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. Cover 1 Half-title page 3 Title page 5 Copyright page 6 Contents 7 Figures, maps, and tables 9 Preface 11 Acknowledgments 16 Note on the text 21 Part I Orientations: definitions and disciplinary discussions 25 Introduction: concepts and frameworks 27 1 Who were the Yue? 45 2 Linguistic research on the Yue/Viet 69 3 The archaeological record 86 Part II Timelines and political histories of the Yue state and Han period Yue kingdoms, c.500–110 BCE 107 4 Political histories of the Yue state and Han period Yue kingdoms, c. 500–110 BCE 109 Part IIIPerforming Hua-xia, inscribing Yue:rhetoric, rites, and tags 137 5 The rhetoric of cultural superiority and conceptualizations of ethnicity 139 6 Tropes of the savage: physical markers of Yue identity 165 7 Savage landscapes and magical objects 196 Part IV Performing Yue: political drama, intrigue, and armed resistance 215 8 Yue identity as political masquerade and ritual modeling 217 9 Yue identity as armed resistance to the Han imperium 245 Conclusion 266 Select bibliography 275 Index 292 "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 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.