King Wu of Zhou was the founder and first king of the Zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later.
Depiction of King Wu by Ma Lin
As depicted in the album Portraits of Famous Men c. 1900 CE, housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Zhou dynasty was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from c. 1046 BC until 256 BC, the longest such reign in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period, the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military control over ancient China. Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for the Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC.
States of the Western Zhou dynasty
Western Zhou bronze pot (896 BC), Fufeng County, Shaanxi – Baoji Zhouyuan Museum
A Western Zhou ceremonial bronze of cooking-vessel form inscribed to record that the King of Zhou gave a fiefdom to Shi You, ordering that he inherit the title as well as the land and people living there
Silk painting depicting a man riding a dragon, painting on silk, dated to 5th–3rd century BC, from Zidanku Tomb no. 1 in Changsha, Hunan
