Art History 370/East Asian 355: Arts of China

Study Sheet #3: The Zhou Dynasty

Map marking ancient sites, modern cities and provinces

CHRONOLOGY

Traditional starting date: 1122 BCE (Revised: 1028 BCE; Clunas and Ebrey: c. 1050 BCE)

Western Zhou -

Arose in the Wei River Valley, west of Anyang. Ruled from both Xi'an and Luoyang until 771 BCE (fall of Xi'an)

Eastern Zhou -

770-256 BCE (Zhou court at eastern capital, Luoyang, until extinguished by state of Qin in 256 BCE)

Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu) period: 722-481 BCE (corresponds to years covered by a historical text of that name).

 

Warring States (Zhanguo) period: 480-221 BCE (era of competing states, among which especially important ones are Jin, Qin, and Chu)

ART AND CULTURE

Bronze vessels:

• use:
  
  W. Zhou - ritual sacrifices to ancestors, lengthy inscriptions announce patron's deeds to ancestors and descendents
  
  
  • Fufeng hoard, Zhuangbai, Shaanxi
    
    
    
    
    

E. Zhou - became increasingly secular emblems of rank and power used (often in coordinated sets) by nobles in the feudal states; inscriptions diminish and virtually disappear.



• Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (c. 430), Suixian, Hubei
  

casting:

• continue direct-casting in piece-molds; E. Zhou introduction of small clay models (or "pattern blocks") for producing sets of identical molds (many found at Houma); some designs applied with stamps.
  
  
• limited use of lost-wax casting for sculptural forms in E. Zhou.
  
  
  

shapes:

• continue many late Shang types; W. Zhou shapes often exuberantly complicated, becoming simpler and understated in E. Zhou.

surface decoration:

• birds are prominent in W. Zhou; taotie and dragons gradually dissolve into abstract pattern-units that form the basis of continuous interlace designs found in E. Zhou; E. Zhou appearance of crude hunting scenes and other pictorial representations; introduction of inlays (gold, silver, copper, turquoise etc.) creating surface richness and brilliance.

Other bronzes: ceremonial bells, mirrors, belt-hooks, finials, weapons, architectural fittings.

Jade:

Various tablets and disks used in court protocol; personal ornaments in the Warring States period take on exceptional sophistication and beauty; complex shapes with surface decoration of incised or relief spirals.

Ceramics include high-fired stoneware, sometimes with greenish glaze.

Lacquer:

colored sap of lac tree applied to wood base; highly developed in the South (Chu); used to make elegant light-weight dishes, tomb figurines, cult objects.

Painting appears at the end of the period.

Literature:

 

Yijing, the Book of Changes

Shujing, the Book of Documents (also called the Classic of History)

Shijing, the Book of Songs (also called the Book of Odes or Classic of Poetry)

Philosophy: Confucius, Daoism, "100 schools" of Warring States period