The Spring and Autumn period was a period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty in which strong vassal states competed for dominance.
[1]
When King You of Zhou was killed by an allied force of Quan Rong barbarians and the state of Shen, King Ping moved the capital to Luoyang in 770 BCE and founded the Eastern Zhou dynasty.
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The weak Eastern Zhou state was responsible for diplomacy and rituals, while governmental authority lay in the hands of large vassal states.
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There were 15 major vassal states in the Spring and Autumn period, but by the mid-7th century BCE the region was dominated by the Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu states.
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The period is marked by constant warfare between different states.
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The Spring and Autumn period takes its name from the Confucian book Chunqiu, which chronicles events from 722 to 429 BCE.
[1]
During this time, the moral values of Confucius helped bring China into the ’Axial Age’.
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The use of bronze agricultural tools became more widespread in China and there is evidence of the use of steel and iron in the middle and late Spring and Autumn period.
[4]
Coinage appeared in this period, and there are some indications that individuals could own land.
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The Jin state dominated the Spring and Autumn period from 636 to 628 BCE. Duke Xian of Jin (676-651 BCE) conquered 16 small states in modern Shanxi.
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His son, Duke Wen, was given the title of ba (’senior’ or ’hegemon’)
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by the Zhou king after defeating the encroaching state of Chu in 632 BCE.
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The Jin state covered an estimated 160,000 square kilometres. The state was located in modern Shanxi,
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and extended east and north from the Yellow River.
[8]
Population and political organization
The multi-state Spring and Autumn system changed the feudal structure of China. In the Western Zhou period, the political elite was made up of kings, feudal lords, and hereditary ministers.
[4]
In the Spring and Autumn period, a class of knights and warriors became the political ruling class.
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Intellectuals served as both government officials and ’cultural carriers’.
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States became more centralized as the central government continued to weaken.
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In the ba system, first institutionalized in 651 BCE, the Zhou king bestowed the title of ba on the ruler of the vassal state that represented the Zhou court in war.
[4]
[10]
However, this system of political organization began to weaken in the 6th century BCE.
[4]
[10]
Substantiated estimates for the population of the Jin state are lacking.
[1]: (Encyclopedia Britannica n.d.) “Spring and Autumn Period.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Spring-and-Autumn-Period. Accessed June 5, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z2EVWH4P.
[2]: (Hsu 1999, 545) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.
[3]: (Hsu 1999, 559) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.
[4]: (Roberts 1999, 13) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.
[5]: (Roberts 1999, 14) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.
[6]: (Lewis 2000, 365) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2000. “The City-State in Spring-and-Autumn China.” In A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures: An Investigation Conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, edited by Mogens Herman Hansen. Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DXXZV8CS.
[7]: (Theobald 2010) Theobald, Ulrich. 2010. “The Feudal State of China.” Chinaknowledge.de http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/rulers-jin.html Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8735F2AW.
[8]: (Eno 2010) Eno, Robert. 2010. Spring and Autumn China. Indiana University, History G380, Class Text Readings. http://www.iub.edu/~g380/1.7-Spring_Autumn_Narrative-2010.pdf Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/32FGZ2UI.
[9]: (Hsu 1999, 549) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.
[10]: (Hsu 1999, 562) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.
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| Year Range | Jin (cn_jin_spring_and_autumn) was in: |
|---|---|
| (794 BCE 489 BCE) | Middle Yellow River Valley |
Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)
Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)
Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)
Alliance: Ba system - Ba was title assumed at different times by different lineage heads of different states to signify their leadership over the other splinter Zhou kingdoms; for instance, Zheng Zhuang Gong of Zheng is said to have first taken the status (although the term Ba was not yet in use) in 707 bce after defeating armies of Chen, Wey, and Cai. Qi under Huan Gong then supplanted Zheng as the Ba hegemon in the early 7th c bce
[1]
. “at these conferences the attending delegates usually swore their support for the Zhou feudal structure as spelled out in formal agreements.”
[2]
vassalage: numerous ‘barbarian’ tribes (Man, Yi, Rang, Di); namely, groups not directly associated with the Zhou ruling families which served as subservient garrison states as “part of the Zhou feudal network.”
[3]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 552)
[2]: (Hsu 1999, 556)
[3]: (Hsu 1999, 549)
Alliance: Ba system - Ba was title assumed at different times by different lineage heads of different states to signify their leadership over the other splinter Zhou kingdoms; for instance, Zheng Zhuang Gong of Zheng is said to have first taken the status (although the term Ba was not yet in use) in 707 bce after defeating armies of Chen, Wey, and Cai. Qi under Huan Gong then supplanted Zheng as the Ba hegemon in the early 7th c bce
[1]
. “at these conferences the attending delegates usually swore their support for the Zhou feudal structure as spelled out in formal agreements.”
[2]
vassalage: numerous ‘barbarian’ tribes (Man, Yi, Rang, Di); namely, groups not directly associated with the Zhou ruling families which served as subservient garrison states as “part of the Zhou feudal network.”
[3]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 552)
[2]: (Hsu 1999, 556)
[3]: (Hsu 1999, 549)
Faulkenhausen notes that the material culture of all of the Spring Autumn period states is remarkably consistent, following Western Zhou traditions. Especially notable in the assemblages of goods from elite burials in the various states [1] “In a milieu where adherence to codified rules of ritual consumption and behavior was central to political and religious activity at any level, it is legitimate to argue that such archaeologically observable phenomena as the use of more or less uniform sets of ritual paraphernalia, and the adoption of largely comparable burial customs throughout a wide area, may reflect an underlying shared system of politicoreligious values, as well as homologies in the social organization of elites.” [2]
[1]: (Faulkenhausen 1999, 510)
[2]: (Faulkenhausen 1999, 544)
during the Warring States period
during the Warring States period
during the Warring States period
km. Approximate scale of modern country of China (which covers roughly same area as ‘cultural zone’ of early imperial period).
Zhou dynasty broken up into several independent kingdoms, mainly ruled by former enfeoffed nobles of Zhou period
Zhou dynasty broken up into several independent kingdoms, mainly ruled by former enfeoffed nobles of Zhou period
km^2
size of State of Jin by 5th c. bce
Hsu: “An expansion of territory is a characteristic of all major states, and the four most powerful states of the Spring and Autumn period — Qi, Jin, Chu, and Qin - all expanded dramatically. Qi Huan Gong annexed 35 neighboring states to become the first ba. Jin Xian Gong took 17 states and subjugated 38, paving the way for Jin to lead the Zhou world for generations. Qin Mu Gong fUS-^ (659—621 B.C.) combined 12 other states to extend its territory in the west. During the reign of King Zhuang of Chu (613-591 B.C.), Chu annexed no fewer than 26 states, many of which were former important Zhou states, and thus became the main threat to the Zhou
world.’ Of 148 states that appear in the chronicles of the Spring and Autumn period," the number extinguished by these four major powers adds up to 1*”
[1]
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 567)
1. Capital city2. town3. feudal estates4. village
The following inferred from what has been inferred from contemporary polities:
1. Ruler
2. Minister of War3. GeneralsElite families in charge of chariot forces
4. Officer level5. Individual soldier
1. Ruler2. Court officials (Chancellor, Secretaries, etc)3. Provincial / commandery governors; military generals; local elite lineages4. town heads
NB: unclear exactly how much administrative hierarchy there was at the local (town, village, etc) level, but the number 4 based on states during this period having short chains-of-command and less state penetration into the local levels relative to later periods after the ‘centralizing’ reforms of the Qi, Chu, and Qin (DH)
Inferred from presence of administrative system of states- "During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties in each of the places they conquered through wars of annexation. In general, counties were based in the center of the state, while provinces were based in the outlying areas. The governorships of the provinces and counties were no longer hereditary positions. Rather governors were appointed and dismissed directly by the kings or lords. These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [1]
[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
"In respect to selecting officials, the appointment of capable and talented people emerged as a trend in the Spring and Autumn Period."
[1]
"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties in each of the places they conquered through wars of annexation. In general, counties were based in the center of the state, while provinces were based in the outlying areas. The governorships of the provinces and counties were no longer hereditary positions. Rather governors were appointed and dismissed directly by the kings or lords. These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history."
[2]
[1]: (Zhang 2015, 143) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
[2]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties ... These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history."
[1]
"in terms of administration, aristocratic politics was transformed into bureaucratic politics as the hereditary seigniors were replaced by professional bureaucrats."
[1]
[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
"In the late Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, several inscriptions record decisions in legal cases, most commonly disputes over land." [1] - who made the decisions in legal cases?
[1]: (Lewis 2009, 228) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2009. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press.
"In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the legal system had reached a turning point - provisions of punishments changed into a systematic code, which came to be recorded on two occasions: the State of Zhen had the penal code prepared by Zi Chan inscribed onto bamboo tablets (536 BC); the State of Jin had the penal code prepared by Zhao Yang inscribed onto tripods (513 BC)." [1]
[1]: (Zhang 2015, 143) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
"In the late Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, several inscriptions record decisions in legal cases, most commonly disputes over land."
[1]
- where were trials held for legal cases?
"Court" for trials existed in Spring and Autumn period (reference not specific to Chu).
[2]
[1]: (Lewis 2009, 228) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2009. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press.
[2]: (Brooks and Brooks) Brooks, E, Bruce. Brooks, A, Taeko. 2015. The Emergence of China: From Confucius to the Empire. Warring States Project.
"During the Western Zhou Dynasty, handicrafts and commerce came under government monopoly, and a system was instituted whereby craftsmen and merchants ceased to be household retainers and became government subjects." [1] "It was not until the Western Zhou period (1027-771 bc) that professional merchants emerged, mainly to serve feudal aristocrats by supplying them with the desired commodities. Only in the Spring and Autumn (770-403 BC) and the Warring States period (403-211 BC), when agricultural technology was much improved, did households retain sufficient surpluses that professional merchants found it profitable to serve the ordinary people (Sa 1966:29)" [2] "During the Zhou dynasty (1134-256 BC) onward, merchants’ guilds based on family relationships came into being in China (Chuan 1978)." [3] However, before the Sui and Tang, "merchants could open stores only in restricted locations, and merchant guilds were localized." [2]
[1]: (Yu 1997, 190) Yu, Weichao. 1997. A Journey Into China’s Antiquity: Palaeolithic Age, Low Neolithic Age, Upper Neolithic Age, Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period. Morning Glory Press.
[2]: (Lin 2014, 9-10) Lin, Man-houng in Chow, Gregory C and Perkins, Dwight H. eds. 2014. Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Economy. Business & Economics.
[3]: (Lin 2014, 10) Lin, Man-houng in Chow, Gregory C and Perkins, Dwight H. eds. 2014. Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Economy. Business & Economics.
"The basic wealth of the Spring and Autumn states was thus in grain, and grain was stored by the state as a hedge against famine. On two occasions, grain was transferred between states for famine relief ... These interstate transactions show that states had considerable storage capacity, as well as substantial transport capacity, for food supplies." [1]
[1]: (Brooks and Brooks) Brooks, E, Bruce. Brooks, A, Taeko. 2015. The Emergence of China: From Confucius to the Empire. Warring States Project.
Administration existed to manage roads. "As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official, and in the Zhou period, traffic had reached such proportions that regulations were introduced for particularly crowded crossroads and reckless driving was prohibited. ... they are said to have put roads into five categories: pedestrian roads for people and pack animals, roads for handcarts, roads for single carts, roads on which two carts could pass, and main roads wide enough to take three vehicles abreast." [1]
[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.
"As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official, and in the Zhou period, traffic had reached such proportions that regulations were introduced for particularly crowded crossroads and reckless driving was prohibited." [1] Must have been stone or wooden bridges over rivers and streams.
[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.
[1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved.
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 569)
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
[1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved.
[1]: (Hsu 1999, 569)
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
Presence of written records, administration etc.
Inferred from the fact immediately preceding polities produced scientific literature [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved
[1]: (? 1996, 4519) Mathematical Reviews. Volume 96. Volume 1996. American Mathematical Society.
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
Does not seem to have been part of Ancient Chinese religious system in general to have sacrilized texts, not including collected sayings of wise men and sages (Confucius, etc.), since these seem to be more philosophical than ‘word of god’ type works.
Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities had produced practical literature, e.g. Shanghsu (Book of Documents), Yi Zhoushu (Zhou documents). [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved
[1]: (Keay 2009, 54)
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties ... These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [1]
[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.
Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities wrote abbreviated histories on vessels: "The Shi Qiang pan (Figure 23) is one of the most important Western Zhou bronze vessels due to its 270 character long inscription. In two columns, it provides an outline of the first seven Western Zhou kings with a similar account of four generations from the Wei family [65]." [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved
[1]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities produced poetry
[1]
. However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk
[2]
, which means that texts are less likely to be preserved
Money
[1]: (Keay 2009, 54)
[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
Inferred from the fact that contemporary polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [1] , though this does mean that texts are less likely to be preserved, and that they had ritual calendars [2] .
[1]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.
[2]: (Shaughnessy 1999, 343) Shaughnessy "Western Zhou History" in Loewe, Michael. Shaughnessy, Edward L. 2009. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press.
Would not be invented for another couple thousand years.
Not until Warring States Period at the earliest: "The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei." [1]
[1]: (Higham 2009, 83) Higham, Charles. 2009. Encylopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing.
Inferred absent. Coinage invented in Anatolia around time of the Spring and Autumn Period but such coins, even if they reached China, more likely would have been prized for precious metal content.
Coded as present in preceding Late Shang polity.
From the Shang period roads considered important enough to be "controlled by a special official" [1] but references to post usually begin with the Qin’s First Emperor who "constructed post roads across his empire". [2] However, Confucius (551-479 BCE) said: "News of good deeds travels faster than the mail" [3] which strongly implies a postal system was present at his time. One may infer from the importance of roads a basic postal system existed earlier.
[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.
[2]: ( ? 2003, 391) ? in Mokyr, Joel ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Volume 2. Oxford University Press
Unlikely literacy high enough for a general postal service to be necessary.
Basic system of messaging must have been present for the Jin government, as it probably was for the Chu.
Evidence of a moat at the Yan state capital during the preceding Western Zhou period. [1] There was some siege warfare so it is possible some Chu towns had moat defenses. There would have been no lack of water nearby to fill the moat.
[1]: (Littlewood 2008, 212) Littlewood, Mark. Littlewood, Misty. 2008. Gateways to Beijing. Genesis Books.
"During the Spring & Autumn period, China developed steel and iron-made weaponry, and as the raw iron castings technique was widely practiced - and the ‘folded hundred times steel’ casting method was on the rise, along with various polishing techniques for steel - Chinese steel weapons were very much on the ascendant." [1]
[1]: (Hangang undated) Hangang, Cao. A Study of Chinese Weapons Cast During Pre-Qin and Han Periods in the Central Plains of China. Retrieved December 2015: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/cn.article.htm
"During the Spring & Autumn period, China developed steel and iron-made weaponry, and as the raw iron castings technique was widely practiced - and the ‘folded hundred times steel’ casting method was on the rise, along with various polishing techniques for steel - Chinese steel weapons were very much on the ascendant." [1]
[1]: (Hangang undated) Hangang, Cao. A Study of Chinese Weapons Cast During Pre-Qin and Han Periods in the Central Plains of China. Retrieved December 2015: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/cn.article.htm
"Han era scholars identify what seems to be an early Spring and Autumn period catapult called Hui used by the King of Zhou against the Duke of Zheng in 707 B.C." [1] siege-warfare in this period seems to have not involved specialized equipment / technology, more brute force and trickery by besieging armies [2]
[1]: http://www.grandhistorian.com/chinesesiegewarfare/index-english12122007.html
[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)
first known use of gravity powered siege engine was under Byzantines, just under two thousand years after this period.
Inferred from previous polity. Perhaps actually absent for warfare - if the more powerful composite bow is the weapon referred to in the sources.
Gunpowder not present until a later period.
Gunpowder not present until a later period.
"Crossbows first appeared in Chu in the early fifth century BC and were in general use in the fourth century BC." [1] From 340 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005, n139 95) Tin-bor Hui, Victoria. 2005. War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press.
[2]: (Meyer 1994, 132) Milton Walter Meyer. 1994. China: A Concise History. Second Edition, Revised. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham.
adapted from steppe regions in sixth c bce [1] "Yang Hong (1980: 116) traces the bronze sword back to certain bronze daggers of the Western Zhou period... It was not until the Eastern Zhou period that the bronze sword became a common weapon." [2] In the Shang period, there were bronze swords [3] and a sword has been found as early as the Erligang Culture. [4]
[1]: (Gernet 1982, 66)
[2]: (Wagner 1993, 191) Wagner, Donald B. 1993. Iron and Steel in Ancient China. BRILL.
[3]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf
[4]: (Thorp 2013, 110) Thorp, Robert L. 2013. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Wood used as armour, e.g. for shields, unlikely to have been preserved.
"Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media
Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour."
[1]
However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the preceding Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..."
[2]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media
[2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.
"Crew and horses could be armoured with tough rhinoceros hide, either in the form of scales swen onto a cloth backing, or made into one-piece sleeveless coats like the leather ’buff coats’ of seventeenth century Europe" [1] Inferred from Zhou/Shang: there is no evidence that the Zhou were armed differently than the Shang (evidence of helmets, shields, and leather armor used in the Shang). [2]
[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)
[2]: (Peers 2013, 10)
"Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media
Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1] However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the preceding Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..." [2]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media
[2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.