Qu Yuan was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology : a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the Shi Jing, the Chu Ci is one of the two greatest collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered in connection to the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Portrait of Qu Yuan by Chen Hongshou (17th century)
Qu Yuan as depicted in the Nine Songs, imprint of presumably the 14th century
As depicted in the album Portraits of Famous Men c. 1900 CE, housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Statue of Qu Yuan on a dragon boat, on display for the Dragon Boat Festival, in Singapore
Chu was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted during the Spring and Autumn period. At the end of the Warring States period it was destroyed by the Qin in 223 BC during the Qin's wars of unification.
A lacquerware painting from the Jingmen Tomb (Chinese: 荊門楚墓; Pinyin: Jīngmén chǔ mù, about 316 BC) of the State of Chu, depicting men wearing precursors to Hanfu (i.e. traditional silk dress) and riding in a two-horsed chariot
Bronze from the Tomb of Chu in Xichuan County.
Bronze bells from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, dated 433 BC, State of Chu.
Spearhead from the state of Chu
