Home Region:  North China (East Asia)

Jin

D G SC WF HS CC EQ 2020  cn_jin_spring_and_autumn / CnJinSA

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Preceding:
1122 BCE 771 BCE Western Zhou (cn_western_zhou_dyn)    [elite migration]
Add one more here.

Succeeding:
No Polity found. Add one here.

The Spring and Autumn period was a period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty in which strong vassal states competed for dominance. [1] When King You of Zhou was killed by an allied force of Quan Rong barbarians and the state of Shen, King Ping moved the capital to Luoyang in 770 BCE and founded the Eastern Zhou dynasty. [2] The weak Eastern Zhou state was responsible for diplomacy and rituals, while governmental authority lay in the hands of large vassal states. [1] There were 15 major vassal states in the Spring and Autumn period, but by the mid-7th century BCE the region was dominated by the Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu states. [3] The period is marked by constant warfare between different states. [4]
The Spring and Autumn period takes its name from the Confucian book Chunqiu, which chronicles events from 722 to 429 BCE. [1] During this time, the moral values of Confucius helped bring China into the ’Axial Age’. [2] The use of bronze agricultural tools became more widespread in China and there is evidence of the use of steel and iron in the middle and late Spring and Autumn period. [4] Coinage appeared in this period, and there are some indications that individuals could own land. [5]
The Jin state dominated the Spring and Autumn period from 636 to 628 BCE. Duke Xian of Jin (676-651 BCE) conquered 16 small states in modern Shanxi. [3] His son, Duke Wen, was given the title of ba (’senior’ or ’hegemon’) [6] by the Zhou king after defeating the encroaching state of Chu in 632 BCE. [3]
The Jin state covered an estimated 160,000 square kilometres. The state was located in modern Shanxi, [7] and extended east and north from the Yellow River. [8]
Population and political organization
The multi-state Spring and Autumn system changed the feudal structure of China. In the Western Zhou period, the political elite was made up of kings, feudal lords, and hereditary ministers. [4] In the Spring and Autumn period, a class of knights and warriors became the political ruling class. [4] Intellectuals served as both government officials and ’cultural carriers’. [9] States became more centralized as the central government continued to weaken. [4]
In the ba system, first institutionalized in 651 BCE, the Zhou king bestowed the title of ba on the ruler of the vassal state that represented the Zhou court in war. [4] [10] However, this system of political organization began to weaken in the 6th century BCE. [4] [10]
Substantiated estimates for the population of the Jin state are lacking.

[1]: (Encyclopedia Britannica n.d.) “Spring and Autumn Period.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Spring-and-Autumn-Period. Accessed June 5, 2017. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z2EVWH4P.

[2]: (Hsu 1999, 545) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[3]: (Hsu 1999, 559) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[4]: (Roberts 1999, 13) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.

[5]: (Roberts 1999, 14) Roberts, John A.G. 1999. A History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/H9D8H5E9.

[6]: (Lewis 2000, 365) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2000. “The City-State in Spring-and-Autumn China.” In A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures: An Investigation Conducted by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, edited by Mogens Herman Hansen. Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DXXZV8CS.

[7]: (Theobald 2010) Theobald, Ulrich. 2010. “The Feudal State of China.” Chinaknowledge.de http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/rulers-jin.html Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8735F2AW.

[8]: (Eno 2010) Eno, Robert. 2010. Spring and Autumn China. Indiana University, History G380, Class Text Readings. http://www.iub.edu/~g380/1.7-Spring_Autumn_Narrative-2010.pdf Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/32FGZ2UI.

[9]: (Hsu 1999, 549) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

[10]: (Hsu 1999, 562) Hsu, C-y. 1999. “The Spring and Autumn Period,” in M. Loewe and E. L. Shaughnessy, eds. The Cambridge History of Ancient China From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 545-86. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MMECH3VW.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
50 S  
Original Name:
Jin  
Capital:
Jiang  
Alternative Name:
Chin  
Tang  
Chunqiu  
Temporal Bounds
Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
alliance with [---]  
vassalage to [---]  
Supracultural Entity:
China  
Succeeding Entity:
Zhao  
Wei  
Qin  
Scale of Supracultural Interaction:
9,000,000 km2  
Relationship to Preceding Entity:
elite migration  
Preceding Entity:
Preceding:   Western Zhou (cn_western_zhou_dyn)    [elite migration]  
Degree of Centralization:
loose  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Sino-Tibetan  
Language:
Chinese  
Religion
Religion Genus:
Ancient East Asian Religion  
Religion Family:
Chinese Folk Religion  
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Polity Territory:
160,000 km2  
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
4  
Military Level:
5  
Administrative Level:
4  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
inferred present  
Professional Priesthood:
inferred present  
Professional Military Officer:
inferred present  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
inferred present  
Merit Promotion:
present  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
present  
Examination System:
absent  
Law
Judge:
inferred present  
Formal Legal Code:
present  
Court:
inferred present  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
inferred present  
Irrigation System:
present  
Food Storage Site:
present  
Transport Infrastructure
Road:
inferred present  
Canal:
inferred present  
Bridge:
inferred present  
Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
unknown  
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present  
Script:
present  
Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent  
Nonwritten Record:
inferred present  
Non Phonetic Writing:
present  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
inferred present  
Sacred Text:
absent  
Religious Literature:
present  
Practical Literature:
inferred present  
Philosophy:
present  
Lists Tables and Classification:
inferred present  
History:
inferred present  
Fiction:
inferred present  
Calendar:
inferred present  
Information / Money
Token:
present  
Precious Metal:
present  
Paper Currency:
absent  
Indigenous Coin:
inferred absent  
Foreign Coin:
inferred absent  
Article:
inferred present  
Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
inferred present  
General Postal Service:
inferred absent  
Courier:
inferred present  
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
inferred present  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present  
  Modern Fortification:
absent  
  Moat:
inferred present  
  Fortified Camp:
unknown  
  Earth Rampart:
inferred present  
  Ditch:
inferred present  
  Complex Fortification:
present  
  Long Wall:
absent  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
present  
absent  
  Iron:
absent  
  Copper:
present  
  Bronze:
present  
Projectiles
  Tension Siege Engine:
inferred present  
  Sling Siege Engine:
inferred absent  
  Sling:
inferred present  
  Self Bow:
inferred present  
  Javelin:
inferred present  
  Handheld Firearm:
absent  
  Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent  
  Crossbow:
absent  
  Composite Bow:
present  
  Atlatl:
inferred absent  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
inferred present  
  Sword:
present  
  Spear:
inferred present  
  Polearm:
present  
  Dagger:
present  
  Battle Axe:
present  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
present  
  Donkey:
present  
  Dog:
absent  
Armor
  Wood Bark Etc:
inferred present  
  Shield:
inferred present  
  Scaled Armor:
inferred absent  
  Plate Armor:
present  
  Limb Protection:
inferred present  
  Leather Cloth:
inferred present  
  Laminar Armor:
inferred present  
  Helmet:
present  
  Chainmail:
inferred absent  
  Breastplate:
inferred present  
Naval technology
  Specialized Military Vessel:
unknown  
  Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
present  
  Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown  
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Jin (cn_jin_spring_and_autumn) was in:
 (794 BCE 489 BCE)   Middle Yellow River Valley
Home NGA: Middle Yellow River Valley

General Variables
Identity and Location



Alternative Name:
Chin

Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)

Alternative Name:
Tang

Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)

Alternative Name:
Chunqiu

Chunqiu translates as ‘Springs and Autumns’, used to denote period of multistate competition after fall of Zhou hegemony; the Zuo zhuan mentions 148 ‘states’ that were founded by Zhou royal lineage at break-up of Western Zhou kingdom; 15 major states (Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Xu, Chen, Wey, Yan, Cai, Wu, Yue) [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 547)


Temporal Bounds
Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
alliance with [---]

Alliance: Ba system - Ba was title assumed at different times by different lineage heads of different states to signify their leadership over the other splinter Zhou kingdoms; for instance, Zheng Zhuang Gong of Zheng is said to have first taken the status (although the term Ba was not yet in use) in 707 bce after defeating armies of Chen, Wey, and Cai. Qi under Huan Gong then supplanted Zheng as the Ba hegemon in the early 7th c bce [1] . “at these conferences the attending delegates usually swore their support for the Zhou feudal structure as spelled out in formal agreements.” [2]
vassalage: numerous ‘barbarian’ tribes (Man, Yi, Rang, Di); namely, groups not directly associated with the Zhou ruling families which served as subservient garrison states as “part of the Zhou feudal network.” [3]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 552)

[2]: (Hsu 1999, 556)

[3]: (Hsu 1999, 549)

Suprapolity Relations:
vassalage to [---]

Alliance: Ba system - Ba was title assumed at different times by different lineage heads of different states to signify their leadership over the other splinter Zhou kingdoms; for instance, Zheng Zhuang Gong of Zheng is said to have first taken the status (although the term Ba was not yet in use) in 707 bce after defeating armies of Chen, Wey, and Cai. Qi under Huan Gong then supplanted Zheng as the Ba hegemon in the early 7th c bce [1] . “at these conferences the attending delegates usually swore their support for the Zhou feudal structure as spelled out in formal agreements.” [2]
vassalage: numerous ‘barbarian’ tribes (Man, Yi, Rang, Di); namely, groups not directly associated with the Zhou ruling families which served as subservient garrison states as “part of the Zhou feudal network.” [3]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 552)

[2]: (Hsu 1999, 556)

[3]: (Hsu 1999, 549)


Supracultural Entity:
China

Faulkenhausen notes that the material culture of all of the Spring Autumn period states is remarkably consistent, following Western Zhou traditions. Especially notable in the assemblages of goods from elite burials in the various states [1] “In a milieu where adherence to codified rules of ritual consumption and behavior was central to political and religious activity at any level, it is legitimate to argue that such archaeologically observable phenomena as the use of more or less uniform sets of ritual paraphernalia, and the adoption of largely comparable burial customs throughout a wide area, may reflect an underlying shared system of politicoreligious values, as well as homologies in the social organization of elites.” [2]

[1]: (Faulkenhausen 1999, 510)

[2]: (Faulkenhausen 1999, 544)


Succeeding Entity:
Zhao

during the Warring States period

Succeeding Entity:
Wei

during the Warring States period

Succeeding Entity:
Qin

during the Warring States period


Scale of Supracultural Interaction:
9,000,000 km2

km. Approximate scale of modern country of China (which covers roughly same area as ‘cultural zone’ of early imperial period).


Relationship to Preceding Entity:
elite migration

Zhou dynasty broken up into several independent kingdoms, mainly ruled by former enfeoffed nobles of Zhou period


Preceding Entity:
Western Zhou [cn_western_zhou_dyn] ---> Jin [cn_jin_spring_and_autumn]

Zhou dynasty broken up into several independent kingdoms, mainly ruled by former enfeoffed nobles of Zhou period


Degree of Centralization:
loose

though was proto-centralization process in most Spring Autumn states over course of this period [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999)


Religion
Religion Genus:
Ancient East Asian Religion

Religion Family:
Chinese Folk Religion


Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Polity Territory:
160,000 km2

km^2
size of State of Jin by 5th c. bce
Hsu: “An expansion of territory is a characteristic of all major states, and the four most powerful states of the Spring and Autumn period — Qi, Jin, Chu, and Qin - all expanded dramatically. Qi Huan Gong annexed 35 neighboring states to become the first ba. Jin Xian Gong took 17 states and subjugated 38, paving the way for Jin to lead the Zhou world for generations. Qin Mu Gong fUS-^ (659—621 B.C.) combined 12 other states to extend its territory in the west. During the reign of King Zhuang of Chu (613-591 B.C.), Chu annexed no fewer than 26 states, many of which were former important Zhou states, and thus became the main threat to the Zhou 
world.’ Of 148 states that appear in the chronicles of the Spring and Autumn period," the number extinguished by these four major powers adds up to 1*” [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 567)


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
4

1. Capital city2. town3. feudal estates4. village


Military Level:
5

The following inferred from what has been inferred from contemporary polities:
1. Ruler
2. Minister of War3. GeneralsElite families in charge of chariot forces
4. Officer level5. Individual soldier


Administrative Level:
4

1. Ruler2. Court officials (Chancellor, Secretaries, etc)3. Provincial / commandery governors; military generals; local elite lineages4. town heads
NB: unclear exactly how much administrative hierarchy there was at the local (town, village, etc) level, but the number 4 based on states during this period having short chains-of-command and less state penetration into the local levels relative to later periods after the ‘centralizing’ reforms of the Qi, Chu, and Qin (DH)


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

Inferred present for contemporary polities [1] .

[1]: (Blakeley 1999, 10) Blakeley, Barry B. in Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. 1999. eds. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Professional Priesthood:
present

Inferred present for contemporary polities [1] .

[1]: (Blakeley 1999, 10) Blakeley, Barry B. in Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. 1999. eds. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Professional Military Officer:
present

Inferred present for contemporary polities [1] .

[1]: (Blakeley 1999, 10) Blakeley, Barry B. in Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. 1999. eds. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present

Inferred from presence of administrative system of states- "During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties in each of the places they conquered through wars of annexation. In general, counties were based in the center of the state, while provinces were based in the outlying areas. The governorships of the provinces and counties were no longer hereditary positions. Rather governors were appointed and dismissed directly by the kings or lords. These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.


Merit Promotion:
present

"In respect to selecting officials, the appointment of capable and talented people emerged as a trend in the Spring and Autumn Period." [1]
"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties in each of the places they conquered through wars of annexation. In general, counties were based in the center of the state, while provinces were based in the outlying areas. The governorships of the provinces and counties were no longer hereditary positions. Rather governors were appointed and dismissed directly by the kings or lords. These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [2]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, 143) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.

[2]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.


Full Time Bureaucrat:
present

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties ... These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [1]
"in terms of administration, aristocratic politics was transformed into bureaucratic politics as the hereditary seigniors were replaced by professional bureaucrats." [1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.


Examination System:
absent

"Before the Northern Sung, the principal means of entry into the social and political elite was by official recommendation or kinship relations." [1]

[1]: (Elmam 2000, 5) Elman, B. 2000. A cultural history of civil examinations in late imperial China. Berkeley: University of California Press.


Law
Judge:
present

"In the late Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, several inscriptions record decisions in legal cases, most commonly disputes over land." [1] - who made the decisions in legal cases?

[1]: (Lewis 2009, 228) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2009. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press.


Formal Legal Code:
present

"In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the legal system had reached a turning point - provisions of punishments changed into a systematic code, which came to be recorded on two occasions: the State of Zhen had the penal code prepared by Zi Chan inscribed onto bamboo tablets (536 BC); the State of Jin had the penal code prepared by Zhao Yang inscribed onto tripods (513 BC)." [1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, 143) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.


Court:
present

"In the late Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, several inscriptions record decisions in legal cases, most commonly disputes over land." [1] - where were trials held for legal cases?
"Court" for trials existed in Spring and Autumn period (reference not specific to Chu). [2]

[1]: (Lewis 2009, 228) Lewis, Mark Edward. 2009. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Harvard University Press.

[2]: (Brooks and Brooks) Brooks, E, Bruce. Brooks, A, Taeko. 2015. The Emergence of China: From Confucius to the Empire. Warring States Project.


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

"During the Western Zhou Dynasty, handicrafts and commerce came under government monopoly, and a system was instituted whereby craftsmen and merchants ceased to be household retainers and became government subjects." [1] "It was not until the Western Zhou period (1027-771 bc) that professional merchants emerged, mainly to serve feudal aristocrats by supplying them with the desired commodities. Only in the Spring and Autumn (770-403 BC) and the Warring States period (403-211 BC), when agricultural technology was much improved, did households retain sufficient surpluses that professional merchants found it profitable to serve the ordinary people (Sa 1966:29)" [2] "During the Zhou dynasty (1134-256 BC) onward, merchants’ guilds based on family relationships came into being in China (Chuan 1978)." [3] However, before the Sui and Tang, "merchants could open stores only in restricted locations, and merchant guilds were localized." [2]

[1]: (Yu 1997, 190) Yu, Weichao. 1997. A Journey Into China’s Antiquity: Palaeolithic Age, Low Neolithic Age, Upper Neolithic Age, Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period. Morning Glory Press.

[2]: (Lin 2014, 9-10) Lin, Man-houng in Chow, Gregory C and Perkins, Dwight H. eds. 2014. Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Economy. Business & Economics.

[3]: (Lin 2014, 10) Lin, Man-houng in Chow, Gregory C and Perkins, Dwight H. eds. 2014. Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Economy. Business & Economics.


Irrigation System:
present

Developed in Yellow River basin after Shang. [1]

[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1979, 172)


Food Storage Site:
present

"The basic wealth of the Spring and Autumn states was thus in grain, and grain was stored by the state as a hedge against famine. On two occasions, grain was transferred between states for famine relief ... These interstate transactions show that states had considerable storage capacity, as well as substantial transport capacity, for food supplies." [1]

[1]: (Brooks and Brooks) Brooks, E, Bruce. Brooks, A, Taeko. 2015. The Emergence of China: From Confucius to the Empire. Warring States Project.


Transport Infrastructure

Administration existed to manage roads. "As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official, and in the Zhou period, traffic had reached such proportions that regulations were introduced for particularly crowded crossroads and reckless driving was prohibited. ... they are said to have put roads into five categories: pedestrian roads for people and pack animals, roads for handcarts, roads for single carts, roads on which two carts could pass, and main roads wide enough to take three vehicles abreast." [1]

[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.


Canal:
present

Present for Western Zhou [1]

[1]: (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011, [1])


Bridge:
present

"As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official, and in the Zhou period, traffic had reached such proportions that regulations were introduced for particularly crowded crossroads and reckless driving was prohibited." [1] Must have been stone or wooden bridges over rivers and streams.

[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.


Special-purpose Sites

Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

[1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved.

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 569)

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Script:
present

[1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved.

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 569)

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

Ancient Chinese language.


Nonwritten Record:
present

Presence of written records, administration etc.


Non Phonetic Writing:
present

Ancient Chinese language.


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

Inferred from the fact immediately preceding polities produced scientific literature [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved

[1]: (? 1996, 4519) Mathematical Reviews. Volume 96. Volume 1996. American Mathematical Society.

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Sacred Text:
absent

Does not seem to have been part of Ancient Chinese religious system in general to have sacrilized texts, not including collected sayings of wise men and sages (Confucius, etc.), since these seem to be more philosophical than ‘word of god’ type works.


Religious Literature:
present

religious and political philosophy, esp. Confucianism, developed in this period [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 545)


Practical Literature:
present

Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities had produced practical literature, e.g. Shanghsu (Book of Documents), Yi Zhoushu (Zhou documents). [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved

[1]: (Keay 2009, 54)

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Philosophy:
present

religious and political philosophy, esp. Confucianism, developed in this period [1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 545)


Lists Tables and Classification:
present

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties ... These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history." [1]

[1]: (Zhang 2015, 144) Zhang, Qizhi. 2015. An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Springer.


History:
present

Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities wrote abbreviated histories on vessels: "The Shi Qiang pan (Figure 23) is one of the most important Western Zhou bronze vessels due to its 270 character long inscription. In two columns, it provides an outline of the first seven Western Zhou kings with a similar account of four generations from the Wei family [65]." [1] However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved

[1]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Fiction:
present

Inferred from the fact that immediately preceding polities produced poetry [1] . However, Spring and Autumn polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [2] , which means that texts are less likely to be preserved
Money

[1]: (Keay 2009, 54)

[2]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.


Calendar:
present

Inferred from the fact that contemporary polities wrote on perishable materials such as silk [1] , though this does mean that texts are less likely to be preserved, and that they had ritual calendars [2] .

[1]: (Cook and Major 1999, viii) Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. eds. 1999. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.

[2]: (Shaughnessy 1999, 343) Shaughnessy "Western Zhou History" in Loewe, Michael. Shaughnessy, Edward L. 2009. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press.


Information / Money

Cowrie shells, tortoise shells used as currency in all Spring Autumn states from Western Zhou period [1] [2]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 581)

[2]: (Bodde 1986, 60)


Precious Metal:
present

[1]

[1]: (Hsu 1999, 581)


Paper Currency:
absent

Would not be invented for another couple thousand years.


Indigenous Coin:
absent

Not until Warring States Period at the earliest: "The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei." [1]

[1]: (Higham 2009, 83) Higham, Charles. 2009. Encylopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing.


Foreign Coin:
absent

Inferred absent. Coinage invented in Anatolia around time of the Spring and Autumn Period but such coins, even if they reached China, more likely would have been prized for precious metal content.


Article:
present

Coded as present in preceding Late Shang polity.


Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
present

From the Shang period roads considered important enough to be "controlled by a special official" [1] but references to post usually begin with the Qin’s First Emperor who "constructed post roads across his empire". [2] However, Confucius (551-479 BCE) said: "News of good deeds travels faster than the mail" [3] which strongly implies a postal system was present at his time. One may infer from the importance of roads a basic postal system existed earlier.

[1]: (Lindqvist 2009) Lindqvist, Cecilia. 2009. China: Empire of Living Symbols. Da Capo Press.

[2]: ( ? 2003, 391) ? in Mokyr, Joel ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Volume 2. Oxford University Press

[3]: (Postal Museum Chunghwa Post Co. 2010, [2])


General Postal Service:
absent

Unlikely literacy high enough for a general postal service to be necessary.


Courier:
present

Basic system of messaging must have been present for the Jin government, as it probably was for the Chu.


Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present

Stone walls present in the Neolithic period [1] However most walls made of stamped earth during this period. [2]

[1]: (Feinman, Gary and Liye, Xie. North China Workshop 2016)

[2]: (Falkenhausen 1999)


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

e.g. Qin built fortifications in seventh c bce along Yellow River to defend against raids by northern Di tribes [1]

[1]: (Li 2013, 164)


Modern Fortification:
absent

No gunpowder at this time.
Other technologies
Canals used for military transport [1]

[1]: (Lorge, 2012, 84)


Evidence of a moat at the Yan state capital during the preceding Western Zhou period. [1] There was some siege warfare so it is possible some Chu towns had moat defenses. There would have been no lack of water nearby to fill the moat.

[1]: (Littlewood 2008, 212) Littlewood, Mark. Littlewood, Misty. 2008. Gateways to Beijing. Genesis Books.



Earth Rampart:
present

"The number of cities with earth fortifications grew rapidly near the end of the Western Zhou." [1]

[1]: (Cooke 2010, 62) Cooke, Tim. 2010. The New Cultural Atlas of China. Marshall Cavendish.


Used against Ch’u by Tsin in Battle of Yen-ling 575 bce. [1]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 25)


Complex Fortification:
present

e.g. Yancheng in Wujin, “an irregularly shaped site some 850 m in diameter, surrounded by three roughly concentric tiers of walls and moats and accessible only by boat.” [1]

[1]: (Falkenhausen 1999, 526)



Military use of Metals

"During the Spring & Autumn period, China developed steel and iron-made weaponry, and as the raw iron castings technique was widely practiced - and the ‘folded hundred times steel’ casting method was on the rise, along with various polishing techniques for steel - Chinese steel weapons were very much on the ascendant." [1]

[1]: (Hangang undated) Hangang, Cao. A Study of Chinese Weapons Cast During Pre-Qin and Han Periods in the Central Plains of China. Retrieved December 2015: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/cn.article.htm

"During the Spring & Autumn period, China developed steel and iron-made weaponry, and as the raw iron castings technique was widely practiced - and the ‘folded hundred times steel’ casting method was on the rise, along with various polishing techniques for steel - Chinese steel weapons were very much on the ascendant." [1]

[1]: (Hangang undated) Hangang, Cao. A Study of Chinese Weapons Cast During Pre-Qin and Han Periods in the Central Plains of China. Retrieved December 2015: http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/cn.article.htm


Iron introduced from Central Asia in roughly 500 bce. Mainly used in agricultural tools, but adapted to swords and other military pieces in Chu and then the other kingdoms by the later 4th c bce. [1] [2]

[1]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005, 96)

[2]: (Lewis 1999b, 624)


Required for bronze.


[1]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
present

"Han era scholars identify what seems to be an early Spring and Autumn period catapult called Hui used by the King of Zhou against the Duke of Zheng in 707 B.C." [1] siege-warfare in this period seems to have not involved specialized equipment / technology, more brute force and trickery by besieging armies [2]

[1]: http://www.grandhistorian.com/chinesesiegewarfare/index-english12122007.html

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

first known use of gravity powered siege engine was under Byzantines, just under two thousand years after this period.


Known from the Zhou period, when: "The conscripted foot soldiers wore sheepskin jackets and used slings and bows with bronze-tipped arrows." [1]

[1]: (Meyer 1994, 132) Milton Walter Meyer. 1994. China: A Concise History. Second Edition, Revised. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham.


Inferred from previous polity. Perhaps actually absent for warfare - if the more powerful composite bow is the weapon referred to in the sources.


Inferred from previous polity.


Handheld Firearm:
absent

Gunpowder not present until a later period.


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Gunpowder not present until a later period.


"Crossbows first appeared in Chu in the early fifth century BC and were in general use in the fourth century BC." [1] From 340 BCE. [2]

[1]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005, n139 95) Tin-bor Hui, Victoria. 2005. War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Meyer 1994, 132) Milton Walter Meyer. 1994. China: A Concise History. Second Edition, Revised. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham.


Composite Bow:
present

[1]

[1]: (Gernet 1982, 66)


Unlikely, New World weapon.


Handheld weapons

The preceding Western Zhou had the spalling hammer. [1]

[1]: (Hong 1992, 89) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


adapted from steppe regions in sixth c bce [1] "Yang Hong (1980: 116) traces the bronze sword back to certain bronze daggers of the Western Zhou period... It was not until the Eastern Zhou period that the bronze sword became a common weapon." [2] In the Shang period, there were bronze swords [3] and a sword has been found as early as the Erligang Culture. [4]

[1]: (Gernet 1982, 66)

[2]: (Wagner 1993, 191) Wagner, Donald B. 1993. Iron and Steel in Ancient China. BRILL.

[3]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf

[4]: (Thorp 2013, 110) Thorp, Robert L. 2013. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press.


"A spear was also one of the combat weapons in the Western Zhou period, but it was not the principal one" [1]

[1]: (Hong 1992, 77) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


makeshift- dagger-axes mounted on 18 foot long shafts [1] Standard equipment for Western Zhou soldier included the dagger-axe. [2]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)

[2]: (Hong 1992, 88) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


Daggers [1]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)


Battle Axe:
present

Battle axes. [1]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)


Animals used in warfare

Good conditions for horse-breeding in the Zhou homeland. [1] The Zhou used chariots in battle drawn by four horses [2]

[1]: (Gernet 1996, 51)

[2]: (Peers 2013, 8)


Used as pack animals. [1]

[1]: (North China Workshop 2016)


Never used in warfare. [1]

[1]: (North China Workshop 2016)


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
present

Wood used as armour, e.g. for shields, unlikely to have been preserved.


Standard equipment for a soldier under the preceding Western Zhou included the shield. [1]

[1]: (Hong 1992, 88) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


Scaled Armor:
absent

"Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1]

[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media


Plate Armor:
present

Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1] However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the preceding Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..." [2]

[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media

[2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


Limb Protection:
present

In the preceding Western Zhou period protective armour equipment existed in addition to helmets and shields. [1]

[1]: (Hong 1992, 89) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


Leather Cloth:
present

"Crew and horses could be armoured with tough rhinoceros hide, either in the form of scales swen onto a cloth backing, or made into one-piece sleeveless coats like the leather ’buff coats’ of seventeenth century Europe" [1] Inferred from Zhou/Shang: there is no evidence that the Zhou were armed differently than the Shang (evidence of helmets, shields, and leather armor used in the Shang). [2]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)

[2]: (Peers 2013, 10)


Laminar Armor:
present

In the preceding Western Zhou period "more flexible corsets began to be fabricated by employing lamellar construction techniques that linked small leather panels together with hempen cord." [1]

[1]: (Peers 2011, 441)


bronze helmets, reserved for the aristocracy [1]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 16)


"Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1]

[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media


Breastplate:
present

Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour." [1] However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the preceding Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..." [2]

[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media

[2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
unknown

Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
present

[1]

[1]: (Falkenhausen 1999, 526)


Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions
- Nothing coded yet.