This particular lesson is a little bit less structured than the rest. I say only a little bit because I'm surprised the others have any structure at all. It consists, essentially, of things that arose around the same time as - or specifically as a result of - the western Zhou rulers, and it's all sort of loosely thrown together. Fair warning, skip if you like.
That being said...
*ahem* Terribly sorry, but as of 18 August 2002, this page is officially being edited. The section on eunuchs, traditionally said to have been introduced to government service during the Zhou dynasty, is in severe need of revamping. It will be replaced soon, but in the meantime I'd rather not have a hand in perpetuating any more misinformation. THanks.
Back to the other stuff.
Given that the Zhou Dynasty started in the late 1100's BCE and continued
without interruption until 770 BCE, changing their headquarters and a few
other things shortly thereafter and continuing to be listed as an official
dynasty until 221 BCE (that's a date we know for sure), it's no real surprise
they managed to accrete a sizable body of poetry. Something close to 300 ritual
hymns and ballads got compiled into one big whacker of a book entitled the
Shi-jing, which translates into English as the Classic of Poetry. The oldest
bits date back to the tenth century BCE and are hymns addressed to the dynasty's
founders, who - like an awful lot of other Chinese rulers - got deified after
their deaths. Other poetic sections in the Classic include the Great and Lesser
Odes, including a lot of historical material relating to the dynasty's foundation
and poems and songs related to the properly ideal running of the country.
Finally, the last bit - which is more than half the 300 poems int he book
- is composed almost entirely of local music, folk songs and court music from
all over the country ruled by the Zhou monarchy. It's supposed to give something
of a window into the lives of people at the time, but I've never read it.
More's the pity. It does relay at least a little anthropological material,
in the same way the Book of Proverbs does when it starts raving about the
activities of the ideal wife. Lots of stuff about women in the silk industry,
and how even the queen had to participate at certain times of year in the
silk harvest, and how the poorer classes of people wore clothes made from
hemp instead. (No cotton.) Fur clothing apparently gets mentioned as a reaction
to winter - I can't help but wonder if our buddies from entry #1 did the same
thing. Neat stuff.
Jade also became very, very big during the Zhou Dynasty. Before them and the
Shang, jade was pretty much used for anything necessary. Tools, weapons, kitchen
utensils, you name it. Wasn't particularly artistically handled, necessarily,
but the craftsmanship was pretty good. The Zhou, now, they were busy centralizing
government to some degree (not necessarily very successfully) and establishing
rules, regulations, and monetary systems. They weren't as good as the Shang
at bronzework, either. But wow were they big on jade. Here, the fine
folks at Warrior
Tours can say it so much better than me:
"In the Zhou dynasty, jade use was first regulated in Zhouli (Rites of
the Zhou), which was the constitution of the Zhou dynasty concerning with
politics, economy, military, diplomacy and law. With other two classics named
Yili (Rites) and Liji (Book of Rites) later, it strictly stipulated national
rites and etiquettes and directing philosophy. Only in Zhouli, Rites of the
Zhou, there were dozens of articles concerning with jade use and function
under different occasions such as politics, sacrifice, alliance, and military
activities, etc. According to the three classics, special ministry should
be set up to manage jade use. It was stipulated that six jade ritual items
should be made to offer sacrifice to heaven, the earth, the east, the south,
the west and the north. There were also strict regulations on six jade tablets
used by emperors, dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts and barons respectively.
Jade ware can be divided into following categories - ritual utensil, funeral
utensil, accessory, currency, weapon, diplomatic gift, musical instrument
and food according to the functions listed in the three classics. Simple carving,
careful handling and not mixing private and public ritual vessel were basic
rules to follow in jade use."
Popular rock.
We'll go over the religious, spiritual, and moral aspects of jade in Chinese
culture another time - probably once we get to the Han dynasty. That's when
you start seeing jade mummy suits.