CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

state, although they were regarded as "barbarian" by the Zhou, one generation after another
traveled to the capital in the Zhouyuan. It is natural that the Chu inhabitants at this stage absorbed
Zhou culture and progressed rapidly.
THE GROWTH OF THE CHU CULTURAL CHARACTER DURING THE EASTERN ZHOU PERIOD
During the early Western Zhou period, after the period of enfoeffment, the cultural characteristics
of the feudal states testify to the strong influence of the dominant Zhou culture. But after
King Ping moved the capital east to Luoyang, the influence of the Zhou began to wane; their
hold over the individual states diminished, and the states siezed the opportunity to develop
their own cultural characteristics. By the sixth century BCE — the middle Spring and Autumn
period — the states of Qin, Jin, Yan, Qi, Wu, and Chu had become distinctive, individual cultures.
Among them, Chu now dominated southern China and continued to do so until the late
third century BCE, while the Zhou state continued to decline (it was eventually drawn into the
cultural sphere of the Jin state).
The transformation of Chu culture is evident in the evolution of its pottery vessel types.
The dominance of the Zhou to the north is manifested in li, yu, dou, andguan vessels that appear
often among Chu remains dating to the middle and later phases of the Western Zhou period;
the style and manufacture of the li vessels display exceptionally prominent Chu features,
as do a few slender, oval-bellied jars, but indigenous Chu design is otherwise little evident. As
for bronzes, the earliest Chu ritual vessels — the so-called Chu Ji Gou pan, Chu Yin pan, and
Chu Yin yi, which date to the late Western and early Eastern Zhou periods 26 — differ little from
Zhou examples. Ding and gui vessels dating to the early Spring and Autumn period from Tomb 2
in Zhaojiabang, Dangyang, 27 have no decoration on the body, few identifiable stylistic features,
and lack a strongly "individual" character. By the middle Spring and Autumn period, however,
Chu elements feature figure prominently in the artifacts from the Yuan Zifeng tomb in Xiehuan
Xiasi, Henan province, 28 and continue up to the late Warring States period tomb of Xionghan,
King You of Chu, in (Lisangudui) Zhujiaji, Shou county, Anhui province, 29 as well as in thousands
of excavated tombs belonging to all ranks of Chu people.
During this period, all ranks of burials of the feudal states of the Yellow River valley and
the Yangzi region yield bronze and ceramic ritual vessels corresponding in type and number to
the prescriptions contained in the Zhou li. The Zhou li specifies that the ding vessel was used as
container for meat; gui and lidded dou vessels were intended for grains (including millet), dun
and sheng for water; hu, fou, and fang for wine; and pan and// for pouring water. Generally, one
type of each vessel served one function, although at times two vessels might serve the same
function. Vessel types changed with the passage of time; the dun vessel, for example, does not
appear until the late Spring and Autumn period, the fang does not appear until the Warring
States period, and the sheng replaced the dun at the end of Warring States period. While these
541 I CHU CULTURE