Wuyue
From Freepedia
| This article is part of the series: Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms |
|---|
| Five Dynasties |
| Later Liang Dynasty |
| Later Tang Dynasty |
| Later Jin Dynasty |
| Later Han Dynasty |
| Later Zhou Dynasty |
| Ten Kingdoms |
| Wu |
| Wuyue |
| Min |
| Nanping |
| Chu |
| Southern Tang |
| Southern Han |
| Northern Han |
| Former Shu |
| Later Shu |
| Others |
| Yan |
| Qi |
| Chengde Jiedushi |
| Yiwu Jiedushi |
| Dingnan Jiedushi |
| Qingyuan Jiedushi |
| Wuping Jiedushi |
| Yin |
| See also |
| History of China |
Kingdom of Wuyue (Traditional Chinese: 吳越國; Simplified Chinese: 吴越国, Pinyin: Wuyueguo), 852-988 AD, was a small independent coastal kingdom founded by King Qian Liu and covered what is today Shanghai, all of Zhejiang Province, the southern portion of Jiangsu Province, and (later) the northern portion of Fujian Province. The name Wuyue comes from the combination of Wu Kingdom and Yue Kingdom, two ancient kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period from 770 to 476 BC. The territories of Wuyue roughly corresponded to the territories of the ancient Yue, but not the ancient Wu -- which led to charges by the neighboring Wu (also known as Southern Wu) that Wuyue had designs on its territory, and the name was a source of tension for years between the two states (in a manner somewhat analogous to the current dispute between Greece and the (former Yugoslav) Republic of Macedonia). The capital of the kingdom was in Hang, what is today Hangzhou, the city that would greatly impress Marco Polo in his visit centuries later when it was made the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Archaeological finds in the region show that people settled there as early as 4,700 years ago and had a civilization (Hemudu) as advanced as the Yellow River civilization further north.
Under Qian Liu's reign, Wuyue prospered economically and freely developed its own regional culture that continues to this day. He developed the coastal kingdom's agriculture, built seawalls, expanded Hangzhou, dredged rivers and lakes, and encouraged sea transport and trade. On his death-bed he urged a benign administration of state affairs and his words were strictly followed by four succeeding kings. In 935, Wuyue established official diplomatic relations with Japan. In 978, in the face of certain annihilation from northern imperial Chinese troops, the last king of Wuyue, Qian Shu, pledged allegiance to the Northern Song Dynasty, saving his people from war and economic destruction. The last king died in 988, formally ending the Kingdom of Wuyue.
The legacy of the Wuyue Kingdom was in cementing the cultural and economic dominance of the Wuyue region in China for centuries to come, as well as creating a lasting regional cultural tradition distinctive from the rest of China. The Wuyue region to this day speaks a dialect called Wu (sometimes referred to simply as Shanghainese).
