Nanyue (Nam Viet) () was an ancient kingdom that consisted of parts of the modern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and much of modern northern Vietnam. The kingdom was established by the Chinese general Zhao Tuo () of the Qin dynasty who assimilated the customs of the Yue peoples and central China in his territory. Its capital was named Panyu (番禺), in today's Guangzhou, China. In Vietnam, the name Triệu Dynasty (based on the Vietnamese pronunciation of the surname Zhào) is used to refer to the lineage of kings of Nanyue, and by extension the era of Nanyue rule.

History

The history of Nanyue was written in Records of the Grand Historian by Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian, between 109 BC to 91 BC.

After the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang united China by conquering all six kingdoms in 219 BC, he ordered his generals to conquer the regions of present-day Guangdong and Guangxi. The conquest was completed in 214 BC. A new administrative unit, Nanhai Commandery (南海郡) was formed to rule the area corresponding approximately to present-day Guangdong. Zhao Tuo was appointed to manage a Longchuan (龍川), a strategic place in the military. He asked Qin Shi Huang to send 500 thousand people from Central China to Nanhai to assimilate the culture of Central China and Yue.

Establishment

After the death of Qin Shi Huang, a wave of anti-Qin riots swept across central China and the Qin Dynasty soon capitulated. In 208 BC, the head of Nanhai Commandery, Ren Xiao (任囂), appointed Zhao Tuo to succeed his position and suggested that Zhao establish a country in the south and take advantage of the mountainous boundary with northern China. Zhao soon reinforced the defences in the mountain passes north and replaced the Qin officials with his own followers. In 203 BC, he conquered another two commanderies, Guilin (桂林郡, approximately Guangxi) and Xiang "Elephant" (象郡, approximately Yunnan, north and central Vietnam), at the south of the mountain. The new kingdom of Nanyue was born, with Pānyú as the capital; Zhao Tuo declared himself Wu Wang (武王, lit. martial king) of Nanyue.
Liu Bang, after years of war with his rivals, established the Han dynasty and reunified Central China in 202 BC. Liu and his successors adopted a policy of peace to give his empire time to regenerate. In 211 BC, the emperor Liu sent Lu Jia (陸賈) to Nanyue to appoint Zhao Tuo as the King of Nanyue. Trade relations were established at the border between Nanyue and the Han kingdom of Changsha. Although formally a Han subject state, Nanyue retained a large measure of effective autonomy.

After the death of Liu Bang in 195 BC, the government was put in the hands of his wife, Empress Lu Zhi, who served as empress dowager over their son Emperor Hui of Han and then Emperor Hui's sons Liu Gong and Liu Hong. Zhao Tuo believed that Wu Chen (吳臣), the Prince of Changsha, had made false accusations against him to get Empress Dowager Lu to block the trade between the states and to prepare to conquer the Nanyue to merge into his principality of Changsha. In revenge, he then declared himself the emperor of Nanyue and attacked the principality of Changsha. Lu sent general Zao (灶) to punish Zhao Tuo. The hot and humid weather made soldiers fall ill and the army unable to go south of the mountains. The army withdrew. With the military success, Zhao Tuo took in the surrounding states of Minyue (閩越) in the east and Ouluo (甌雒) in the west as subject kingdoms. The empress dowager then killed some of Zhao's clan members within Han territory and damaged his ancestors' tombs.

In 179 BC, Liu Heng ascended the Emperor of Han. He reversed the policy of the empress. He ordered officials to visit the family town Zhending (真定), garrison the town and make offerings to his ancestors regularly. His prime minister Chen Ping (陳平) suggested sending Lu Jia to Nanyue as they were familiar with each other. Zhao Tuo felt surprised on Lu's arrival. He then withdrew his title of emperor and Nanyue became Han's subject state.

Zhao Mo

In 137 BC, Zhao Tuo died. His grandson Zhao Mo (趙眛; also known as Zhao Hu, 趙胡, in the Records of the Grand Historian) succeeded the king of Nanyue. Ying Xing (郢興), the king of Minyue, attacked Nanyue. Zhao Mo asked the Emperor Liu Che to send troops to halt the attack of Minyue. The emperor sent two generals to Minyue. Before Han's advancing to Minyue, Ying Xing's younger brother Yu Shan (餘善) killed Ying Xing and surrendered.

The emperor Liu Che sent Zhuang Zhu (莊助) to Nanyue. Zhao Mo thanked the Emperor and sent his son Zhao Yingqi (趙嬰齊) to the Han capital, Chang'an. He also wanted to go Chang'an but was stopped by his minister for fear that he could not return and it would be the end of the kingdom. He thus pretended to be sick and stayed in Nanyue. He really fell sick later for over 10 years and died. He received the posthumous name Wen Di (文帝).

Zhao Yingqi

Zhao Yingqi returned to Nanyue and succeeded the king. He married a woman of family Jiu (樛) from Handan and born a son Zhao Xing (趙興) when he was in Chang'an. He asked the Emperor to appoint Jiu as his queen and Zhao Xing his crown prince. He sent his second son to Chang'an. Zhao Yingqi died with posthumous name Ming Wang (明王).

Zhao Xing

Zhao Xing succeeded Zhao Yingqi as king. As the king was young, the king's mother Jiu took control of the kingdom. In 113 BC, the Emperor sent Anguo Shaoji (安國少季) to Nanyue ask the king and the king's mother to visit the Emperor. Anguo Shaoji was in fact Jiu's lover when she was in Chang'an. They renewed their affair which made the subjects mistrust the king's mother. To secure their positions, the king and his mother wanted Nanyue to be a kingdom within the Han Empire. The king, his mother, and Anguo Shaoji tried to persuade Lu Jia (呂嘉) and other ministers to follow. Lu Jia stood and left. The king's mother tried to kill him but stopped by the king.

Lu Jia refused to meet the king and planned to revolt. As he knew the king had no intention to kill him, the plan was not carried out for months.

Zhao Jiande

The minister Lu Jia revolted and killed the king and the king's mother. He named Zhao Jiande (趙建德), the eldest son of Zhao Yingqi, to be the king of Nanyue. In autumn 112 BC the emperor sent a navy of a hundred thousand strong to attack Nanyue. In winter 111 BC the capital Panyu fell and many surrendered. Lu Jia and Zhao Jiande fled out to sea but were captured soon. Nanyue was officially incorporated into Han.

Kings

Archaeological findings

A bronze seal inscribed "Seal for Captain of Tu Pho County" was uncovered at Thanh Hoa in northern Vietnam during the 1930s. Owing to the similarity to seals found at the tomb of the second king of Nam Viet, this bronze seal is recognized as an official seal of the Nam Viet Kingdom.
There were artifacts that were found in which belonged to the Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam. The goods were found buried alongside the tomb of the second king of Nam Viet.
The Nanyue Kingdom Palace Ruins, located in the city of Guangzhou covers 15,000 square metres. Excavated in 1995, it contains the remains of the ancient Nanyue palace. In 1996, it was listed as protected National Cultural Property by the Chinese government. Crescent-shaped ponds, Chinese gardens and other Qin architecture were discovered in the excavation.

In 1983, the ancient tomb of the Nanyue King Wang Mu (王墓) was discovered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. In 1988, the Museum of the Tomb of the King of Southern Yue in Western Han Dynasty was constructed on this site, to display more than 1000 excavated artefacts including 500 pieces of Chinese bronzes, 240 pieces of Chinese jade and 246 pieces of metal. In 1996, the Chinese government listed this site as a protected National Heritage Site.

Vietnam

Nam(Nan) means "south" and thus the term Nam Viet(Nan Yue) means "Southern Viet(Yue)." Nam Viet is the modern Vietnamese notation, while Nan Yue is the modern Chinese (Mandarin) pronunciation. In historical studies "Nam Viet(Nan Yue)" is used in this way as either a geographical or a historic concept.
The people of Vietnam regained independence and broke away from China in 938 AD after their victory at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. They formed their own kingdom and called it Đại Việt"大越“ (The Great Việt Kingdom). This kingdom grew stronger; it expanded south and conquered the Champa kingdom (in central Vietnam) and most of the Khmer empire (in present-day southern Vietnam), forcing the Khmer to migrate. In 1800s, Nguyen Anh, a Vietnamese Emperor, wanted to change his kingdom's name from Dai Viet to Nam Viet, however there wasn't an agreement politically. The Kinh people (a subset of the Yue/Yuet/Viet peoples) form the modern majority ethnic group of Vietnam.

Gallery

View of the tomb of Zhao Hu from above

The golden seal of the second king of Nanyue, bearing the inscription 文帝行璽