The Zhou Dynasty existed for 789 years, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. The period is divided into the Western Zhou (ca. 1046–771 BCE) and the Eastern Zhou (771–256 BCE). The Eastern Zhou was an era of political turmoil, characterized by the accelerating collapse of royal authority. The latter half of the period is known as the Warring States Period. It witnessed large-scale conflict among what had formerly been Zhou client states. The last Zhou ruler was killed when the Qin state captured Wangcheng in 256 BCE.

The Eastern Zhou is remembered as the golden age of Chinese philosophy. The philosophers who made the greatest impact on later generations were Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE), founder of Confucianism, and Laozi (sixth/fifth c. BCE), founder of Daoism.

To legitimize their rule the Zhou borrowed cultural and artistic practices from the preceding Shang Dynasty, emulating the Shang’s large-scale production of ceremonial bronze vessels, statues, ornaments and weapons. The Zhou period is often considered the zenith of Chinese bronze-casting, when new techniques, such as the lost-wax method, made possible a wide range of shapes and decorative motifs. In jade, the production of cong and other ritual forms continued, while a new series of scepters was produced to identify the ranks of the nobility. Web resources here and here.

Supports in the Form of Tigers. Bronze. Baoji, Shaanxi province. Western Zhou Dynasty, ca. 950–850 BCE. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Photo: Daderot.