ABSTRACT
The fall of the Shang and the establishment of the Chou Dynasty was more than a dynastic change; it was the end of an era. The age of magic, with its wild dances, shamanism, divination, human sacrifices, fertility rites, and great drinking bouts was over. The Chou had attacked the Shang capital from their western territory in the Wei valley, while the main Shang forces were battling rebels in the East. Chou rule exerted control over most of the Northwest and the North China plain, the modern provinces of Shensi, part of Kansu, Shansi, Honan, Hopei, and Shantung and beyond that, an area that has been estimated as more than 282,000 square miles. Chou bronzes became documentary evidence of a new political order. The political divisions of the time were reflected in the diversity of art and life-styles between the northern and southern halves of the country.
