歷史文獻中關於「越」、「百越」的敘述，主要有四種情形：一是先秦時期建立越國的「越人」及秦西漢前期建立東甌與閩越國的土著人群，其實質是通過政治權力與關係凝聚、構建而成並以政治實體予以界定和標識的「地域性政治人群」。二是先秦時期楚人稱為「百越」、「南方夷越」的「越人」，包括先秦時期居住於楚國南境及其更南地區的土著人群、秦西漢時期居住於嶺南地區的諸種土著人群，其實質是以楚人為主體的外部觀察者立足於對南方土著人群的文化特徵進行描述與歸納而從外部予以界定的「地域性文化人群」。三是漢末至三國時期居住於今蘇浙皖贛山區的「山越」，其實質是逸出於王朝國家控制體系的「化外之民」。四是隋唐以後作為「史稱族名」的「越」或「百越」，是後世史家出於文化理念，通過溯源方法，從外部給予的界定，包括中古時代廣大東南地區或南方地區的諸種土著人群，是基於共同文化特徵的總概與歸納，在根本上是一種「歷史文化人群」。

The term ‘Yue (Viet)’ in the historical documents, as a conception referring to the ethnic group, had four meanings in Ancient and early Medieval China. Firstly, it might have been applied to the ‘Yue People’ residing in Shaoxing area, Zhejiang Province, who established the famous Kingdom of Yue during the periods of Spring and Autumn as well as Warring States. The indigenous peoples lived in the southern Zhejiang and Fujian Province also established the Kingdom of Dong-O (Eastern O) and Kingdom of Ming-Yue. All of these groups might be ‘regional political group’ that had been aggregated and synthesized by political power and political relations, which had been defined and identified as the political entities. Secondly, it might have been used to refer to the indigenous peoples living in the southern part of Chu Kingdom and beyond. They had been called as ‘Hundred Yue’ by the Chu People during the Pre-Qin age that included all kinds of the indigenous peoples living in the south to Wu-ling (Five Mountains) in Qin and early West Han period. The nature of all these groups might be ‘regional cultural group’ defined by external observers including Chu and Hua-Xia people, basing on the cultural characteristics of the southern indigenous. Thirdly, it might have been referred to the Rebels and Barbarians who survived and acted in the hills and mountains of southeast China during the late West Han and East Han. And, the ‘Shan-Yue’ (Mountains Yue) who lived in the border regions among Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi Provinces in the Three Kingdoms period. Fourthly, as a ‘Given Historical Ethnic Name’, the indigenous peoples referred as Yue by the later historians that also included the majority of indigenous peoples living in southeast or south China in the Middle Ages. The term ‘historical cultural group’ was given and defined by later historians according to their own cultural and conceptual background as well as group’ historical and cultural characteristics.