Ritual changes and social transition in the Western Zhou period (c.a. 1050–771 BCE)

Abstract

The efforts the Duke of Zhou made to improve the Zhou ritual and music system is documented in transmitted texts, but is rarely discussed using archaeological materials. The key idea of this improvement was to change ritual culture in order to escape the influence of the Shang, and this also laid the foundation for the ritual reform in the reigns of King Gong and King Mu. The latter reform, in contrast, placed more emphasis on “standardising” Zhou ritual practice, thereby forming a comprehensive ritual system, unifying what we know as the Zhou culture, and finally bringing an overall transition in Western Zhou society.Basing itself on archaeological materials, bronze inscriptions, and transmitted texts, the current paper attempts to get a clear view of the two major ritual changes and the related social transitions in the Western Zhou period, and also to better facilitate our current understanding of Western Zhou archaeological materials.