Re: Chinese history

["S. L . Lee" <sllee@asiawind.com>]

Dear Yoon Ngan,

I am not sure the question is whether some one from Guangzhou (Canton) ever
became a national leader or a Cantonese speaking person ever became national
leader.  Sun Yat Sen was Cantonese speaking. Other than that I can't think
of anyone else. However, the next question would be whether Cantonese is a
dialect native restricted to Guangdong or was it from the north. It is a
much more difficult question to answer. I "believe" Cantonese was a
combination of mostly native dialect with some dialects infused from the
north. Guangdong was Yue, part of Chu, which was a brilliant culture before
Han took over. As a matter of fact, Chu culture has been studied closely by
experts in several symposia and yielded a number of books.  How much cross
fertilization was there between Chu and Guangdong Hundred Yue? It is a
question to be answered.  Hong Xiu Quan (Taiping Tianguo) also can be called
a Cantonese leader. His howetown Hua Xian was close to Guangzhou.  Also it
was never entered as a dynasty,Taiping Tianguo covered close to half of Qing
territory.

SL Lee