Zhou Moves East and the Spring and Autumn Period Begins

Also called: Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn period

After the Quanrong sacked Haojing, King Ping of Zhou moved the capital east to Luoyi (Luoyang). Royal authority waned and the Spring and Autumn period began, in which feudal lords vied for hegemony.

Late in the Western Zhou, King You replaced his queen and heir, and the deposed queen’s father, the Marquis of Shen, brought in the Quanrong from the northwest. In 771 BC King You was killed below Mount Li and the capital Haojing was ravaged. The next year, 770 BC, King Ping moved the capital east to Luoyi (modern Luoyang); the dynasty from then on is called the Eastern Zhou.

Left with only a small domain, the royal house lost the power to control the lords. Strong lords led alliances as hegemons under the banner of “revere the king, expel the barbarians”; Duke Huan of Qi and others are known as the Five Hegemons. Named after the Spring and Autumn Annals of the state of Lu, the Spring and Autumn period lasted until the partition of Jin in 403 BC, when the Warring States period began. At the same time Gojoseon flourished with a Bronze Age culture marked by the lute-shaped bronze dagger.