Title: Zhou Dynasty Art: Characteristics, Types
Headings: Zhou Dynasty Art (1050-221 BCE)
History, Types and Characteristics

Zhou Dynasty Art (1050-221 BCE)
History, Types and Characteristics
Content: Chinese Art Timeline (18,000 BCE - present). Introduction
An important contributor to Chinese art, the Shaanxi-based Zhou Dynasty coexisted with the previous Shang Dynasty for many years before achieving power for itself sometime in the 11th century BCE. Although the Zhou Dynasty endured for longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, its ruling Ji family only retained control until 771 BCE, a period known as the Xi (Western) Zhou. This was followed by the Dong (Eastern) Zhou (c.771–475 BCE), traditionally divided into the Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu) period (771–475), when the country fragmented into a number of small turbulent territories, and the Warring States (Zhanguo) period (475–221 bc) when these small territories merged into seven larger entities, which then contended with one another for domination. The initial Zhou capital was situated near Xian on the Wei River above its confluence with the Yellow River (Huang He), but a second capital was built at Luoyang in the east. The Shang and Zhou eras traditionally comprise the Bronze Age of China, when bronze was used to make weapons, as well as ritual vessels, and played a significant role in the material culture of the time. During this era of Bronze Age art, the Zhou Dynasty maintained much of the ancient art of China - including the bronze casting of ceremonial vessels, and jade carving - and encouraged the growth of new visual arts like goldsmithing and lacquerware, as well as calligraphy and its cousin Chinese painting, nearly all of which has since been lost. Other cultural developments included the introduction of chopsticks, ox-drawn ploughs, large-scale irrigation projects and a program of new roads and waterways. In addition, Chinese writing evolved into its modern form. Later, during the Eastern Zhou dynasty, iron appeared, as did the philosophical movements of Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism.