2500 to 3000 years ago, Zhou(周朝Zhōucháo) people lived a poetic life as described in Zhouli (Ritual of Zhou Dynasty) and Shijing (The Book of Songs, China’s first ancient poems collections). The profile and details of Zhou people, whether from archeological evidences or in people’s imagination, are intriguing and thought provoking. However, we do not know exactly the location of the dynasty’s capital and the kings’ tombs of Zhou.

Is Zhouyuan the site of Western Zhou capital?

The Zhouyuan, which is at the foot of Qi Shan, or Mountain Qi, is where Zhou people lived before they overthrew the Shang Dynasty (16-11th century BC). A large quantity of bronze wares of the Western Zhou Dynasty unearthed there since the Qing Dynasty has proved this point. Therefore, a lot of archeological researches to look for the Western Zhou capital have been carried out here since the 1930s.

In 1976, there was an important archeological finding in Zhouyuan. Archeologists found two large-scale building relics and excavated a large quantity of oracle bones. The more important finding appeared in December of that year, in which 103 pieces of bronze wares were found.

In 2003, archeologists had more harvest, when about 27 pieces of bronze wares in the cellar were unearthed in Yangjiacun Village, and later thousands of potteries in a Western Zhou workshop were unearthed. The pottery was made in different periods of the dynasty in China.