1. The Kingdom of Chu and Its Culture

2. Introduction ► Chu ( 楚 ) was a sovereign state in present- day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC) and Warring States Period (481-221 BC). sovereign stateChina Spring and AutumnWarring States Periodsovereign stateChina Spring and AutumnWarring States Period

3. The Spring and Autumn Period ► During the Spring and Autumn period, China was ruled by a feudal system. The Zhou Dynasty kings held nominal power, but only directly ruled over a small Royal Demesne, revolving around their capital (modern-day Luoyang). They granted fiefdoms over the rest of China to several hundred hereditary nobles (Zhuhou 諸侯 ). These were descendants of members of the Zhou clan, close associates of the founders of the dynasty, or local potentates. The most important feudal princes (known later as the twelve princes, 十二諸侯 ) met during regular conferences, where important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or offending nobles were decided. During these conferences, one prince was sometimes declared hegemon ( 伯, later 霸 ), and given leadership over the armies of all the feudal states. feudal systemZhou DynastyDemesneLuoyangfeudal systemZhou DynastyDemesneLuoyang

4. Map of the Period

5. Origin of the Chu ► The kingdom was originally known as Jing ( 荆 ) and then as Jingchu ( 荆楚 ). The land of Jing (present-day Hubei province) was inhabited by the native Chu people. The early Chu state was ruled by an aristocracy with close affinity to the Zhou kings, with its capital at Danyang. In the early Western Zhou period, the territory was transferred by authority of the King Cheng of Zhou (1042-1021 BC) of Western Zhou to. King Zhao of Zhou led six armies to pacify the Southern Dongyi ( 南东夷 ) Duke of E ( 噩侯 / 鄂侯 ) in present-day Suizhou and his tribe south of the Han River, but King Zhao was ambushed and killed. The six armies were wiped out. At the time, Zhou had 14 armies. Due to this defeat and the death of the Zhou king, Zhou did not expand further in the south, and this allowed the southern tribes and Chu to cement their own autonomy and independence much earlier than the states to the north. The Chu rulers were the first to designate themselves as kings in the eighth century BCE during the transition to Eastern Zhou and Zhou's loss of central power. HubeiZhouKing Cheng of ZhouKing Zhao of ZhouDongyiSuizhouHubeiZhouKing Cheng of ZhouKing Zhao of ZhouDongyiSuizhou

6. Territories ► At the height of its power, the Chu state occupied vast areas of land, including the present-day provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Henan, Anhui and parts of Jiangsu and Jiangxi. The Chu capital was at Ying ( 郢 ), near present-day Jingzhou, Hubei province. It was the largest kingdom at the time. HunanHubei ChongqingHenanAnhui JiangsuJiangxiJingzhouHunanHubei ChongqingHenanAnhui JiangsuJiangxiJingzhou

8. The Ruling House ► Its ruling house had the surname Mi ( 芈 ), and clan name Xiong ( 熊 ), and originally was of the noble rank of Zi, roughly comparable to a viscount. surnameZiviscountsurnameZiviscount ► It is alleged that the nobles in Chu were descendents of Zhuanxu ( 颛顼 )

9. Chu Culture ► Chu is not only the name of a state but also of a clan. The Chu state lasted about 800 years until it was conquered by Qin in 223 BC.

10. Martial Spirit of Chu People ► Chu people, generally speaking, were not peace-loving folks. ► The martial spirit and an intense interest of staging wars and expanding territories were manifested in every respect of social life. ► It is said that if a Chu king does not stage and win at least one war during his reign, it would be nothing but a shame.

11. Heritages ► Qu Yuan (ca. 340 BCE - 278 BCE) was a Chinese scholar and minister to the King from the southern Chu during the Warring States Period. His works are mostly found in an anthology of poetry known as Chu Ci. His death is traditionally commemorated on Duanwu Festival,which is commonly known in English as the Dragon Boat Festival or Double Fifth (fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar). His works Li Shao has fascinated generations of Chinese People. ChineseChuWarring States PeriodChu CiDuanwu FestivalChinese calendarChineseChuWarring States PeriodChu CiDuanwu FestivalChinese calendar

12. Comparison of Qin civilization and Chu civilization ► Economics: Agriculture vs Trades ► Religious and Political Ideas: Legalism vs animist religion and witchcraft ► Cultural Values: Pragmatism vs. Idealism ► Color Preference: Black vs. Red ► Emblem (animal): Dragon vs. Phoenix

13. Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng

14. ► Since the 1960s, more than 5,000 tombs have been excavated in Hubei Province with the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng being of most famous one. ► The tomb is located in the present-day Suizhou in Hubei, and was excavated in 1978. It is the tomb of a feudal king buried 2400 years ago.

15. Sword of Goujian, king of Yue

16. Spear of Fuchai, king of Wu

19. The prototype of the Nine-head bird

22. Bian Zhong ► Bianzhong bells rank among the highest achievements of Chinese bronze casting technology, yet the secret of their design and the method of casting them — which was known only to the Chinese in antiquity — was lost in later generations. It was not fully rediscovered and understood until 1978, when a complete ceremonial set of 65 zhong bells was found in a near-perfect state of preservation during the excavation of the tomb of Marquis Yi, tombMarquis YitombMarquis Yi