Palace and temple complexes of the Qizhou and Feng Hao metropolitan areas of the Western Zhou Period (1027-771 BC) according to archaeological data

Abstract

The article analyzes the archaeological material of monuments in the capital centers of Qizhou and Feng-Hao of the state of Western Zhou (1027-771 BC) and of the era before the foundation of this state (ca. 1095-1027 BC). The emergence and decline of sacred cult complexes within the metropolitan regions reflects the course of the political struggle at the court of the ruler, the result of which was the decline in the status and role of the early capital of the state in Qizhou and their increase in the second capital of the state in Feng-Hao within the framework of domestic policy. The construction of a new sacred-political center in Feng-Hao was an attempt to expand the territory of the arable lands of the state, which led to the need to interact with the Shang people and to borrow certain features of the architecture of the sacred-cult complex. These borrowings, combined with the culture of the early Zhous, form a single cultural space in the Zhou royal domain and beyond in the appanages belonging to representatives of the Ji royal family. The monumental construction of a new large palace and temple complexes in Feng-Hao confirms the creation of a new center and the increasing role of its rulers at the court in the then largest state of Shang-Yin. Qizhou continued to exist as the old residence of the ruler and as a sacred center, but the political center was located in the new capital - in Feng-Hao.