A Study On Qu Family Of The Chu State In The Eastern Zhou Period

The Qu family was the longest-standing family of the Chu State in the Eastern Zhou Period.It rose with the prosperity of the Chu State,and declined with the demise of the Chu State.After Qu Xia,the son of King Chu Wu,was sealed in the Qu land,his descendants used Qu as the surname and inherited his post Mo Ao.During the early and middle Spring and Autumn Period,many members from the Qu family assisted King Chu,Qu Xia,Qu Zhong,Qu Wan,Qu Yu Kou,Qu Wuchen and so forth.The desire,starting from the period of King Chu Wu,was finally realized by King Chu Zhuang to dominate the Central Plains.The Qu family developed to its heyday with the destruction of the Ruo Ao family.After that,the family development suffered a setback because of the Qu Wuchen's misfortune,but it was revived in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period The Qu family occupied a solid position in the Warring States Period and became one of the three big clans of the Chu State.Not until the end of the Warring States Period did the Qu family gradually fade out of the history due to the destruction of the Chu StateThe ancestor of the Qu family is Qu Xia,the son of King Chu Wu.The place where Qu Xia was granted is near Jiangling.Mo Ao,a post firstly taken by Qu Xia and then inherited by his future generations,shouldered dual responsibilities for being the clan cheif and educating the royal descendants for the state of Chu.The Qu family rose in the early Spring and Autumn period,and the family foundation gradually stepped into heyday with the efforts of Qu Xia,Qu Zhong,Qu Wan,Qu Yukou and Qu Wuchen.However,the development of the Qu family was badly hit by the Qu Wuchen's misfortune happening in the mid Spring and Autumn Period.It was not until the reign of King Chu Kang that the family was successfully revived with Qu Wuchen replaced by Qu Dang.During the Warring States Period the position change of the Qu family from prosperity to decline was accompanied with the rise and fall of the Chu State.In the period of King Chu Huai,Qu Yuan,as the representative figure of the Qu family,intended to turn back the powers of darkness for rejuvenating the state of Chu.The comprehensive discussion found the fluctuation between lineal and collateral lineage in the inheritance system,the underdeveloped organizations within the fiefdoms,and the excellent family traditions passed on from generation to generation,being patriotic and loyal to the throne.The Qu family played an irreplaceable role in the thriving development of the Chu State throughout the Eastern Zhou Period and its historical position as the first clan of the Chu State in the Eastern Zhou Period.Qu Yuan,by virtue of Chu ci,the Songs of Chu,takes the Qu family to a whole new level.He is an outstanding representative of the Qu family and his work Chu Ci is the insurmountable peak of the Chu culture.