Warring States

Refers to the later part of the Eastern Zhou period, from 403 to 221 BCE, although some scholars date the period to 475 to 221 BCE. Its name comes from chronicles of the time. A time of severe fragmentation with a subsequent economic and political decline, it was nevertheless a time of imaginative craftsmanship. This creativity was perhaps spurred on by an increase in artistic patrons as well as competition between the different states of the Zhou dynasty. The tomb of the Marquis of Zeng at Suizhou in Hubei province is a notable early Warring States site; it contained over 15,000 artifacts such as bronze ritual vessels, bells, weapons, lacquerware, and wooden and bamboo objects. Birds with curved wings and dragons were dominant decorative motifs for bronzes and ceramics, revealing contact with the cultures of the Asiatic steppes, the Huns and Tartars.