This dissertation traces changes in media and methods of expression in the arts of Chu, the principal state in the south of China during much of the late bronze age. Existing objects from Chu sites dating from the eighth to the sixth century B.C. were closely related to those of the central plains states. However, influenced by a growing sense of regional identity, later Chu artisans developed a unique style that set new directions for Chinese art. The major concerns addressed in this style were the portrayal of culturally significant animals and figures sculpturally or pictorially, highly developed three-dimensional surface designs, and color and two-dimensional effects.

In early Chu arts, the limits of bronze technology were stretched to allow the creation of creatures such as zhenmushou. However, carved and lacquered wood soon replaced bronze as the preferred medium for these sculptures. In later Chu arts these sculpted creatures were joined by figures and scenes painted in lacquer on wood, or in ink and colors on silk, or woven in textiles.

Interest in highly developed three dimensional surface decoration motivated technological developments in Chu arts. Lost-wax casting was highly developed and extensively utilized in Chu bronzes of the sixth and fifth B.C. Similar effects were achieved in carved and lacquered wood. By the fourth century B.C. the appeal of these effects had been eclipsed by an interest in two-dimensional designs and the development of a painterly style, particularly in lacquers, textiles, and paintings on silk.

The ability to create patterns in contrasting colors on a two-dimensional surface was primary in the development of the Chu painterly style. This was achieved in bronze through inlaid patterns in gold, silver, and stone. The same effects were more easily achieved in lacquer and, where function permitted, lacquered wood replaced bronze as the preferred medium. The evolution of this painterly style is traced from its preliminary stages where the majority of motifs were borrowed from an existing repertoire of bronze decoration, to an independent style which provided a foundation for the development of later Chinese art.