The prehistory of the peoples called by the ancient authors "Bat viet" ("Bai yue" - i.e. " many (yue)") is the history of the culture created by the now extinct peoples in the territory that later became part of modern China. Archaeological excavations in Southeastern China, which began to be actively conducted in the 70s of the XX century, brought a number of remarkable discoveries that changed our ideas about the development of society and statehood not only in this region, but also in the Far East as a whole, revealing another hotbed of development of ancient civilizations.

The article examines the main stages of the development of the culture of the Bat Viet peoples and the processes of formation, flourishing and decline of successive archaeological cultures that formed the Vietese community in Southeastern China during the period from the early Neolithic to the Early Iron Age, i.e. before the inclusion of the Vietese territories in the Western Han period (206 BC-8 AD) to the Chinese Empire.

Geographically, the area of existence of the Vietnamese community and its preceding cultures is the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the valley of Lake Baikal. Poyanghu and the Ganjiang River, Taihu Lake, the Minjiang and Jiulongjiang Rivers, as well as the mainland coast of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The present - day administrative boundaries of the People's Republic of China include the south of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces (south of the Huaihe River), Shanghai City District, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces. Conventionally, I call this area Southeast China.

Agriculture and the emergence of appropriating farming in Southeast China can be considered one of the oldest in the world. Already at the end of the last ice age, ceramics appear here (finds at the sites of Miaoyang, Xianrendong, etc., ca. 15-12 thousand years BC) [Kuzmin, 2004, p. 82-83]), and the first finds of rice grains belong to approximately the same time [Sato, 2002, p. 146 - 147]. Molecular genetic analysis has shown that the domestication of rice in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River occurred about 10 thousand years ago and then spread widely throughout Southern China, the Japanese Archipelago and Korea. This is the area of the highest rice fertility in East Asia [Sato, 2002, p. 143-150], which is facilitated by the convenient location of valleys, the climate of the temperate zone, alluvial soils, and lakes that are natural regulators of water runoff.

Reconstruction of the forms and main types of ceramics, which is possible already from the relatively early sites of Pengtoushan (from 8500 - 7500 BC), Bashidan (about 6500-6000 BC), Lower Jiaoshi (about 7000 BC), shows the existence of a developed ceramic complex, including ceremonial ceramics, as well as a large number of other sites. the continuity of its main types, preserved and improved in the next period of the developed Neolithic [Lo Erhu, vol. 1, 1995, pp. 196-209].

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The era of the developed Neolithic: Majiaban, Xuejagang, Lingjiatan-demonstrates even greater progress in agriculture, the complexity of objects of material culture of society. The Majiaban culture should also include the well-known Hemudu sub-culture (from 5550-5030 BC to 4050-3445 BC), which in addition to the necropolis of the same name includes about ten other sites and burials. Discovered in 1973 and causing a great sensation for its scale and the earliest rice grain finds at that time, the Hemudu complex is the most significant large-scale monument in China at that time [Huang Shilin, Zhu Naigeng, 2003, pp. 55-59]. Here were discovered complex pile structures, so characteristic of Southeast Asia until modern times, ceramics, tools made of stone, jade, bone, wood, and rice grains. The technical level of production of polished black ceramics, ivory and wood products, jewelry such as a rectangular head plate (an object known in the region until the Bronze Age), the presence of a large number of wooden hoes suggests that this was an agricultural developed Neolithic society. Judging by the findings, the Hamudus people had religious symbols. Here, for the first time, the totems characteristic of the Vietnamese world up to the Iron Age appear (another evidence of the ethnic continuity of cultures in this area) - a bird with two heads and a sun located between them (Furukawa and Watanabe, 1993, p.255).

In the lake district. The Poyang sub-culture of Hemudu corresponds in time to the Xuejiagang culture. Rich burials of this culture are characterized by tools made of ceramics, stone and jade. In ornaments, an eight-pointed star is often found-apparently, a solar symbol. The star is pointed or with a smooth rounded end (Lo Erhu, vol. 2, 1995, pp. 301-330). The period of 4500 ± 400 years BC corresponds to the Lingjiatan culture, which is known so far only from one two-layered necropolis. The burials are exceptionally rich - some have over 100 items made of jade. In the symbolism, numerous images of a bird carrying something in its beak attract attention, later known in Southern China votive jade axes with a hole and, finally, a jade square plate with an eight-pointed star in the center, from which eight feathers radiate, in turn surrounded by another circle, from which four more feathers radiate.. This is probably a picture of the world: the sun is in the center, and the four outer feathers point to the cardinal directions. Also widely known were six almost identical human figures made of jade (three in each grave), resembling southern Mongoloids, pressing their hands to their chest or raising them in front of their chest (prayer pose). A jade figurine of a three-headed bird was found in one of the same graves. This bird resembles the solar symbols of Hamudu and Xuejiagang. Lingjiatan is considered by some researchers to be a highly developed culture with a priestly or chieftain stratum and a high technical level of craft (jade processing) [Luo Erhu, vol. 2, 1995, pp. 353-360].

During the period from about 3500 BC to 2000 BC in the region of Southeast China with the center in the lake district. Taihu is dominated by a culture that can probably already be called early state. It is a culture with rich burial sites, a complex settlement structure, high-quality handicrafts, elaborate religious structures, and rudiments of writing. It was named Liangzhu after the monument of the same name. The main discoveries that have defined the character of the Liangzhu culture and its special place in the development of civilization in the Yangtze Valley are the rich necropolises of Fanshan and Yaoshan, as well as a huge number of settlements, necropolises, canals, irrigation structures discovered and partially excavated since the 1980s, and the large settlement of Mojiaoshan found in the 1990s..

Already the findings in the two necropolises mentioned above, dating back to 3000-2800 years BC [Lo Erhu, vol. 2, 1995, p. 255], attracted the attention of scientists. The variety is amazing

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and a huge number of highly artistic jade products with the finest images carved on them, which technically cannot be reconstructed even at the present time, which gave Liangzhu the name "jade civilization" [Sun Jian, 1999 (1); Ren Shinan, 1999]. The most common items among jade implements are rectangular "columns" of various lengths with a round hole inside, which have received the name cong in Chinese archaeological literature. On four sides and corners they are decorated with square faces of anthropomorphic deities. The deities are arranged in two rows, one above the other. Obviously, these are the main deities of the Liangzhus (Figure 2).
In addition to the "tsunamis", it should be noted that the" head plates", also known from Hamud, are also of various shapes and lengths with images of anthropomorphic deities. Sometimes there is an image of a bird on them. The bird is also visible on the so-called tsarsky tsun, where ordinary one-headed birds are located on the sides of the image of the deity. Obviously, the bird is preserved here as the most important totem. Another important cult object is the jade axe, which has become one of the main items of funerary equipment along with the tsung; an anthropomorphic deity and bird can also be found on the axe [Luo Erhu, vol. 2, 1995, pp. 241-278]. It should be noted the highest technical level of the image of an anthropomorphic deity. For example, on the tsuna from Fanjiani (Fig. 2), the image of the deity consists of several thousand lines engraved on one of the hardest minerals - jade, while the natural size of the image is only 2.5 cm!

In the center of the necropolis in Yaoshan, a cult structure was discovered-an altar with a base made of red clay. In the 1990s, a necropolis structure close to a terrace mound or "pyramid" was identified [Luo Erhu, 1995, vol. 2, p. 242; Zhejiang..., 2001, pp. 30-35].

These facts allow us to consider Yaoshan and Fanshan, as well as other similar necropolises, as cult graves of the Liangzhu nobility, priests or rulers. The discovery in the 1990s of a large ancient settlement located between them on Mount Mojiaoshan and a number of smaller settlements shows the existence of a certain

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Figure 2. Depiction of deities on Liangzhu jades from Fanshan

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structures of settlements centered in Mojiaoshan, surrounded by a number of necropolises, separate for the nobility and ordinary population (Zhang Xuehai, 1999, pp. 17-24).

In total, as a result of the survey of the lake district. Taihu, the main territory of Liangzhu, was allocated more than 115 sites, including necropolises (for the most part), a small number of alleged settlements with traces of pillar structures, alleged rice fields, traces of canals and irrigation structures [Laptev, vol.1, 2007, pp. 47-48]. Outside of this central region, Liangzhu monuments are found in large numbers in the south of the Jiangsu Province, in the Shanghai City District, and in the north of the Prov. Zhejiang. The largest of them is the Fuquanshan necropolis (Shanghai), where, in addition to hundreds of high-quality jade products, a large number of polished painted ceramics were found, including three-color ones: red, yellow and black in a complex pattern. Obviously, for the most part, these ceremonial ceramics, which resemble those of the ancient Eastern kingdoms, could only be produced by highly qualified artisans [Luo Erhu, 1995, p.200-221; Laptev, vol. 2, 2007, p. 244]. Numerous icons are found on ceramics, which later have analogues in the Wucheng and Maqiao scripts (see below), which makes it possible to assume the existence of proto - writing [Yao, 2003, p.56-65].

The influence of the Liangzhu civilization was quite widespread. It covers almost all of Southeastern China, passing from it to Northeastern and Southern China. Liangzhu monuments have been found even far to the north of the Yangtze River, on the border with Shandong, for example, the almost purely Liangzhu necropolis with small local features Huanin (Luo Erhu, vol. 2, 1995, pp. 73-92). Archaeologists from the Nanjing Museum who excavated the monument suggested that the Liangzhus invaded here from the Lake district. Taihu, crowding out the local Davenkou culture, but not destroying the Davenkou people [Nanjing..., 2003, p. 240 - 242]. In the extreme south, apparently spreading along the Ganjiang River, the Liangzhu culture passes into the Shixia culture (monument in the north of prov. Guangdong). The Shixia necropolis dates from 2800-2200 BC. e. There are two main ritual objects of Liangzhu: cong and votive jade axe with ear hole. Ceramics are characterized by the Liangzhu type of tripod with long thin curved legs (Zhu Feixu, 1999, pp. 273-281). At the same time, the local style of execution of both the images of the anthropomorphic deity on the tsunamis and the tripods shows that these objects were made here. Thus, the Liangzhu culture and, probably, statehood extends far to the south.

How do we evaluate this highly developed culture and society? It seems to me that the ancient Liangzhu society was a developed class society, and some experts call it a state. For example, Song Jian (1999 (1), pp. 86-103) believes that statehood appeared here from the middle Liangzhu period. The basis of the economic life of this society was agriculture and fishing. Crafts were widely developed, large settlements existed, dams were built and canals were broken. Although no metal has been found in Liangzhu to date (or such data have not yet been published), however, the technical level of jade products makes some scientists, such as Ren Shinan, claim that metal is present in Liangzhu (Ren Shinan, 1999, p. 130). As the experience of pre-Columbian America shows, the presence of metal tools is not a prerequisite for the existence of a state. Similarly, the state can exist without writing, although the rudiments of writing in Liangzhu, apparently, can still be assumed. The main feature of statehood - class stratification [Marx, part 1, p. 422; Part 2, p. 352, 1955] - is very clearly expressed in the Liangzhu monuments. As in most ancient Eastern societies, power in Liangzhu was sacral and priestly in nature. Judging by the burials filled with jades depicting sacred symbols, it can be assumed that the rulers were also priests. The pantheon of deities was

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stratified, it is possible to distinguish the main anthropomorphic deity and totemic, as well as auxiliary symbols-a bird, a sun, etc.

What happened to this society in the future? Various scenarios were assumed: from death as a result of the aggravation of the class struggle to an ecological catastrophe - a flood. Nevertheless, a recent discovery in Tingling (Shanghai), where Liangzhu graves were excavated at the beginning of the XVII century BC [Shanghai..., 2002, pp. 49-63], shows that, at least up to this period, the Liangzhu society and population did not disappear, and the culture was gradually transformed into subsequent archaeological cultures which preserved the Liangzhu succession.

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. in the area of Lake Baikal. Taihu was replaced by Liangzhu by the Maqiao Culture, which took its name from the monument of the same name in the Shanghai City District, excavated in 1960. Its range covers the entire modern prov. Zhejiang and Northeast prov. Fujian. Maqiao fills the vacuum between Liangzhu and the later cultures of the Shang and Zhou periods (XI-III centuries BC). It retains notable Liangzhu elements. However, the area of the Maqiao culture is much narrower compared to the Liangzhu, in particular, its influence on the region north of the Yangtze is weaker. Analysis of the ceramics of the Maqiao layer shows no signs of any degradation compared to the Liangzhu period. On the contrary, ceramic production is developing, and primitive porcelain is emerging earlier than anywhere else in China. The area of present-day Zhejiang became the center of porcelain production during the Shang period, from where porcelain spread to the territory of the Prov. Jiangsu and Jiangxi. Porcelain was made from stamped ceramics, which is not typical for Liangzhu, but originated precisely in the Maqiao period [Sun Jian, 2000, p. 45-53]. On ceramics, there are signs of proto-lettering, similar to the Liangzhu ones, the forms of ceramics are simple, but more diverse. Bronze finds are also known from the Maqiao period (Song, 1999 (2), pp. 6-14). The Maqiao culture exists until the end of the 2nd-beginning of the 1st millennium BC, gradually passing into the culture of the kingdom of Yue (Viet).

After Liangzhu, metal becomes the main factor in the development of the region. The question of the origin of bronze casting in the south seems to have a connection with the appearance of bronze in the Indochina Peninsula, although in principle bronze technologies can develop in different regions and quite independently. The region under consideration was located close to the early metal source in Indochina, known from finds in Thailand (Natapintu, 1987, p. 29 et al.). In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, the following bronze centers can be distinguished in China: Western China, Central China in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, and coastal China in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas and the southern one on the Yangtze (Sano, 2004, pp. 49-78). William Meacham, refuting the theory of the arrival of bronze and iron from Northern China, adheres to the point of view of the influence of the early metal source from Southeast Asia [Meacham, 1988, p.89-106].

If in the Shang culture (XVI-XI centuries BC) and Zhou (XI-III centuries BC) on the Yellow River bronze was used primarily for making ritual vessels, then on the Yangtze, as well as in Indochina, the main bronze objects are battle axes and musical instruments (bells, drums). Moreover, in contrast to the Yellow River, where ornaments and images of fantastic animals, which received the equally obscure name taote, dominate, the Yangtze bronze is characterized by realistic images of people and animals, often dating back to images on Liangzhu jades (Wu Zhenfeng, 2001, il. 1 - 7, 20, 32, 36, 48, 55 and etc.].

In the post-Liangchu period, the center of culture of the Bat Viet peoples shifted from the sea coast to the lake district. Poyanghu, where the Wucheng culture originates. Its discovery is connected with the excavation of a large settlement of the same name in the middle course of the river flowing into the lake. Poyanghu river of Ganjiang (prov. Jiangxi), which lasted from 1973 to 2002 (Huang Shuigen, 2003, p. 15). According to this main monument, the time of the existence of this culture is also determined-approximately from the early Shang to the beginning of the early Zhou [Huang

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Shuigen, 2003, pp. 15-20]. Burials, the foundations of buildings and the foundation of a temple complex resembling Liangzhu, large ceramic furnaces, a significant number of molds for melting, metal fragments, ceramics and primitive porcelain, and bronze weapons were found on the site. For the first time, about 300 signs of local writing, unlike Chinese characters, were found on ceramics and stone. A characteristic feature of Wucheng is the predominance of battle axes in bronze and the complete absence of bronze vessels, a large number of ceramic weapons and tools that obviously had a ritual character. The ornaments on the ceramic knives resemble those of the Liangzhu jade head plates. Clay figurines depicting birds and human masks were also found. Obviously, Wucheng was a city with a well-developed bronze and ceramics industry, clearly divided into blocks. A large number of bronze weapons, as well as constantly updated and erected city fortifications and random finds of weapons in the mountains outside the settlement's territory indicate a restless external and, perhaps, internal situation [Laptev, vol. 1, 2007, pp. 205-216; Huang Shuigen, 2003, p. 15-20; Yao, 2003, pp. 60-61]. Apparently, Wucheng was the center of an ancient class society of the Advanced Bronze Age, different from the Shang culture on the Yellow River, which we can reasonably call state.

Not far from Wucheng, on the right bank of the Ganjiang River, in 1989 one of the largest archaeological discoveries in China was made - the "Great Grave in Xing'an" of the Middle Shang period [Jiangxi..., 1997 (1)]. Traces of a wooden coffin and human sacrifices were preserved. The richness of the inventory is striking: more than 480 items made of bronze, 1072 jade ornaments, not counting jade inlays, 356 ceramic and primitive porcelain vessels, pearls, ivory. Bronze objects associated with the influence of the North (bronze vessels) - only 10%, but most of the bronze objects are local (Fig. 3).

The axe with the mouth ornament (Figure 3) seems to be associated with human sacrifices found in Xing'an. The axe in Wucheng is a symbol of sacred power. Its owners held the supreme priestly and supreme state power. Obviously, the power of the ruler was connected with agriculture, as evidenced by the finds: bronze ceremonial agricultural tools - a rim for a shovel, a spade, a kind of harrow. The high level of development and distribution of bronze is indicated by a lot of bronze trifles.

The large tomb in Xing'an belonged to the Wucheng bronze cultural tradition, which developed in parallel with the Shang-Zhou culture of the Central Chinese Plain. There was certainly an exchange between them, but Wucheng bronze technology developed on a local basis. This is evidenced by the modification of a few bronze vessels, as well as the discovery of a huge bronze mask depicting the face of a man with a wide toothed mouth, a round nose, square ears and disheveled hair, possibly horns rising from this head. It resembles the "upper" Liangzhu deity.

And although there are differences in the image of the mouth, it is the jagged mouth that resembles the drawing on Yue axes. Obviously, this is the main Yue deity of the Wucheng period, similar to the Liangzhu one (Fig. 3). In the Wucheng religion, there is a real image of the animal world. This is the bronze figure of a tiger (Fig. 3) - here we can see all the small details, ears, eyes, etc. The pattern of spirals and semicircles resembles a bird on Liangzhu ceramic vessels. In a huge assortment of jade tools, along with the main types inherited from Liangzhu-tsunami (with a stylized image of two faces in a row), jade bees, frogs, fish, bracelets, rings, pendants, instead of a jade axe with a hole and notches, a similar new item appears-yazhang, a curved halberd with a small hole on the back the place of the handle and scalloped hilts on both sides [Jiangxi...,

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Figure 3. Great grave in Xing'an. Bronze: Vietnamese deity with disheveled hair, tiger, "Yue axe"

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1997 (1)]. The Sichuan Basin should probably be considered the center of the yazhang industry in terms of species diversity (Dang and Wong, 1994, map).

A number of village monuments have been excavated around Wucheng, with individual finds of bronze and smelting molds, which indicates a fairly widespread use of bronze in this society. Excavations of small monuments have shown that the Wucheng culture reached as far south as the mountain ranges separating Jiangxi from Guangdong, and influenced the culture of the coast. However, its range is narrower than the Liangzhu, primarily due to the territories north of the Yangtze, which were part of the Shan State during this period [Laptev, vol.1, 2007, pp. 253-277]. Nevertheless, Wucheng is comparable in size and cultural development to this state.

The secret of the power of the Wucheng state is revealed by the finds of copper mines along the southern coast of the Yangtze, the largest of which were found in Tongling (literally, "copper hill") (prov. Jiangxi), very close to Wucheng. In Dae County, to the northwest, along the southern bank of the Yangtze, six more copper mines have been found. Bronze tools were used to work in them [Jiangxi..., 1997 (2), pp. 1-90]. The Wucheng state continued into the early Western Zhou period. At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, it disappeared for some reason, which coincides with the appearance of the Wu and Yue kingdoms that inherited the Liangzhu traditions on the sea coast.

During the Shang period, the Hushu culture spread to the mouth of the Yangtze, named after a small town near Nanjing and existed here for a long time (from the XVII to III centuries BC). Since this territory was part of the Kingdom of Wu, Hushu is called the Wu culture. This culture in the north did not go far beyond the Yangtze, being limited to the Nanjing region in the east, Taihu Lake in the west and south (Liu Jianguo and Zhang Min, 1989, pp. 58-72). In this culture, changes occur rather slowly, but in the second half of Western Zhou (XI-VIII centuries BC), the forms of ceramic vessels and styles of ornaments that go back to Liangzhu (for example, a high leg-stand, rhombic ornament) disappear, being replaced by those that originated from Shandong, and partly from Poyanghu. The most significant monuments of this culture are Tuanshan, Baimantai, and Huashan. Lin Liugen and Shi Yuping, who studied the ethnicity of the Hushu culture, suggest that Wu and Yue were inhabited by the same people (Lin Liugen and Shi Yuping, 1990, pp. 347-351), which is confirmed by archaeological materials.

A special feature of the Usk culture in the 1st millennium BC is the construction of burial mounds for the nobility. Hilly area in Dantong County, prov. Jiangsu, along the Yangtze River, served as the valley of tombs of the highest nobility throughout the Zhou period. Rich finds were found in excavations of mounds with a stone burial chamber in Dagang-Muz-tung, Daxeodou, Xiaosedou, and Yandongpan dating back to the Western Zhou period (XIII-XI centuries BC) [Kodai..., 1994, pp. 16-21, 97-99; Zheng Dekun, 1979, pp. 169-171]. In the mounds found not only a large number of primitive porcelain, but also bronze vessels, some of which have inscriptions in Chinese characters. At the same time, the shapes of a number of vessels are not typical of the Yellow River region and are probably the product of local craftsmen.

During the Chunqiu period (770-475 BC), the kingdom was destroyed (473 BC) by the kingdom of Yue (Viet). From the Chunqiu period on the territory of Wu, a large number of burials have come down to us, in particular large mounds and remnants of ancient settlements. The most famous of them, the Yancheng hillfort, covers an area of about 650 thousand square meters. m. At least 11 more hillforts have been discovered, including the" Big Wu City "- Udacheng, or "New City of the Wu ruler Helyu", in the vicinity of modern Suzhou. Apparently, this was the last capital of Wu (Zheng De-kun, 1979, pp. 169-172). During the Chunqiu period, we can speak about the active influence of the Wu culture on the northern regions of Jiangsu, up to Shandong. During this period, the material culture of the Kingdom of Wu is already becoming Sinicized, including due to the influx of immigrants

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from the north, starting from the early era of the existence of this kingdom. At the same time, the Wu Kingdom is moving north and west, coming close to the regions of the Middle Chinese Plain. Of course, the invasion of the Zhou regions and the strengthening of ties with the Zhou kingdoms had an impact on the Wu Kingdom, which was already Sinicizing. During the Zhanguo period, the territory of Wu briefly became part of the Yue, and then became part of the Kingdom of Chu, which during this period expanded from the middle Yangtze to the shores of the East China Sea. On the territory of Jiangsu, there are graves with wooden coffins, varnished products, and types of bronze vessels characteristic of Chu (Zheng De-kun, 1979; Liu Hehui, 1996). Nevertheless, new tombs belonging to the Chu aristocracy continued to appear in the "Valley of the Kings" of the Wu Kingdom during the Zhanguo period and even during the Western Han period (206 BC - 25 AD) [Liu Hehui, 1996].

In the valley of Oz. Poyanghu in the first and second third of the 1st millennium BC archaeological material is sharply reduced. There are few finds, and they are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the region in the area of Lake Baikal. Poyanghu. In the post-Wucheng period, starting in Western Zhou, the former center of Wucheng district has not made any further economic progress. Perhaps, starting from Chunqiu, there is even a regression: while there is a lot of metal in the Wu districts, in Wucheng, metal tools are not found at all even at a close distance from the former center [Jiangxi..., 1997 (2), pp. 1-90]. Wucheng script disappears. South of the former center of Wucheng, a peculiar rock necropolis in the Xianyang Mountains ("sacred rock") has been preserved from the Zhanguo period. Each grave contains not one, but, as a rule, several sarcophagi placed in crevices at a great height [Jiangxi..., 1980, p. 1 - 25]. Apparently, this is the necropolis of the exiled Vietskian nobility, driven into the mountains, who did not want to submit to the Chustsy. There are no traces of Chu influence here. In wood products there are imitations of ritual bronze-knives, a sword. Thus, if in the previous period, in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, Wucheng itself actively affects a fairly wide range of neighboring territories, then during this period it becomes only an object of influence, in the north - from the Yellow River region, in the west-from Chu, while the eastern part of the former Wucheng region it turns out to be influenced by Yue, apparently largely due to the sharp rejection of Chustsy by the local nobility.

The area south of the lake. Taihu has not yet been influenced by the North. Here the post-Liangzhu culture continued to develop, which became the basis of the kingdom of Yue (Viet). On the coast of the East China Sea at the southwestern tip of Hangzhou Bay, in Shaoxing County, a multi-layered Huping Shan monument was discovered, and at the southeastern tip of Hangzhou Bay, a two-layered Qianzo monument dating back to the Shan Period was discovered. Analysis of their inventory shows that the area to the south of the lake. Taihu is a special ceramic complex that differs from Poyanghu and from the regions of the north [Laptev, v. 1, 2007, pp. 285-287]. The influence of the north is not felt at all, but either typical Liangzhu forms or forms and ornaments common to the entire Yueh (Vietskoi) zone are preserved. There is a fairly smooth transition from the East Poyanghu culture to the West Taihu culture. A sharper border is with the culture north of Lake Baikal. Taihu, however, some general forms still remained. A distinctive feature of the Yue region during the middle part of the Western Zhou era and the early part of the Chunqiu era, i.e. around the IX-VII centuries BC, are the finds of burials with an external stone chamber, an example of which is the Shishi necropolis. Most of the graves were not dug into the ground, but simply placed on a slope in a small stone-lined space. Sometimes a stone chamber was built on the top of a hill in an open space [Zhejiang..., 1993, pp. 170-183]. The aristocratic burials of the Western Zhou period are characterized by hills with a dug stone burial chamber similar to the Wu burial chamber (Laptev, V. 1, 2007, pp. 385-387). In general, during the Western Zhou period, in the territory occupied by the Viet Kingdom, we see a society with its own

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a culture whose features are evident in bronze, where weapons still predominate, as in Wucheng. In addition to weapons, there are many bronze musical instruments that were especially loved by the Viets. If in the Shang era we see the influence of Wucheng, then in the Zhou era our own style appears, and almost no trace of Wucheng influence remains. However, the Viet culture of the Western Zhou period is a direct descendant of the Liangzhu culture, and there is no trace of Chinese writing, religion, or culture.

The Chunqiu period was the heyday of the Viet Kingdom. The main monument of the middle and late Chunqiu period is the huge tomb of the Vietskian ruler, found and excavated in 1996-1998 in the county of Shaoxing, in the town of Yinshan. It is believed that this grave belonged to the father of the Vietese ruler of Goujian (c. 510 - 497 BC) named Yunchang. Although the grave has been looted, what remains allows us to draw certain conclusions. First, it shows the existence of a completely different method of burial from the previously known ones - a triangular wooden chamber with a wooden coffin placed in it. This is a method of burial, obviously of local, Vietnamese origin-triangular stone chambers were practiced here in the Western Zhou era. Secondly, the inventory, on the one hand, has no analogues in typology (for example, round helmet-shaped jade objects), but, on the other hand, it has the features of ornament characteristic of Vietnamese territories - an upward-curved spiral, etc. It seems that the Vietese culture continued to develop independently during the Chunqiu period on the same basis as in the West Zhou period, and absolutely no influence from the Zhou people is felt here [Zhejiang..., 2002, pp. 14-43].

At the beginning of the Zhanguo period (343 BC), the Viet kingdom was conquered by the Chu Kingdom, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, west of the former Wucheng [Laptev, vol.1, 2007, p. 385]. But the material culture has changed little. Thus, the three tombs found in Fenghuangshan from the Middle Zhanguo period already have a wooden burial chamber, adopted in the Chu kingdom, but their inventory is purely Yue. These are mainly ceramics and primitive porcelain. Moreover, almost all objects copy bronze products, as in Xianyang. All the ornaments are also Vietese-ascending to the S-shaped spiral [Shaoxingxian..., 1976, pp. 392-394]. Until the end of the Zhanguo period, the territory of the Kingdom of Viet continues to retain its own characteristics: traditional burials, inventory, and the absence of Chinese writing, which is widely distributed in the Chu territories. Numerous bronze tools and iron finds are evidence of a high level of development of the society. It is interesting that in the Viet Kingdom, even in the Chunqiu-Zhanguo period, we do not see at all the bronze vessels that are so characteristic of the Zhou people and the kingdoms of the Middle Chinese Plain. On the other hand, there is a kind of imitation of them made of porcelain and ceramics (Shen, 1979, pp. 479-480). A strong local element persists even in the Han period (Laptev, vol. 1, 2007, pp. 414, 425-426). The Chuska conquest did not significantly change the culture of the Viet kingdom, perhaps only the burial of the nobility began to take place according to the Chuska model - in a wooden log cabin chamber. The Vietas remain with their own cultural tradition, dating back to Liangju. The assimilation of these lands is very slow.

Thus, in the long period from the Neolithic to the early Iron Age in the territory of Southeastern China, we see a continuity of archaeological cultures, which allows us to assume the stability of the main masses of the population for at least 5-1 thousand BC. e. Assimilation of the Bat Viet peoples by the Han Chinese occurs very slowly, starting in the area of north of the mouth of the Yangtze (later the Kingdom of Wu) and continuing into the Poyanghu region, after the Wucheng state disappeared, mainly through the early Sinicized kingdom of Chu. In the area of the Coast south of the mouth of the Yangtze (Kingdom of Viet) and further south, noticeable traces of Chinese influence are not visible even at the time of the entry of these territories into the Chinese Empire.

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A single Chinese empire at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. An important role in the development of the material culture of Bat Viet was played by the Liangzhu culture, a number of characteristic forms and ornaments of which are preserved until the very end of the period under consideration.

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