Chuci

Chuci is also referred as “Qusao”, with a total of 25 chapters categorized into  “Lisao”, “Jiuge”, “Tianwen”, “Jiuzhang”,“Yuanyou”, “Boju” and “Yufu”. In Chuci, the poet shows his missing of theking and his loyalty to the king. Chuciis a milestone in China’s poetry history, respected and honored by theintellectuals throughout history. It is a long political poetry composed by QuYuan with an autobiographic style. It is alsoa uniquegreat lyric poetry of its style, and a masterpiece with no predecessor or follower. The poetry was composed out of the talent as well aspassion and suffering of Qu Yuan for his personal experiences, and it is the collection ofartistic achievements of the age of War Lords when there was a widecommunication and integration of the culture, literature, and thoughts of thenorth and south kingdoms of its time.

Folk songs of Chu Kingdom

The society of Jingchu region at the time ofShang and Zhou Dynasty was just transiting from the primitive to civilization,so there was an atmosphere of superstition in the social life. The peopleworshiped gods and ghosts, and under the further influence of Yin and Shangculture from the north, witchcraft became very popular in the Chu region,making witchcraft worship an outstanding culture feature of Chu Kingdom. Thelong popular witchcraft custom in Chu Kingdom promoted the songs and dances ofthe region and their expansion. Under the witchcraft tradition, generations of singers and songs emerged, and numerous myths of legends came into being, whichin return provided the singers and composers with rich contents and plots.Therefore there came into a custom of frequent sacrifice with related songs anddances which contributes to the skillful performance of the Chu people. The folk songs in the Chu Kingdom can be roughlycategorized into labor, rites, love, and politics. Local colloquial expressions are abundantly adopted inthe folk songs, usually with 7 characters in each verse filled with richrepetitions and metaphors. From the songs of Zhounan and Zhaonan of theZhou Dynasty to the Chuci of Springand Autumn and Warring States Time, and with the deduction of Yuefu folksongslike Xianghe songs in Han Dynasty, Xiqu songs of the Nanchao Dynsty, Zhuzhi Songs in Tang and Song Dynasty,the Chu folksongs system was finally systematized and become a unique stylein China’s folksong history, enjoying thesame status as WuFolksongs system in the west. Chu folksongsfollowed and at the same time contributed to the folksong trend from each linewith 4 characters, to unlimited characters, to 5 characters, and to 7characters finally, therefore it left its trace in the Chinese literaryhistory.

Architecture and Sculpture of Chu Kingdom

Chu architecture, especially thecourt architecture, was extremely advanced in the design andconstruction technique, and it developed with the advancement of Chu Kingdom. The outstandingfeatures of Chu architecture is demonstrated in the location selection, theunique way of construction, and the excellent design and decoration. The Chu sculpture is not only a physical demonstration ofthe social progress and advancement, but also it reflects the rich ideology ofits age. The sculpture art is a demonstration of Chu people's craftsmanship, whichinvolves various aspects of the life of Chu people, thus it is a complex and broad theme. It includes thesculpture arts in pottery, bronze utensils,painted wood utensils andjadeworks, as well as the sculpture on the Chu architectures. From the excavated painted wood works from theChu tombs, there was a complete coverage of painted wood sculpture from Spingand Autumn to the times of Warring States, a full reflection of the Chu cultureor Chu arts with its excellent sculpture techniques. With the productiondevelopment and the change of people's consumption mentality, aesthetics andethnics, the lacquer coating was highly developed, and the color painted woodutensils and funiture were used in the nobles’ or even common peasants' life, a new emergingpaint culture. This is also an important mark thatdifferentiates Chu culture from others.