<P> 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 河 ( Old Chinese : * C. gʕaj , modern Chinese ( Pinyin ) Hé ) , a character that has come to mean `` river '' in modern usage . The first appearance of the name 黃河 ( 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 . </P>
<P> 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 河 ( Old Chinese : * C. gʕaj , modern Chinese ( Pinyin ) Hé ) , a character that has come to mean `` river '' in modern usage . The first appearance of the name 黃河 ( 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 . </P>
which river takes its name from loess soil
which river takes its name from loess soil
the Yellow River
the Yellow River