禹貢
Early Chinese literature including the "Yu Gong" or "Tribute of Yu" dating to the Warring States period (475–221 BC) refers to the Yellow River as simply (Old Chinese: "*C.gˤaj", Modern Beijing Mandarin: // or in pinyin "Hé"), a character that has come to mean "river" in modern usage. The first appearance of the name (Old Chinese: "*N-kʷˤaŋ C.gˤaj"; Middle Chinese: "Huang Ha") is in the Book of Han written during the Eastern Han dynasty about the Western Han dynasty. The adjective "yellow" describes the perennial color of the muddy water in the lower course of the river, which arises from soil (loess) being carried downstream.