Regarding the ancestors of Chu people, Zhu Rong is recognized by Chu society. Zhu Rong was the fire master of Emperor Yan, and Zhu Rong Group was an important part of the Yanhuang Alliance. After Huangdi Tribe defeated Yan Di Tribe, Huangdi Tribe sent Zhu Rong and others to Yan Di Tribe. Zhu Rong's family established Zhu Rong's country in Xinzheng, Henan Province in the Di Ku era, so Xinzheng is also called "Zhu Rong Market" and "Zhu Rong Market" is the earliest origin of Chu ancestors. The ancestors of Chu people were later forced to the south by the Shang army, and the Jilian family established the State of Chu (Zhu Rong's descendants were divided into eight surnames, among which the Mi family established the State of Chu). The newly established Chu State is a very small country, only over 20 square kilometers. After the establishment of Chu, in the process of its expansion, it launched wars to conquer the southern nationalities many times. King Hui of Zhou once said to King Cheng of Chu, "If you invade the south, you will not invade China." So Fiona Fang of Chu traveled thousands of miles.
Strictly speaking, the word Chu people only refers to the king of Chu. The early Chu state was regarded as a barbarian by the Central Plains countries because of its backward culture. Later, with the progress of civilization, the central plains governors formed alliances with them, and no longer regarded them as barbarians.
Among the unearthed materials, Mi's original word is Nai, and Xiong's original word is Yan. The famous archaeologist said in "A Brief History of Bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty": "Hua, the place name, is in Mixian County, Henan Province (now Xinzheng). Huayi is in Xinzheng. Heavy Lebanon, Qiang is in Xinzheng. " The reason why the King of Chu was named as a bear is probably because Huayang, which was sealed near the Zhu Rong market, has very similar writing styles of "Hua" and "Mi" in ancient Chinese characters.
From 757 BC to 74 BC1year, the influence of Chu gradually became stronger and it began to expand Pu's land. According to "Guoyu Zhengyu", "Chu Taizu (Chu Wang Li) began to open the Cape". When he arrived in Chu Wuwang (740-639 BC), he had occupied a large area of Pu people's land. According to Records of Historian Chu Family, "Chu Wuwang began to open land".
During the period of Chu Wuwang and King Wen of Chu, Chu began to rise, and Jianghan was elected to attack barbarians on a large scale, which was called "Great Enlightenment and Barbarian War" in history.
In the fourth year (656 BC), Guan Zhong led a vassal to invade the border of Chu, asking why Chu did not pay tribute to Zhou on time, which led to the postponement of the sacrificial ceremony, which made Chu admit his mistake.
When Chu became king, under the rule of Ling Wenzi, Chu became more powerful. It rejected Qi Huangong and occupied Song Xianggong in the north. In fact, it was the overlord of a generation. Its northward trend was not stopped by the state of Jin until the battle of Chengpu.
Chu Zhuangwang is superb in martial arts and makes great efforts to govern. He chose Sun Shuai to practice literature and metallurgy, and the battle of Tai defeated the state of Jin for hegemony. It made the economy and culture of Chu prosperous and created the most prosperous era of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period.
In 606 BC, he conquered Rong of Lu Hun (southwest of Luoyi) and sent someone to ask Zhou about the importance of Jiuding.
In 6 1 1 year (three years) BC, Yong and Bai Pu, a mob, rebelled, "encouraging all people to share food", opened the grain depot reserved by the state, ensured that the army had food, and put down the rebellion.
In the early Warring States period, King Mo Lun of Chu appointed Wuqi to reform the country. At that time, the Chu army was stronger than Mazhuang and swept across the Central Plains, showing its dominance. When the King of Chu mourned Wuqi, it was once a "hundred Vietnam", but in the late Warring States period, after Chu Weiwang defeated the King of Yue, the Vietnamese began to "serve Chu" and became a part of the State of Chu.
During the period of Chu Xuanwang and Chu Weiwang, the territory of Chu started from Daba Mountain, Wushan Mountain and Wuling Mountain in the west, to the sea in the east, to Nanling Mountain in the south and to northern Anhui in the north, which was unprecedented. Chu, which started from the mountains, has entered the most prosperous period of Xuanwei Shi Sheng.
In 246 BC, the king of Qin ascended the throne, and immediately began the process of unifying the whole country. After defeating Korea, Zhao and Wei, Qin Jun attacked Chu in 224 BC, and the Chu army was defeated. In 223 BC, Qin Jun captured Shouying and Wang Qi of Chu (founded by Xiang Yan in Changping), thus ending the 800-year Chu state. There have been many arguments about the origin of the country name before. However, Chu Ju (written by Chu historians) in the newly discovered Bamboo Slips of Tsinghua gives another explanation. According to Chu Xianjun's record of killing a bear in Chu Ju, Yan Li, the bear's wife, gave birth to Li Xiong in dystocia and died after caesarean section, but Li Xiong survived. After Yan Li's death, the wizard wrapped his abdomen with Vitex negundo (originally "Chu") and buried him. To commemorate her, later generations called their country "Chu".
As to why we should pay homage to the wife of a Chu Xianjun who died by caesarean section in such a grand way, Luo said that according to Chu's lineage, her husband and the son she bought with her life have always been the leaders of Chu, becoming the founding monarch of Chu, and creating a foundation of Chu for 800 years. "History of Chu" page 59: "Chu people are regarded as barbarians by the Central Plains and as Huaxia by barbarians." "Although the Chu people are happy to pretend to be China people, when they are at odds with the Zhou royal family, they do not hesitate to be barbarians."
Judging from the formation process of Chu people, the nature of Chu culture is not a separate system independent of Yanhuang culture system, but closely related to Central Plains culture. Chu culture inherited many characteristics of Zhou Culture, while Han customs mainly inherited Chu customs. The costumes, dances, music, literature and philosophy of the Han Dynasty were all directly inherited from the State of Chu.
The inscriptions on Chu bamboo slips in the two-week period can represent the writing style of Chu State. Compared with the characters of Central Plains countries, Chu characters have different font shapes and strokes, but they are indeed the same writing system as those of Central Plains countries. After the Warring States period, the characters of various countries showed a trend of sinicization, which can be roughly divided into five systems: the Eastern Qi system, the Northeast Yan system, the Southern Chu system, the Northern Jin system and the Western Qin system. The scripts of each system are generally similar, with only a few differences, so there is not much problem in the correspondence between documents. Writing is the carrier of language, on the one hand, we can understand the origin of Chu culture.
Cultural identity is the core of national culture, and the inscriptions on Chu containers reflect the inheritance relationship between Chu royal culture and Central Plains culture. Customs and etiquette are also an important embodiment of national culture. Chu's ritual vessels retain the obvious cultural style of the Central Plains. In the middle and late period, Chu nobles generally observed the prescribed etiquette system, which showed their recognition and belonging to Ji culture, that is, Central Plains culture. The Chu people frequently moved in Danxi Valley, leaving behind many sites and cultural relics. Chu people came from the Yellow Emperor (or a tribe group whose ancestors were the Yellow Emperor), which was clearly recorded in important ancient documents in China.
1. According to the Records of History, Dialectics of Ancient and Modern Surnames and Compilation of Yuanhe Surnames, the son of the Yellow Emperor was born to Zhuan Xu, and the sixth son of Zhuan Xu IV was named Ji Lian, giving him the surname Mi. (Ji Liansheng was a figure in Pan Geng period) Ji Liansheng was attached to a cave bear. The direct descendant of Dong Xiong, Kuaixiong, is very knowledgeable and used to be Zhou Wenwang's teacher. His son Wang Wen died young. Great-grandson Xiong Yi (Chu Xianwang) took the word Wang Fu as his surname and became Xiong's.
2. "Zuo Zhuan" Twelve years in Zhao Gong: Zi Chu is second only to western Jiangxi ... King Chu Ling said: "My uncle Kunwu." Levin is the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, Kunwu is Xia Bo, and the origin of the Chu royal family is Huaxia, which is proved by historical records.
3. Qu Yuan, a Chu poet, described the ancestors of Chu people in Lisao: "The Miao nationality of Emperor Levin is Xi, and the emperor's name is Bo Yong (that is, Zhu Rong)."
Bo: I am the Lord of the Quartet.
Yong: Zhu Rong. Chu is a close relative. The ancestor is Levin, and the direct line is raccoon.
Qu Yuan is a descendant of Truman, and his recognition of his ancestors should be solemn. He himself was full of pride after coming from Zhuan Xu. Qu Yuan offered sacrifices to Xiang Jun and Xiang Fu (Shun was Xiang Jun and Shun's second concubines, E Huang and Nv Ying, were Xiang Fu), which showed that he agreed with China. Qu Yuan also offered sacrifices to Hebo, which shows his admiration for the Central Plains.
4. According to Historical Records Chu Family, the ancestor of Chu people came from Zhuan Xu Levin, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Levin is the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the son of Changyi. Levinson, named Shuzhang, Shuzhangsheng. Heavy Lebanon for Di Ku Gao Xin home fire, very active, can melt the world, Di Ku life Zhu Rong. * * * Gong's insurrection made it endless. Emperor GengYin as prime minister, brother Ng Wui as prime minister, and later returned to Huo Zhengcheng Zhu Rong.
5, "Historical Records of Chu Family": "When I was a king, I was diligent in writing and martial arts, and I was a descendant. I was named Xiong Yiwei, the son of a man, surnamed Zhou, and lived in Danyang." This is the first time that Chu has been officially recognized by the Zhou royal family.
6. Zuo Zhuan: Zhuan Xu's son Li is Zhu Rong.
7. Shiben: When Zhuan Xu got married, Fujimoto's son was named Nvlu, giving birth to an old man and a young man. Old boys and girls focus on Lebanon and Ng Wui.
Zhuan Xu's son is Li, the kitchen god of Zhu Rong.
9. Dai Pian: "The old son was born in Zhuan Xu. Old boys and girls are concerned about Lebanon and Ng Wui. " .
10, Book of Jin: "Son of Emperor Levin, named Li as" Xia Guan Zhu Rong ".
1 1, Chu recorded that the earliest base of Chu people was Xinzheng, Henan Province in the Central Plains, and then moved from the Central Plains to Hubei. "Seventeen Years of Zuo Gong" contains: "Zheng (Xinzheng), the empty space of Zhu Rong." "History of Han Geography" said: "The fire of Gao Xin's family in Xinzheng, Henan Province today is the empty space of Zhu Rong.