The decline and fall of the western Zhou dynasty: A historical, archaeological, and geographical study of China from the tenth to the eighth centuries B.C.

摘要

The present dissertation provides a systematic study of late Western Zhou history, investigating in particular the process of the dynasty's decline and fall. The dissertation integrates written records with archaeological evidence to demonstrate the historical move in China during the tenth to the eight centuries B.C. from centralized royal control to regional competition. It also shows how this historical development was influenced by geographical conditions. The first chapter provides an extensive survey of the Zhou world, demonstrating the extent of the Western Zhou state. The second chapter examines the process of decline of the Western Zhou and investigates possible reasons for it. The third chapter presents a historical-geographical analysis of the war between the Zhou and the Yianyun, who eventually captured the Zhou capital in 771 B.C. It situates this long-term war in the actual terrain of western China. The fourth chapter examines historical problems involved in the fall of the Zhou dynasty, presenting a new interpretation of the political crisis of the last reign of the Western Zhou. The fifth chapter deals with the transition to the Eastern Zhou, focusing on the eastward migration of the Zhou court and some Zhou states. The dissertation concludes with a study of the rise of the state of Qin, which moved into the Zhou homeland in central Shaanxi and thereafter began its long march towards the unification of China.