Page 270 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

riage of Zhou and nomadic traditions (the latter are echoed in a bronze sculpture of a tiger
4
attacking a deer ). Zhou culture was likely a model for the kingdoms that surrounded it; cer-
tainly, Zhou writing and rituals (including bronze and jade ritual implements) were adopted by
neighboring cultures. From an aesthetic perspective, moreover, these cultures were the equal of
those that inhabited the Central Plains. Long held in disfavor by Zhou historians and orthodox
historiographers, Chu and Zhongshan emerged from the "barbarian" south and north to consti-
tute major forces, together with the states of Wu, Yue, Qi, Jin, Yan Qin, and Shu, in the forma-
tion of what we know today as "the Chinese." Ironically perhaps, it was another "barbarian"
state — Qin in the northwest — that united ancient China in 221 BCE. XY

1 For an English-language text that provides additional 3 For a comprehensive discussion of Chu culture see Zhang
background regarding this period, see Li Xueqin 1985. Zhengming 1991; for an examination of Chu bronzes, see
2 Zhang Zhengming's eighteen-volume study (19953) Mackenzie 1991,107-157.
provides an overview of the Chu kingdom and its culture. 4 Illustrated in Hubei 19853, 2: color pis. 32-33.

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