The Sacred Origins of Zhou Agriculture

The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) built its civilization on agricultural mastery that traced back to its mythical origins. According to historical records preserved in texts like the Records of the Grand Historian, the Zhou people’s ancestral founder Qi demonstrated extraordinary agricultural talents from childhood. The young Qi showed unusual interest in cultivating hemp and beans, developing into an agricultural expert who could identify the most suitable crops for different soils. His reputation grew so great that Emperor Yao appointed him as Minister of Agriculture, and Emperor Shun praised him for saving people from famine by teaching proper grain cultivation.

This agricultural legacy became enshrined in Zhou culture through religious veneration. Qi became worshipped as Hou Ji, the God of Millet and Agriculture, with sacrifices continuing from the Shang through Zhou periods. The Book of Songs contains hymns like Birth of the People and Duke Liu that celebrate these agricultural traditions, showing how deeply farming was woven into Zhou identity. This sacred connection between rulership and agricultural success would shape Zhou governance for centuries.

The Agricultural Toolkit of Zhou Farmers

Zhou farmers employed sophisticated sets of tools that archaeological discoveries have brought to light. The political text Guanzi lists six essential implements every farmer needed: spades, hoes, plows, hammers, sickles, and specialized cutting tools. Excavations across former Zhou territories have revealed these tools in various materials, providing concrete evidence of ancient farming practices.

### Digging and Soil Preparation

The most common digging tools were spades (si) made of stone, bone, or bronze:
– Stone spades: Over 23 found at Zhangjiapo and Keshangzhuang sites near the Zhou capital. A typical example measures 12 cm long with an arched blade.
– Bone spades: 143 discovered at the same sites, including a trapezoidal flat-bladed version (14.1 cm tall) and a perforated model (10 cm tall) likely for attaching handles.
– Bronze spades: Rarer due to metal value, but examples like the 13 cm tall specimen from Feng-Hao capital show advanced metalworking with socketed handles.

### Harvesting Technology

Harvesting tools demonstrate remarkable specialization:
– Stone knives: 134 found at Zhou sites, typically rectangular or crescent-shaped with 1-2 holes for hafting. The double-hole design (9.2 cm long) allowed secure attachment to wooden handles.
– Sickles: Bone and shell versions predominated, with 94 shell sickles found at Zhangjiapo. These curved tools closely resemble modern sickle designs.
– Multi-purpose axes: Larger bronze axes may have served agricultural purposes for clearing land or processing wood.

The Bronze Debate in Zhou Agriculture

The relative scarcity of bronze farm tools (compared to stone and bone) has sparked scholarly debate. While only about 30 bronze agricultural implements have been archaeologically confirmed, several factors suggest broader bronze tool use:

1. Metal recycling: Valuable bronze tools were melted and recast rather than discarded. Zhengzhou Shang-era foundries contained numerous tool molds, indicating significant production.
2. Status symbols: Bronze tools found in elite tombs (like those at Luoyang Beiyao and Baoji Zhuyuangou) suggest their cultural value.
3. Textual evidence: Ritual texts like Etiquette and Ceremonial mention burying farming tools with the dead, confirming their social importance.

This evidence suggests bronze played a greater agricultural role than artifact counts alone would indicate, though stone and bone remained essential for most farmers.

The Zhou Agricultural Revolution

Advancements in tools supported remarkable agricultural diversification. Zhou texts mention “hundred grains,” with six staples predominating: rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, hemp, and beans. Archaeological evidence confirms this diversity:

– Carbonized grains: Millet in Feng-Hao (Shaanxi), rice in Jiangsu and Hubei, wheat in Anhui
– Textile crops: Hemp cloth fragments found in Yangjiabao, Shaanxi
– Bronze inscriptions: Vessels like Bogongfu Xu list offerings of “glutinous rice, millet, and sorghum”

This agricultural wealth appears in poetic descriptions of full granaries and abundant harvests. The Book of Songs poem Abundant Year celebrates: “Plentiful the millet and rice/And our high granaries/With myriads, and millions, and billions of sheaves.”

Pioneering Aquaculture in the Zhou Period

Beyond field cultivation, the Zhou developed sophisticated aquaculture, as shown by the remarkable Sunzhai site in Henan:

### The Sunzhai Fish Farming Complex
Discovered near the Huai River, this late Zhou facility featured:
– A 42-meter main tank divided into 10 smaller ponds
– Precise engineering with wooden dividers and bamboo/wooden equipment
– Species identification: Carp and crucian carp bones found, including 55 cm specimens
– Support structures: Wooden oars, fish traps, and possible feeding platforms

This represents the world’s earliest known large-scale aquaculture system, matching the Book of Songs description of King Wen’s stocked ponds at Ling Palace.

The Enduring Legacy of Zhou Agriculture

The Zhou agricultural revolution established patterns that shaped Chinese civilization:
1. State-agriculture connection: The divine link between rulership and farming success became a Confucian ideal
2. Tool development: Zhou implements evolved into the iron tools of later dynasties
3. Crop diversity: The Zhou “hundred grains” formed the foundation of Chinese cuisine
4. Land management: Field systems developed during this period influenced later land policies

Modern China still celebrates Hou Ji as the god of agriculture, while Zhou-era poems about farming remain cultural touchstones. The archaeological discoveries at sites like Sunzhai continue to rewrite our understanding of ancient technological sophistication, proving the Zhou Dynasty’s agricultural innovations were as foundational to Chinese civilization as its famous philosophical traditions.