Hunan boasts a long history and is one of the places where Chinese agricultural cultivation originated. According to archeological excavations and written records, there were human beings living here permanently over 8000 years ago, surviving mainly on primitive agriculture and domestic animal-rearing. Hunan entered the written history of China around 350 BC, when under the emperors of the Zhou dynasty it became part of the Chu Empire (Chu State). Until then Hunan was a land of primeval forests, occupied by the Miao, Tujia, Tung (Dong) and Yao peoples......