Art of the Warring States Period (4)
Qi (around today's Shandong Province) was a prominent, advanced and rich state. The coup in Qi staged by Tian He in 386 BC was one of the two events that signaled the start of the Warring States Period -the second part of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou king in Luoyang was merely a titular ruler. The Zeng state was already early in the Warring States Period conquered by the state of Chu.

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State of Qi

State of Zhou

Zihezi's bronze FU cauldron. A 9-line inscription states Zihezi's promulgation that this jar contains one fu (a traditional unit of measurement) and that those who cheat will be punished.

This "innocent" cauldron takes on a new and different dimension when considering that Zihezi was Tian He's official title as a senior official of Qi. The very same Tian He later in a coup d'etat in 386 BC deposed the ruling Duke Kang of Qi and made himself ruler of Qi -one of the two major events that started the "Warring States Period".

 Bronze Lamp 21 cm high. The human figure holds two branches to each of which is attached a plate (for burning oil). The figure is standing on a coiled dragon.

The two plates are attached with tenon and mortise and can be freely removed.

The lamp was unearthed in 1957 along with a bronze spoon for adding oil.

 Ganyo Silver Ladle. 11 cm wide and 4 cm high. One of the earliest pieces of silverware discovered in China.

"Ganyo", the name of a palace, is inscribed at the bottom indicating that this ladle was likely used as a utensil by the Eastern Zhou royal family.

The ladle was unearthed at Jin Village, Luoyang City.
State of Zeng

Jade Pendants 10 cm long and unearthed in 1978 from a tomb in Leigudun, Hubei Province. An ancient superstition claimed that burying jade with a corpse could prevent it from decaying.

The occupant of the tomb was Marquis Yi, ruler of Zeng, a state of the early Warring States Period.

 Bronze Halberd 3.4 meters long also from the tomb at Leigudun. The wooden shaft is wrapped in slips of bamboo tied with silk threads and coated with lacquer.

A long weapon with a spike and three hooks like this was evidently made for chariot fighting. It was the first time that such a weapon had been discovered in China.

 Wine Container 125 cm high and also unearthed from the tomb at Leigudun. On the neck is an inscription of seven characters that says the jar was a large wine container in the house of Marquis Yi of Zeng.

It is the largest bronze jar yet discovered in China.

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