Kingdom of Chu's Minister Nobility- Warring States Era: 楚国君官

Nobleman of the Warring States period in elaborate zhiju robe with distinctive striped striations. The design is based on artifacts unearthed from the Mashan Chu Tomb, dating back to the Warring States Period. Fantasy painting. 

Music: Only This Green

This is an excerpt from a far larger chapter that is dedicated to the kingdom of Chu

in the Warring States period.

UNIQUE NOBILITY

Gold inscriptions on bronze in the shape of bamboo, issued by King Huai of Chu to a vassal king under his rule. The Chu domains are vast- stretching along side either hinterland of the Yangtze river and various nearby rivers but is sparsely populated- as such maintaining the regions requires both faith in the integrity of local administration but also must ensure oversight that stays obedient to the central court in their lonesome distant posts.

Chu developed a system of governance and nobility that set it apart from the states of the Central Plains. Chu was among the first major states to move away from the traditional Zhou Dynasty feudalism, which granted hereditary fiefs to noble families. Instead, Chu's rulers began to appoint officials who were directly tied to and dependent on central authority. This administrative structure allowed for greater centralization and control compared to states like Jin, where powerful ministerial lineages eventually usurped the ruler's authority and partitioned the state. 

STRONG CENTRAL ROOTS

Warring States era nobleman/ sovereign. Inspiration based upon silk painting depicting a man riding on a dragon.

Chu was the first of the states that survived into the Warring States era to appoint dependent officials tied to central authority rather than to create hereditary nobles as fiefs- designating key figures with service based stipend earning positions (and highest dignified as Jun or "Lord") . 

The Old Aristocracy. Hereditarily entrenched and will succumb to entropy. Since the establishment of the feudal system at the inauguration of the Zhou dynasty, most of the power of the realm lay in the patchwork of Zhou's lords. A critical weakness of this system is that after the bonds of personal loyalty inevitably dissolve between the liege and their vassals over many generations, eventually those vassals~ who essentially governed hereditary autonomous enclaves: nothing would prevent them from amass private power and displacing their rulers. Additionally, family (in this case clan) interests often comes first.

For Chu: Although in previous eras Chu had similar positions as the other central plains states- such as Sima (a title denoting the commander and overseer of chariots of the royal stable and other warcraft: akin to a position of marshal or constable- archaic: as in Count of the Stables.) some examples includes:

Zhigui: Jade scepter bearers

Zhibo: Silk bearers

Tonghou: Marquis-peers

Chu: the Royal Bough- the Xiong clan is vast, and its size ensured that regardless of the carousel and procession of fratricides and parricides, a Xiong sat at its throne regardless of circumstances. Where as other great states of the realm (including the 1st 2 Hegemon of the Spring and Autumn era- Qi and Jin were both eventually had their ducal house utterly displaced by usurpers- Chu remained ruled by Xiong until its last.) Chu always had its own unique systems and by the Warring States era it came even more something akin to a family's corporation- with the upper tiers freely able to appoint and undo ministers, while laterally a sprawling pool of lesser branches that were deployed in various regional "Lords" ensure there would be counterweights the king could use against ambitious appointed ministers. 

The ruling house of Chu, the Xiong (熊) clan- literally meaning: "bear" with the ancestral surname Mi (芈), demonstrated remarkable longevity. While the royal house of Zhou saw its authority decay and the ruling families of states like Jin were ultimately destroyed by internal strife- divided between the 6 clans that became tis 6 ministeries and then when the 6 were reduced to 3 via intrigue and naked purges- Jin was partitioned by said 3 into Wei, Zhao, and Han. By contrast- the Xiong clan maintained its grip on power in Chu until its final conquest by Qin. 

THE BEAR'S ROOTS

Animals- especially bears held sacred cultural importance to the Chu. The Kings of Chu bore the uncanny last name of Xiong 熊 (lit. "Bear,") because according to legends, one of its most illustrious ancestral chieftains was referred as the "Yellow Bear." 

In contrast to the central plains houses which often avoid having too many children for fear of overlapping claims and also having dangerous amount of uncles to steal the throne, by contrast Chu's royal family was vast. It did ensure that during the Spring and Autumn era there was constant fratricide and parricide, but geometrically also ensured that regardless of the outcome, the kingdom as a whole was ruled by a Xiong. The state bureaucracy included high-ranking positions like the Mo'ao and Lingyin (chancellor), which were often held by members of cadet branches of the royal house, such as the Qu (屈), Dou (鬭), and Cheng (成) clans. However though technically the king have the power to appoint- many of such offices became de facto hereditarily held by key clans as salaried functionary- aristocrats.

Above: a modern recreation of the type of Qū jū 曲裾 dress. Qū jū 曲裾 largely wrapped around the woman's body while being secured by the tight belt around her waist. 

Above & Below: Chu Noblewomen. Zhí jū 直裾, "Straight Uniform" worn by both sexes and was seen as a very informal and ubiquitous attire. The robe wrapped around the man's body while being secured by the tight belt. If the nobleman carries a sword, the scabbard's belt clip could be fastened on the belt.

Music: Martial Art Master

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

A late Warring State period aristocrat in silk shenyi robe. 

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'"

- John Greenleaf Whittier in his 1856 poem Maud Muller:

Histories often rarely gifts things on a platter for various nations who are hankering for such miracles. However- Chu stood as one of the few states that was indeed presented with such a cast- nearly half a century before the like of Shang Yang totally remade Qin and forever changed its fortune as well as irrevocably changed the course of China. It is here one should examine a key point in Chu's history where its destiny into the Warring States, as well as China's character could have been radically altered.

"Chu's military formations are complete but cannot be maintained for long... The Chu people are soft and weak. Their lands stretch far and wide, and the government cannot effectively administer the expanse. Their troops are weary and although their formations are well-ordered, they do not have the resources to maintain their positions for long. To defeat them, we must strike swiftly, unexpectedly and retreat quickly before they can counter attack. This will create unease in their weary soldiers and reduce their fighting spirit. Thus, with persistence, their army can be defeated." 

-The famed strategist- Wu Qi- who personally rose the 1st legendary elite formation of the Warring States period- the Wei "Marital Troops" or Wei wuzu, sheperded Wei's rise to become the first undisputed hegemon of the warring states period. However- despite his meritorious life long dedication to Wei- he was eventually framed for intrigue at the Wei court and had to escape to Chu- a nations that he once derided.

He was welcomed at Chu by King Dao- and implemented similar meritorious reforms in Chu- allowing it to join Wei as one of early Warring State period's more talent- based states, leading to Chu winning several wars against its neighbors and proving the merit of his methods. However despite his great personal contribution, for having reduced much of Chu's old hereditary nobles, he was deeply despised by Chu's nobility. In truth- despite having a mechanism that insured collective loyalty to the enterprise, the reality of many hereditary ministerial clan resulted in liberal corruption and graft that is able to be protected from fathers to sons and far down the line. What's more threatening stipends and legalized trickledown corruption meant many families- whose existence was riveted to such postings became threatened of being displaced altogether. 

When his patron king Dao died- During his patron's funeral, the Chu nobles shot Wu Qi with arrows. Wounded Wu Qi then ran up to the corpse of his late patron and pleaded for his life, but the assassins did not relent and shot him to death with volleys of arrows~ in turn even piercing the late king's body with many of them. All of Wu Qi's reforms in Chu were then reverted afterwards. In time, Chu would suffer a protracted series of defeats contending but failing to hold off Qin until it was crushed along with the 6 other remaining states and unified under Qin's Qin Shihuang, becoming one of the big what ifs that could have became the final victor of the Warring States.

Map: Geography & Trajectory- given the radically varied mountainous terrain of southern China compared to the central plains- traffic is strongly channeled along a main lateral body of water in the great Yangtze river and its hinterlands. Any power that controlled the Yangtze and the various gauntlets and lakes becomes the master of dictating initiative in the south. With the Square Wall securing the northern approach- Chu's ambition in the 300BC was focused on creeping east and holding the upstream headwaters of the various river that flowed into the coastal lands that is now resided by Yue. Though this inexorable eastern march to conquer all the way into the coast did pay off, for having kept its attention to the east, it missed the major metamorphosis in the west.

Music: The Grand Ceremony of Qin

A LATE CRUSIBLE FOR CHU- WHIRLWING OF THE END GAME

Qin's Societal Breath Through: Achievement or Abyss. Shang Yang believed in the importance of meritocracy in selecting officials and bureaucrats. This helped to create a more efficient and effective bureaucracy, and ensured that the most capable individuals were put in positions of power. Private ownership and businesses are tolerated > but only if they aid in the state's interests. Those who repeatedly failed in their farm quotas, in military leadership, will be denoted, those who fails repeatedly and catastrophically will be demoted into slaves and sent for manual labor. 

Unfortunately for Chu- because of its pro- entrenched aristocrat obstinacy- the initiative, and the decisive trajectory of development was aggressively taken by another. Under the formidable minister Shang Yang- the neighboring state of Qin (ironically a centuries long Chu ally and the one that saved it during its darkest hour from Wu's invasion) completely transformed its society from the ground up- Qin abolished its entire aristocracy and demanded that only path to advancement be achieved from merit only- including its potential crown princes. 

As such Qin became the most military formidable state in the realm and rapidly tripled in size in little more than a decade by absorbing both the kingdom of Ba and Shu in Sichuan in 1 rapid campaign. However before a possible any war was truly made between Qin and Chu- Qin actually baited and misled Chu via cruel deception. Qin - under King Huiwen falsely promised Chu to give some of their border territories to Chu, then deliberately reneged on the deal- Chu- rightfully livid, confronted Qin in invasion however Qin ambushed the expected Chu army twice, not only defeating it but also taking a large swath of borderlands for itself. The exact details are well covered in my previous chapter A Cruel Knife for Chu- a shorter but focused excerpt which talks about the various schools of diplomacy that influenced the final course of the Warring States late game. 

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