Ancient China and the Yue : perceptions and identities on the southern frontier, c. 400 BCE-50 CE

In this innovative study, Erica Fox Brindley examines how, during the period 400 BCE–50 CE, Chinese states and an embryonic Chinese empire interacted with peoples referred to as the Yue/Viet along its southern frontier. Brindley provides an overview of current theories in archaeology and linguistics concerning the peoples of the ancient southern frontier of China, the closest relations on the mainland to certain later Southeast Asian and Polynesian peoples. Through analysis of warring states and early Han textual sources, she shows how representations of Chinese and Yue identity invariably fed upon, and often grew out of, a two-way process of centering the self while de-centering the other. Examining rebellions, pivotal ruling figures from various Yue states, and key moments of Yue agency, Brindley demonstrates the complexities involved in identity formation and cultural hybridization in the ancient world, and highlights the ancestry of cultures now associated with southern China and Vietnam. "In this innovative study, Erica Brindley examines how, during the period 400 BCE-50 CE, Chinese states and an embryonic Chinese empire interacted with peoples referred to as the Yue/Viet along its southern frontier. Brindley provides an overview of current theories in archaeology and linguistics concerning the peoples of the ancient southern frontier of China, the closest relations on the mainland to certain later Southeast Asian and Polynesian peoples. Through analysis of Warring States and early Han textual sources, she shows how representations of Chinese and Yue identity invariably fed upon, and often grew out of, a two-way process of centering the self while de-centering the other. Examining rebellions, pivotal ruling figures from various Yue states, and key moments of Yue agency, Brindley demonstrates the complexities involved in identity formation and cultural hybridization in the ancient world and highlights the ancestry of cultures now associated with southern China and Vietnam"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half-title page Title page Copyright page Contents Figures, maps, and tables Preface Acknowledgments Note on the text Part I Orientations: definitions and disciplinary discussions Introduction: concepts and frameworks 1 Who were the Yue? 2 Linguistic research on the Yue/Viet 3 The archaeological record Part II Timelines and political histories of the Yue state and Han period Yue kingdoms, c.500–110 BCE 4 Political histories of the Yue state and Han period Yue kingdoms, c. 500–110 BCE Part III Performing Hua„-xia,„ inscribing Yue: rhetoric, rites, and tags 5 The rhetoric of cultural superiority and conceptualizations of ethnicity 6 Tropes of the savage: physical markers of Yue identity 7 Savage landscapes and magical objects Part IV Performing Yue: political drama, intrigue, and armed resistance 8 Yue identity as political masquerade and ritual modeling 9 Yue identity as armed resistance to the Han imperium Conclusion Select bibliography Index A richly empirical discussion of ethnic identity formation in the period 400 BCE-50 CE. Erica Fox Brindley presents a meticulous new study of the ancient Chinese textual record in an attempt to understand the Yue peoples of China's southern frontier and how they were perceived by the Chinese elite.