Abstract
Eastern Zhou (770–221 BCE) to Han (206 BCE–220 CE) was a period of great social, cultural and political change in China. During this transitional time, China went from a land ruled by rivaling states to one dominated by a single emperor. Archaeological evidence of the 7th and 6th centuries BCE suggests that the rival states largely adhered to Zhou musical traditions. The abundance of bells and chime stones, associated with Zhou state ceremonies and ancestral rituals, serves as key evidence of this influence. Material evidence from the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, however, suggests great musical and cultural change, especially in the increasingly powerful Chu state. Despite the political demise of Chu in the 3rd century BCE, its musical and cultural impact continued well into the Han.