Ch'u

The archaeology of the Ch'u 楚 has no traditional status or boundary unlike such rigorously defined fields as the archaeology of the Shang, the Minoans, and even the Mayas. Scholars of early China are familiar with a State of Ch'u described in the Shih-chi 史記 (ch. 40) that emerged after a legendary ancestry during the reign of Ch'eng Wang 成王 of the Chou toward the end of the second millennium B. C. somewhere in central China. It grew in size and stature during the late Western Chou period, established a capital and power centre near Chiang-ling 江陵 on the Yangtze in modern Hupei in 689, expanded its rule to a vast area from the upper Huai-ho 淮河 to south of Lake Tung-t'ing 洞庭湖, and was finally subjugated by Ch'in 秦 in 223 B. C.