Early Chinese Art:Shang Dynasty and (Zhou)

Tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng
433 BCE

The Eastern Zhou moved their capital to Luoyang, on the north (yang) side of the Luo River, a tributary of the Yellow River. Like the area around Xian, Luoyang was strategic and had attracted human life from the Neolithic period. It was a capital site for the Xia, Shang, Zhou (Chengzhou) and Han dynasties.

Here excavations have revealed the wealth of the vassal kingdom of Zeng, in service to the Chu.

Marquis Yi's tomb
The burial complex of the 'Marquis of Zeng', first discovered in 1977, covered 220 square meters and had four separate chambers. In the northern and smallest were weapons, in the eastern the Marquis's tomb with nested wooden lacquer coffins and eight other coffins of women, in the western coffins of thirteen young women in silk shrouds. In the central and largest was a magnificent set of bronze bells. About 100 metres away another tomb was found subsequently with another set of bronze bells and other musical instruments.

The four chambers of his tomb
Dated by inscription to 433, the outer coffin measured 220 square metres. It was timber-built with four chambers.

In it lay the Marquis, with eight young women who had been strangled and a dog, objects of jade, lacquer and bronze, musical instruments and weapons. A pair of daggers was inscribed 'bedroom dagger of marquis of Zeng'. In the central chamber were bronze vessels and bells and stone chimes, in the west 13 young women, and in the north more armour, chariot fittings, bamboo slips and 4000 bronze objects.

Marquis Yi of Zeng's coffin

Bamboo slips
There were also bamboo slips with writing in ink that described the Marquis' funeral and the people who attended.

Earlier the Shang had incised script on the bones of animals or tortoises. Bamboo enabled texts to be painted in ink. The slips could be linked to form a book.

Marquis Yi of Zeng chariot pit
The 'royal pit' of the Marquis Yi of Zeng had 27 chariots and 76 horses, but no human skeletons

Chariot burial with a dog
In one chariot a dog was buried.

Bronze gui cooking pot with elephant handles
Bronzes were placed outside the pit

Pottery painted in imitation of bronze
and pottery with decoration painted in imitation of bronze.

Some of the bronzes, like this zun-pan (h. 30.1 cm, d. 25 cm), were elaborately decorated.

Bronze zun-pan vessels

Marquis of Yi's painted lacquer deer (77cm)
The painted lacquer deer was in his burial chamber

Marquis of Yi's painted lacquer deer

His bronze 'crane' with deer antlers (143.5cm), inscribed "Made for the eternal use of Marquis Yi of Zeng"

This 'crane' with snake like dragons emerge from its body. It may have been a drum stand.

Marquis Yi of Zeng Bells 433BCE 9'x25'
(lost wax process) Zhou Dynasty/Warring States Period no clappers

The central bell bears an inscription that indicates it was a gift to Marquis Yi from King Hui of Chu and cast in 433 B.C., the year the Marquis was buried. The bells are believed to have been played in court rituals to ensure the posterity of the imperial reign.

Lost wax process

tao-tieh like design on each bell

Years	Period	China	World
5,000-2,000 BCE	Neolithic	Beginning of agriculture: painted pottery Yanshao (Painted Pottery) Culture 5000-4000 Banpo 4000 Banshan 2200 Longshan (Black Pottery) Culture 2500-2000	Catal Huyuk Ziggurats Lyre of Puabi Pyramids in Egypt Pictographs and invention of Cuneiform Sargon of Akkad Stele of Naram-Sin Tell Asmar
c1700-221 BCE	Bronze Age Warring States Period Shang dynasty; Chou (Zhou) dynasty	Shang 1700-1100 BCE and Zhou 1100-221 BCE dynasties; development of writing bronze casting Confucius c551-479 (Analects) Developed philosophies leading to Taoism Chuang Tzu (Chuang Chou) Butterfly Lao Tzu (Codified Writings) Iron Tools	Code of Hammurabi Olmec in America Golden Age of Perikles Parthenon Rome Begins
c221- 206 BCE	Qin (Chin) dynasty	Unification Centralized Bureaucracy standardized money, written language, clay figures, Great Wall Legalism introduced Shan Yang c360 "Man is by nature evil" Han Feizi c233 codified the system	Rome Begins
206 BCE-220CE	Han dynasty	Silk Road Daoism Confuciunism made state philosophy Buddhism Introduced	Pantheon Colosseum Rise of Christianity
220 - 579 CE	Six Dynasties Sung, North, East and West Wei, Liang, Chen, Chi Chou	Nomad Invasions, Buddhism Grows Rock Cut Caves Monumental Buddhas	Birth of Muhammad Edict of Milan Hagia Sofia Separation of Churches
568 - 617 CE	Sui	Reunification of China
618-907	Tang dynasty	Repression of Buddhism
960-1279 CE	Song (Sung) dynasty	Neo Confucianism Mongols Landscape Painting Develops