhou pronunciation. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Fuzhou society had been largely monolingual, but for decades the Chinese government has discouraged the use of the vernacular in school education and in media, so the number of Mandarin speakers has been greatly boosted. Recent reports indicate that less than 50% of young people in Fuzhou are able to speak Fuzhou dialect, in Mainland China, the Fuzhou dialect has been officially listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage and promotion work is being systematically carried out to preserve its use
4.
Fujian
–
Fujian, formerly romanised as Foken, Fouken, Fukien, and Hokkien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, the name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou two cities in Fujian, during the Tang dynasty. While its population is chiefly of Han origin, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China, most of Fujian is administered by the Peoples Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China, thus, there are two provinces, the Fujian Province administered by the PRC and the Fujian Province of the ROC. Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC, the Tanshishan site in suburban Fuzhou spans the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age where semi-underground circular buildings were found in the lower level. The Huangtulun site, also in suburban Fuzhou, was of the Bronze Age in character, Fujian was also the place for the kingdom of Minyue. This is because the family of Yuè fled to Fujian after their kingdom was annexed by the State of Chu in 306 BC. Mǐn is also the name of the river in this area. Minyue was a de facto kingdom until the emperor of Qin dynasty, liu Bang was victorious and founded the Han dynasty, in 202 BC, he restored Minyues status as a tributary independent kingdom. Thus, Wuzhu was allowed to construct his fortified city in Fuzhou as well as a few locations in the Wuyi Mountains and his kingdom extended beyond the borders of contemporary Fujian into eastern Guangdong, eastern Jiangxi, and southern Zhejiang. The Han emperor eventually decided to get rid of the threat by sending a military campaign against Minyue. Large forces approached Minyue simultaneously from four directions via land and sea in 111 BC, the rulers in Fuzhou surrendered to avoid a futile fight and destruction, thus the first kingdom in Fujian history came to an abrupt end. The Han dynasty collapsed at the end of the 2nd century AD, sun Quan, the founder of the Kingdom of Wu, spent nearly twenty years subduing the Shan Yue people, the branch of the Yue living in mountains. These immigrants were primarily from eight families in central China, Lin, Huang, Chen, Zheng, Zhan, Qiu, He, the first four remain as the major surnames of modern Fujian. Population density in Fujian remained low compared to the rest of China, only two commanderies and sixteen counties were established by the Western Jin dynasty. Like other southern provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era, the Southern Dynasties reigned south of the Yangtze River, including Fujian. During Sui and Tang eras a large influx of migrants came, the Tang dynasty oversaw the next golden age of China and culturally and economically benefited Fujian greatly, Fujians capital Fuzhous economic and cultural instions grew and developed. The later years of the Tang dynasty saw a number of upheavals in the Chinese heartland
5.
Baiyue
–
The Baiyue, Hundred Yue or Yue were various partly or un-Sinicized peoples who inhabited South China and northern Vietnam between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD. In the Warring States period, the word Yue referred to the State of Yue in Zhejiang, the later kingdoms of Minyue in Fujian and Nanyue in Guangdong are both considered Yue states. The Yue were assimilated or displaced as Chinese civilization expanded into southern China in the first half of the first millennium AD, many southern varieties of Chinese bear traces of substrate languages originally spoken by the Yue. Variations of the name are used in the name of Vietnam, in Zhejiang-related names including Yue Opera. The modern term Yue comes from Old Chinese *wjat and it was first written using the pictograph 戉 for an axe, in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of the late Shang dynasty, and later as 越. At that time it referred to a people or chieftain to the northwest of the Shang, in the early 8th century BC, a tribe on the middle Yangtze were called the Yángyuè, 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, the term Hundred Yue first appears in the book Lüshi Chunqiu compiled around 239 BC. It was used as a term for the non-Chinese populations of south and southwest China. Ancient texts mention a number of Yue states or groups, by the 3rd millennium BC, the successor Liangzhu culture shows some influence from the Longshan-era cultures due to trade and commerce. However, a frequency of O1 was found in Liangzhu culture sites, linking it to modern Austronesian. From the 9th century BC, two northern Yue peoples, the Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue, were 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 and their aristocratic elite learned the written Chinese language and adopted Chinese political institutions and military technology. Traditional accounts attribute the change to Taibo of Wu, a Zhou prince who had self-exiled to the south. The marshy lands of the south gave Gou-Wu and Yu-Yue unique characteristics and 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 and they were also known for their fine swords. In the Spring and Autumn period, the two states, now called Wu and Yue, were becoming involved in Chinese politics. According to the Han historian Sima Qian, King Goujian of Yue was descended from the legendary Yu the Great, 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 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
6.
Chu (state)
–
Chu was a hegemonic, Zhou dynasty era state. From King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE, with its continued expansion Chu became a great Warring States period power. Also known as Jing, Jingchu and Shu, Chu included most of the provinces of Hubei and Hunan, along with parts of Chongqing, Guizhou, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang. For more than 400 years, the Chu capital Danyang was located at the junction of the Dan and Xi Rivers near present-day Xichuan County, Henan, but later moved to Ying. The ruling house of Chu originally bore the clan name Nai and lineage name Yan, according to legends recounted in Sima Qians Records of the Grand Historian, the royal family of Chu descended from the Yellow Emperor and his grandson and successor Zhuanxu. Zhuanxus great-grandson Wuhui was put in charge of fire by Emperor Ku, wuhuis son Luzhong had six sons, all born by Caesarian section. The youngest, Jilian, adopted the ancestral surname Mi, jilian’s descendant Yuxiong was the teacher of King Wen of Zhou. After the Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty, King Cheng awarded Yuxiongs great-grandson Xiong Yi with the fiefdom of Chu, Xiong Yi built the first capital of Chu at Danyang. In 977 BCE, during his campaign against Chu, King Zhao of Zhous boat sank, after this death, Zhou ceased to expand to the south, allowing the southern tribes and Chu to cement their own autonomy much earlier than the states to the north. The Chu viscount Xiong Qu overthrew E in 863 BCE but subsequently made its capital Ezhou one of his capitals, in either 703 or 706, the ruler Xiong Tong proclaimed himself king, establishing Chus full independence from the Zhou dynasty. In its early years, Chu was a successful expansionist and militaristic state that developed a reputation for coercing and absorbing its allies, Chu grew from a small state into a large kingdom. King Zhuang was even considered one of the five Hegemons of the era, after a number of battles with neighboring states, sometime between 695 and 689 BCE, the Chu capital moved southeast from Danyang to Ying. Chu first consolidated its power by absorbing lesser states in its original area, the threat from Chu resulted in multiple northern alliances under the leadership of Jin. These alliances kept Chu in check, with the first major victory won at the Chengpu in 632 BCE, at the beginning of the sixth century BCE, Jin strengthened the state of Wu near the Yangtze delta to act as a counterweight against Chu. Wu defeated Qi and then invaded Chu in 506 BCE, following the Battle of Boju, it occupied Chus capital at Ying, forcing King Zhao to flee to his allies in Yun and Sui. King Zhao eventually returned to Ying but, after another attack from Wu in 504 BCE, Chu began to strengthen Yue in modern Zhejiang to serve as allies against Wu. Yue was initially subjugated by King Fuchai of Wu until he released their king Goujian, freed from its difficulties with Wu, Chu annexed Chen in 479 BCE and overran Cai to the north in 447 BCE. This policy of expansion continued until the last generation before the fall to Qin, however, by the end of the 5th century BCE, the Chu government had become very corrupt and inefficient, with much of the states treasury used primarily to pay for the royal entourage
7.
Qi (state)
–
Qi was a state of the Zhou Kingdom in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Yingqiu, located within present-day Zibo in Shandong, Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou overthrow of Shang in the 11th century BC. Its first marquis was Jiang Ziya, minister of King Wen and his family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BC. In 221 BC, Qi was the major state annexed by Qin during its unification of China. During the Zhou conquest of Shang, Jiang Ziya served as the minister to King Wu. After Wus death, Jiang remained loyal to the Duke of Zhou during the Three Guards failed rebellion against his regency, the Shang prince Wu Geng had joined the revolt along with the Dongyi states of Yan, Xu, and Pugu. These were suppressed by 1039 BC and Jiang was given the Pugu lands in what is now western Shandong as the march of Qi. Little information survives from this period, but the Bamboo Annals suggest that the people of Pugu continued to revolt for about another decade before being destroyed a second time c. 1026. In the mid-9th century BC, King Yi attacked Qi and boiled Duke Ai to death, under the reign of King Xuan, there was a local succession struggle. During this time, many of the native Dongyi peoples were absorbed into the Qi state, in 706 BC, Qi was attacked by the Shan Rong. Qi rose to prominence under Duke Huan of Qi and he and his minister Guan Zhong strengthened the state by centralizing it. He annexed 35 neighboring states including Tan and brought others into submission, in 667 BC, Duke Huan met with the rulers of Lu, Song, Chen and Zheng and was elected leader. Subsequently King Hui of Zhou made him the first Hegemon and he attacked Wei for supporting a rival of the Zhou king and intervened in the affairs of Lu. In 664 BC, he protected Yan from the Rong, in 659 BC, he protected Xing and in 660, Wei, from the Red Di. In 656 he blocked the expansion of Chu. After his death, his sons quarrelled and the passed to Jin. In 632 BC, Qi helped Jin defeat Chu at the Battle of Chengpu, in 589 BC, Qi was defeated by Jin. In 579 BC, the four powers of Qin, Jin, Chu and Qi met to declare a truce
8.
Taiwanese aborigines
–
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, who number more than 530,000 and constitute nearly 2. 3% of the islands population. Recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on Taiwan for approximately 8,000 years in isolation before a major Han immigration began in the 17th century. The issue of an ethnic identity unconnected to the Asian mainland has become one thread in the discourse regarding the status of Taiwan. For centuries, Taiwans aboriginal inhabitants experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing newcomers, for example, of the approximately 26 known languages of the Taiwanese aborigines, at least ten are now extinct, five are moribund, and several are to some degree endangered. These languages are of historical significance, since most historical linguists consider Taiwan to be the original homeland of the Austronesian language family. Taiwans Austronesian speakers were distributed over much of the islands rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. The bulk of contemporary Taiwanese aborigines now live in the mountains, the indigenous peoples of Taiwan face economic and social barriers, including a high unemployment rate and substandard education. Since the early 1980s, many groups have been actively seeking a higher degree of political self-determination. The revival of pride is expressed in many ways by aborigines. Efforts are under way in indigenous communities to revive traditional cultural practices, the Austronesian Cultural Festival in Taitung City is one means by which tribe members promote aboriginal culture. For most of their history, Taiwanese aborigines have been defined by the agents of different Confucian, Christian. Taxonomies imposed by colonizing forces divided the aborigines into named subgroups and these divisions did not always correspond to distinctions drawn by the aborigines themselves. This designation reflected the idea that anyone could be civilized/tamed by adopting Confucian social norms. During Japanese rule, anthropologists from Japan maintained the binary classification, the Musha incident of 1930 led to many changes in aboriginal policy, and the Japanese government began referring to them as Takasago-zoku. The latter group included the Atayal, Bunun, Tsou, Saisiat, Paiwan, Puyuma, the Yami and Rukai were added later, for a total of nine recognized tribes. The KMT later adopted the use of all the earlier Japanese groupings except Peipo, the current recognized aborigines are all regarded as Gaoshan, though the divisions are not and have never been based strictly on geographical location. The Amis, Saisiat, Tao and Kavalan are all traditionally Eastern Plains cultures, the distinction between Pingpu and Gaoshan people continues to affect Taiwans policies regarding indigenous peoples, and their ability to participate effectively in government. The earliest detailed records, dating from the Dutch arrival in 1624, between these villages there was frequent trade, intermarriage, warfare and alliances against common enemies
9.
Neolithic
–
It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
10.
Dian Kingdom
–
The Dian Kingdom was established by the Dian people, who lived around the Dian Lake plateau of central northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn period until the Eastern Han dynasty. The Dian buried their dead in pit graves. The Dian language was one of the Tibeto-Burman languages. Dian was annexed by the Han dynasty during the expansion of the Han dynasty. In 109 BCE, Han campaigns against Dian led to the establishment of the Yizhou commandery by the Han. The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qians Records of the Grand Historian, according to Chinese sources, General Zhuang Qiao of Chu was the founder of the Dian Kingdom. Sent to conquer the peoples of the area, he and his army were prevented from going back to Chu by enemy armies, so he settled down. The soldiers who accompanied him married natives and it is said that during the reign of King Qingxiang of Chu, a military force was sent on a mission to the lands of the Ba and Shu, Qinzong, and the Dian Kingdom. Native women married the Chu soldiers, who stayed in the area, the Dian were subjugated by the Han under the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in 109 BCE. The Dian King willingly received the Chinese invasion in the hopes of assistance against rival tribes and it was at this time he received his seal from the Chinese, and became a tributary. Han campaigns against Dian lead to its territory being incorporated into Yizhou Commandery, the Han proceeded with colonization and conquered the people of Kunming in 86 and 82 BCE, reaching Burma. The Dian buried their kings at Shizhaishan, which was uncovered in 1954 near Shizhai Village in Jinning County, the burials were identified by the inscription King Dians Seal. The inscription was written in script on a gold imperial seal of investiture given by the Han Emperor. Sima Qian noted that the Dian were one of two local groups to have received an imperial seal, the other being Yelang. Both have survived, the Yelang seal emerged in 2007 from a Hmong man in Guizhou, the Dian people were sophisticated metal workers, casting both bronze and iron. The Dian cast bronze objects using both the piece mould method and the lost wax method, Dian elite burials contained an impressive array of bronze objects, although late Dian burials also contained locally cast iron objects. Large bronze drums were employed by the Dian to communicate in battle, the tops of the drums were removed and replaced by a bronze lid. Iaroslav Lebedynsky and Victor H. Mair speculate that some Central Asians may also have migrated to the area of Yunnan in southern China following their expulsion by the Yuezhi in the 2nd century BCE
11.
Nanyue
–
Nanyue or Zhuang, Namzyied, or Nam Viet was an ancient kingdom that covered parts of northern Vietnam and the modern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan. Nanyue was established in 204 BC at the collapse of the Qin dynasty by Zhao Tuo, at first, it consisted of the commanderies Nanhai, Guilin, and Xiang. In 196 BC, Zhao Tuo paid obeisance to the Emperor Gaozu of Han, around 183 BC, relations between the Nanyue and the Han dynasty soured, and Zhao Tuo began to refer to himself as an emperor, suggesting Nanyues sovereignty. In 179 BC, relations between the Han and Nanyue improved, and Zhao Tuo once again made submission, this time to Emperor Wen of Han as an subject state. The submission was somewhat superficial, as Nanyue retained autonomy from the Han, in 113 BC, fourth-generation leader Zhao Xing sought to have Nanyue formally included as part of the Han Empire. His prime minister Lü Jia objected vehemently and subsequently killed Zhao Xing, installing his elder brother Zhao Jiande on the throne, the next year, Emperor Wu of Han sent 100,000 troops to war against Nanyue. By the years end, the army had destroyed Nanyue and established Han rule, the kingdom lasted 93 years and had five generations of kings. The Kingdom of Nanyues founding preserved the order of the Lingnan region during the surrounding the collapse of the Qin dynasty. It allowed the region to avoid much of the hardship experienced by the northern. Nanyue leaders promoted a policy of Harmonizing and Gathering the Hundred Yue Tribes, in Vietnam, the rulers of Nanyue are referred to as the Triệu dynasty. The name Vietnam is derived from Nam Việt, the Vietnamese pronunciation of Nanyue, a detailed history of Nanyue was written in Records of the Grand Historian by Han dynasty historian Sima Qian. It is mostly contained in section 113, Chinese, 南越列傳, pinyin and it is from this record that most of the information from Nanyue Under Zhao Tuo to Zhao Jiande and Nanyues Demise is taken. Around 218 BC, the First Emperor dispatched General Tu Sui with an army of 500,000 Qin soldiers to divide into five companies, the first company gathered at Yuhan and attacked the Minyue, defeating them and establishing the Minzhong Commandery. The second company fortified at Nanye, and was designed to put pressure on the southern clans. The fourth company garrisoned near the Jiuyi Mountains, and the fifth company garrisoned outside Tancheng, the First Emperor assigned official Shi Lu to oversee supply logistics. Shi first led a regiment of soldiers through the Ling Channel, then navigated through the Yangtze River, the Qin attack of the Western Valley Yue tribe went smoothly, and Western Valley chieftain Yi-Xu-Song was killed. However, the Western Valley Yue were unwilling to submit to the Qin, later, a night-time counterattack by the Western Valley Yue devastated the Qin troops, and General Tu Sui was killed in the fighting. The Qin suffered heavy losses, and the court selected General Zhao Tuo to assume command of the Chinese army
12.
Miao people
–
The Miao is an ethnic group recognized by the government of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component groups of people, which include Hmong, Hmub, Xong, and A-Hmao. Because of the given reasons, many Miao peoples cannot communicate with each other in their mother tongues. The Miao live primarily in southern Chinas mountains, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably the Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia. Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France. There has been a recent tendency by Hmong Americans to group all Miao peoples together under the term Hmong because of their disdain for the Chinese term Miao, the term Miao gained official status in 1949 as a minzu encompassing a group of linguistically-related ethnic minorities in Southwest China. Historically, the term Miao had been applied inconsistently to a variety of non-Han peoples, early Western writers used Chinese-based names in various transcriptions, Miao, Miao-tse, Miao-tsze, Meau, Meo, mo, miao-tseu etc. In Southeast Asian contexts words derived from the Chinese Miao took on a sense which was perceived as derogatory by the Hmong subgroup living in that region, in China, however, the term has no such context and is used by the Miao people themselves, of every group. The later prominence of Hmong people in the West has led to a situation where the entire Miao linguistic/cultural family is referred to as Hmong in English language sources. Following the recent increased interaction of Hmong in the West with Miao in China it is reported that some upwardly aspiring non-Hmong Miao have even begun to identify themselves as Hmong. However, most non-Hmong Miao in China are unfamiliar with the term as referring to their group and continue to use Miao. Though the Miao themselves use various self-designations, the Chinese traditionally classify them according to the most characteristic colour of the womens clothes.6 million. Outside of China, members of the Miao linguistic/cultural family sub-group or nations of the Hmong live in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma due to outward migrations starting in the 18th century. As a result of recent migrations in the aftermath of the Indochina and Vietnam Wars from 1949–75, many Hmong people now live in the United States, French Guiana, France, altogether, there are approximately 8 million speakers in the Miao language family. This language family, which consists of 6 languages and around 35 dialects belongs to the Hmong/Miao branch of the Hmong–Mien language family, there are about 1. 5–2 million Hmong in China. Note, The Miao areas of Sichuan province became part of the newly created Chongqing Municipality in 1997, most Miao currently live in China. Miao population growth in China,1953,2,510,0001964,2,780,0001982,5,030,0001990,7,390,0003,600,000 Miao, about half of the entire Chinese Miao population, were in Guizhou in 1990. There are 2,000,000 Hmong spread throughout northern Vietnam, Laos, Burma,174,000 live in Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes
