The origin of the Chu people

The ancestors of the Chu people came from the Gaoyang family of Zhuanxu (son of Changyi), the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Zhuanxu's great-grandson Wu Hui was the Huozheng (Fire Officer) of Emperor Gaoxin's family. He was in charge of heavenly fire and earthly fire, and could light up the world. The emperor ordered him to be Zhurong. The Zhurong tribe was located in the south of Chaoge, the Shang capital (today's Xinzheng area in Henan). The king of Chu is Mi, whose surname is Xiong (Xinzheng was also called "Youxiong" in ancient times, and Youxiong is said to be the title of the Yellow Emperor). The famous archaeologist Tang Lan said in "History of Bronze Inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty": "Hua, the place name, is in Mi County, Henan Province (today's Xinzheng). Huayi is in Xinzheng, and there are Xiong's Ruins and Zhurong's Ruins. Chongqing. Li and Xi are both in Xinzheng." The reason why the king of Chu was named Xiong was probably because he was sealed in Huayang near Zhurong Ruins. Zhurong Ruins was also called Youxiong Ruins. In ancient characters, the writing methods of the two characters "Hua" and "Mi" are very similar.

Lu Zhong, the son of Wu Hui (Zhu Rong), had six sons. The youngest son was named Ji Lian and his surname was Mi. He was the ancestor of Chu. Due to the increasingly fierce struggles among the tribes in the Central Plains, the descendants of Jilian were forced to move south around the Xia Dynasty or the early Shang Dynasty. The general migration route of the Chu people is Xinzheng - Tongbai Mountain - Danyang - Jingshan.

After the Ji Lianju tribe migrated south, they adopted barbarian customs, so the later Chinese people regarded them as "Chu barbarians" and "manjing barbarians". Xiong Li, the son of Wan Xiong after Ji Lian, served King Wen of Zhou. Xiong Yi, the great-grandson of Wu Xiong, was granted the title of Chu Zi (king of Chu State, with the title of Viscount) by King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty, and Chu was founded.

Sima Qian, the historian of the Western Han Dynasty, recorded in "Historical Records: The Family of Chu" that Xiong Yi, the leader of the Chu people in the early Western Zhou Dynasty: "When he became the king, he was an industrious descendant in literature and martial arts, and he was granted the title of Xiong Yi among the Chu people. Yizi Nanzhitian, whose surname was Mi, lived in Danyang. "Chu Wuxiong lived in Danyang, and King Wu moved to Ying." According to archaeologists Liu Yutang, Wang Hongxing, and Gao Chongwen, the capital of Chu State moved from Danyang to Ying during the period of King Wu of Chu. According to research, ancient "Danyang" was located at the intersection of Danshui River and Xishui River (now the submerged area of ??Danjiangkou Reservoir, Xichuan County, Henan Province). Because it was located to the north of Danshui River, it was called Danyang. Qian Mu, the master of Chinese studies, said in "Outline of National History": "Chu preceded and followed Zhuanxu, and it started at the Dan and Xi Rivers in the Han River basin, which is called Danyang." The tomb of Zi Geng, the Prime Minister of Chu State, and a large number of Chu The discovery of the tomb of a royal nobleman near the lower temple of Xiangyan Temple in Cangfang Town, Xichuan County confirms that ancient Danyang was located in Xichuan, Henan. The Chu State has a history of more than 800 years, of which more than 300 years have been spent establishing its capital in the Danjiang River Basin.

The main body of the Chu people is the Jilian tribe with the surname Mi. The Chu royal family and public clan are mainly descendants of the Jilian tribe with the surname Mi, among which the Xiong family is the core. Some of the local Jingman residents became part of the Chu people, but most of them were common people. After the establishment of the Chu State, there was a "people-promoting" policy of attracting large-scale investment and immigration from the Central Plains area.

The Chu people lived together with the Jingman, Pu, Miao and other primitive ethnic groups in the lower reaches of the Han River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. After the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, these ethnic groups were gradually conquered by the Chu people.

From the perspective of the formation process of the Chu people, the nature of Chu culture is not a separate system independent of the Yanhuang cultural system, but has a close relationship with the Central Plains culture. The inscriptions on Chu utensils from the two-week period can represent the writing style of the Chu state. Compared with the characters of various countries in the Central Plains, the Chu characters are different in the addition and subtraction of glyphs and strokes, but they are indeed the same writing system as the characters of the Central Plains countries. Characters are the carrier of language, and we can understand the origin of Chu culture from one aspect.

Cultural identity is the core of national culture, and the inscriptions on Chu vessels reflect the inheritance relationship between the culture of the Chu royal family and the culture of the Central Plains. Customs and etiquette are also important expressions of national culture. The ritual utensils of the Chu State retained obvious Central Plains cultural styles. The Chu aristocracy generally adhered to the etiquette system stipulated by Zhou Rites in the middle and late period, indicating their identification with Zhou culture, that is, the Central Plains culture.