Western Zhou

The Western Zhou period (1046–771 BCE) was the first half of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye. C.H. Wang refers to the account of King Wu's victory over the Shang Dynasty in the Chinese Book of Songs as the "Weniad" (a name that parallels The Iliad), seeing it as part of a greater narrative discourse in China that extols the virtues of wén over more military interests.

The dynasty was successful for about seventy-five years and then slowly lost power. The former Shang lands were divided into hereditary fiefs which became increasingly independent of the king. In 771, barbarians drove the Zhou out of the Wèi River Valley; afterwards that real power was in the hands of the king's nominal vassals.