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Eastern Zhou
Second half of the Chinese Zhou dynasty (770 BCE–256 BCE) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For a state during the Warring States period, see Eastern Zhou (state).
"Dong Zhou" redirects here. For the warlord during the last years of the Han dynasty, see Dong Zhuo.
The Eastern Zhou[lower-alpha 1] (Chinese: 东周; pinyin: Dōngzhōu; Wade–Giles: Tung1 Chou1; c. 771 – 256 BC) is a period in Chinese history comprising the latter half of the Zhou dynasty following the Zhou capital's relocation eastward to Chengzhou, near present-day Luoyang. The Eastern Zhou was characterised by the weakened authority of the Zhou royal house, it is subdivided into two parts: the Spring and Autumn period (c. 771 – c. 481 BCE), during which the ancient aristocracy still held power in a large number of separate polities, and the Warring States period (c. 481 – 221 BCE), which saw the consolidation of territory and escalation of interstate warfare and administrative sophistication.
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