In the early years of Chu's development, the state capital was located at
Danyang, near modern-day
Xichuan County in
Henan Province. Following a number of battles with neighboring states the Chu capital moved to Ying, near modern-day
Jingzhou City on the
Jianghan Plain in the western part of
Hubei Province. There are four separate theories as to the date that relocation of the capital took place: • Some sources believe that
King Wu of Chu relocated the capital to Ying in 706 BCE. Qing dynasty historian
Song Xiangfeng () in his
Dynastic records • Research on relocation of Chu Yuxiong’s residence at Danyang to Ying by King Wu () infers the date of the move from the timing of King Wu's wars with the States of
Sui and
Yun. Song argues that with wars waging all around and his rule of the Eastern Han River just beginning, King Wu was forced to move. Today many historians consider this theory old fashioned and it has few adherents. • The second theory postulates that the capital's relocation took place sometime between 703 and 699 BCE. based on the
Zuo Zhuan • 13th Year of Duke Huan of Lu records: “The
Mo'Ao (莫敖) was hanged at Huangyu (荒谷) (modern
Jiangling County in Hubei Province), the army were prisoners at Yefu (冶父) awaiting punishment.” In his commentary on the
Book of Han, Liu Zhao () writes: More than three
lǐ to the east of Jiangling there are three lakes and a river called Changyu (). To the northwest there is a small town called Yefu (). The
Commentary on the Waterways Classic in its chapter on floods notes that to the northwest of Jiangling lay Jinan City () with its three lakes and river and Huangyu () to the east. These sources are used to justify the earlier move to Ying yet none of them mention the town by name making the claim implausible. • A further viewpoint states that the capital moved in 689 BCE in the first year of the reign of
King Wen of Chu. According to
Records of the Grand Historian • Chu Family Annals: "Xiong Zi (熊赀), King Wen of Chu began the capital at Ying." Chinese historian
Fan Wenlan wrote in his
Narrative History of China (): "During the initial stages of the
Eastern Zhou dynasty, Chu was a large and powerful state. In 704 BCE, Xiong Tong (熊通) proclaimed himself King Wu of Chu and his son King Wen moved the capital to Ying some 1000
lǐ away." This view supports the theory that it was King Wen who moved the capital. • The final theory suggests that the move to Ying took place in 690 BCE on the death of King Wu and the succession of King Wen to the throne. According to the
Zuo Zhuan 11th Year of Duke Huan of Lu: "The army of the State of Yun were at Pusao (蒲骚/蒲騷) together with the armies of the States of Sui,
Jiao (绞国/绞國), Zhou (州) and
Liao ready to attack Chu. The Chu
Mo'Ao,
Qu Xia (屈瑕) was on the outskirts of Ying." However, at this time Ying was merely a command post on the Chu's military front and had not yet become the capital. The
Zuo Zhuan 4th Year of Duke Zhuang of Lu records that King Wu died aged 51 in 689 BCE on a punitive expedition to the State of Sui. The people of Chu and Sui crossed the
Han River at Jiangyou () to hold the king's funeral. Since Ying is close by this was probably the location of the funeral. King Wen ascended the throne within a few months of his father's death whereupon Ying became the capital of Chu. As can be seen above, the four theories do not differ widely in their dating of the relocation. According to traditional sources, Ying remained the capital of Chu from the time of its establishment by King Wen in 689 BCE until 278 BCE, the 21st year of the reign of
King Qingxiang of Chu when an attack by an army from the
State of Qin led by General
Bai Qi forced the capital to move to
Chen. Not counting the short term relocation of the capital during the reign of
King Zhao of Chu (reigned 515–489 BCE), Ying served as the Chu capital for a total of 411 years. == Location ==