Page 547 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

shu (c. 179-104 BCE) known as the "intermingling of the heavenly and the human" (Tianren heyi)
and the ethics of the "three principles and the five rules" (sangang wuchang). From then on, the
immovable status of Confucianism continued for two thousand years in the empire at large. The
dominant Han culture developed on the basis of these circumstances, while the Chu culture in
time receded into history.
For thousands of years, the Chu state flourished in the middle Yangzi region, and defined
the historical development of southern China. Its cultural influence, particularly the Lao zi
Daoist thought (informed by the Huanglao school, which developed during the early Western
Han period) extended over the whole of China and has endured to the present day. Though the
culture itself, as an entity, fell into demise, its contributions, particularly in the area of philoso-
phy, have had a lasting influence. These are the most important aspects of Chu culture.

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