The states of Jin and Chu were both among the most powerful of their time, but while Jin was considered a legitimate Zhou state in terms of culture and lineage, the state of Chu - whose territory encompassed many non-Chinese cultures in the middle Yangtze River - was considered a half-civilised state at best.
Negara-negara Jin dan Chu berada di antara yang paling kuat pada masa mereka, tetapi sementara Jin dianggap sebagai negara Zhou yang sah dalam hal budaya dan garis keturunan, negara Chu - yang wilayahnya mencakup banyak budaya non-Tionghoa di tengah Sungai Yangtze - dianggap negara setengah beradab yang terbaik.