Where is the origin of Cantonese and what are its characteristics?

Judging from the earliest history of Han people entering Guangdong on a large scale, Cantonese was formed in the middle reaches of Xijiang River.

According to archaeological findings, since the Western Zhou Dynasty, Cantonese in Lingnan have been in contact with Han people in the Central Plains. However, due to the separation of five mountains, this kind of communication is extremely limited. In the twenty-fifth year of Qin Shihuang (222 BC), he sent troops south to Guangdong, and where he hit it was not recorded.

According to records, in the 29th year of Qin Shihuang (2 18 BC), Cantonese in Ou (Xijiang area) opposed Qin, and the court sent 500,000 troops to make a conquest. The soldiers were divided into five roads: "One army blocked the city ridge, one army guarded the nine suspects, and the other army was stationed in Panyu County. One army defends the border of Ye Nan, and the other is responsible for the remaining dry water. ..... and the soldiers dug ditches to open the route for providing foodstuff to attack the Vietnamese. " (See "Huainanzi Human Training") The "Yucheng Ridge" mentioned here refers to the Yuechengling in Guangxi today; "Nine doubts" refers to the south of ningyuan county, Hunan Province; "Canal", that is, Lingqu.

These two armies entered Lingnan by opening Lingqu, which connects Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River, thus becoming the first main passage for Han people in the Central Plains to enter Lingnan. In thirty-three years (2 14 BC), the war came to an end, and Qin "exiled 500,000 people to defend it" (Yongzheng's Guangdong Tongzhi). This 500,000 people was not a small number at that time, because until the Eastern Han Dynasty, the population of Lingnan counties rarely exceeded100,000, and it was even more sparsely populated in the Qin Shihuang era.

The arrival of this large number of Han Chinese "disciples" was enough to change the situation that Guangdong people in Lingnan "unified the world", and then Chinese was brought into Lingnan. Where did these 500,000 "disciples" settle at that time? Opinions vary. But one thing is certain, that is, Panyu (now Guangzhou) was still dominated by Cantonese.

At the end of Qin Dynasty, Zhao Tuo, a Han Chinese, established Nanyue State here. The officials he appointed were basically Cantonese, and even Zhao Tuo himself had to change his clothes, living habits and language, and alienated himself into Cantonese for the sake of rule. If the Cantonese were not very good, he wouldn't do that. However, in the middle of the Xijiang River, the situation there is completely different. After Qin Jun's conquest, most of the Cantonese people there escaped, thus becoming the best land filling and settlement place for the Han people.

As a result, most of these 500,000 "disciples" settled in the middle of Xijiang River, where Central Plains Chinese first spread. In the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu Ding Yuan (1 1 1), South Vietnam was destroyed, and Lingnan was divided into Nanhai, Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Jiaodi, Jiuzhen, Rinan, Boer and Zhuyajiu counties. At the same time, the "cross-toe secretariat" was established to rule this place. (now Vietnam), but soon moved to Cangwu County in the middle reaches of Xijiang River to treat Guangxin.

For the next 300 years, Guangxin has been the economic and cultural center of Lingnan. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Toe Toe Secretariat was changed to Jiaozhou, and its office was also in Guangxin. So, where is Guangxin? Mr. Luo Xianglin pointed out: "Now Fengchuan in Guangdong is Guangxin, the secretariat of Jiaozhou in Han Dynasty and the order of Cangwu County."

Yayan is based on the primitive Chinese used by the Chinese tribal alliance headed by the Yellow Emperor. In the Zhou Dynasty, it developed into the national language of the Central Plains, which can be said to be the earliest "Putonghua" in China. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the dialects of various vassal States were different, and elegant words were used in official exchanges, scholars' lectures and sacrificial activities. Confucius once said: "Confucius speaks politely, and poetry and calligraphy are polite." The Qin dynasty conquered the land of Baiyue and recruited fugitives from the former six countries, as well as their husbands and wives, to be "squatters" in Lingnan.

These settlers "come from all corners of the country", so they must use elegance in communication. However, because the settlers settled in the fields alone, their language was only transmitted from village to village, but not throughout Lingnan. Until the establishment of Nanyue in Zhao Tuo, Baiyue costumes and customs were adopted and Baiyue language was spoken. It can be seen that Yayan has not been spread in Lingnan, but there are several "Yayan Island" with small area.

The spread of elegant ci in Lingnan began after the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up a "toe-toe secretariat" to supervise the county. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, he withdrew his toe secretariat and set up a state of communication. Toe Secretariat and Jiaozhou are both Han regimes, so official communication must be polite. Most of the time, the Toe Toe Secretariat and the Jiaozhou Government were located in Guangxin (now opened in Zhaoqing), and Yayan was first used in Guangxin. Guangxin was also the early commercial center of Lingnan.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent envoys from Xuwen and Hepu to open up the Maritime Silk Road and bought back overseas treasures such as pearls, glazed pottery and stones with silk and porcelain. , and through the Nanliujiang-Beiliujiang and Jianjiang-Nanjiang trade channels, it is imported into Guangxin, and then exported to the Central Plains through Hejiang-Xiaoshui. Elegant words introduced from the Central Plains gradually spread in this area through commercial activities.

From the Qin Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, the middle reaches of the Xijiang River has always been the main area for Han immigrants in Lingnan. These Han immigrants brought the culture and language of the Central Plains here, took root, sprouted and blossomed. As a result, they walked a long way. "At that time, although the academic achievements of the Pearl River Delta were considerable, it was still a few scholars in the middle reaches of the Xijiang River who could represent Guangdong's academic thoughts.

Language is the carrier of culture. With the spread of Chinese culture, Chinese became popular in this area. Because Guangxin area is far away from the Central Plains, the traffic is inconvenient. After these Han immigrants entered Lingnan, the Chinese they used gradually deviated from the development track of Chinese in the Central Plains and formed some characteristics of their own, thus forming the early Cantonese, that is, the embryonic form of Cantonese.