The Western Zhou period is approximately 270 years long. It began in the 10th century BC when the Zhou dynasty was established after the collapse of the Shang dynasty and continued until 771 BC when King You of Zhou was slain by Quanrong. It was during this period that the royal family gradually moved from Zhouyuan to Luoyang and Fenghao was established as a capital. This period, preceded by the Shang dynasty and followed by the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, is of great importance to Chinese history. In particular, the enfeoffment and ritual system of this period had a profound influence on Chinese culture and history.
Through archaeological discoveries, the political structure of this period is understood to have been divided into three regional circles. The first was governed by the King of the Zhou dynasty and was centered on the three capitals: Zhouyuan, Fenghao, and Chengzhou. Another one included the King’s circle, which was comprised of enfeoffed states who guarded the Zhou royal family. The third one was located further away from the Zhou’s core area, blocked off by enfeoffed states. These groups, referred to as the “Yi, Man, Rong, and Di,” did not recognize the Zhou’s authority and thus did not accept its ritual system. Outside the Zhouyuan and Fenghao sites, archaeological work on enfeoffed states are the principal discoveries amongst the archaeological achievements of the Western Zhou. For the Western Zhou people, the capital city of Chengzhou was the “center of the world.” Centered in the Luoyang region, the important archaeological discoveries included eastern states such as Qi, Lu, Teng, Lai, and Wei, northern states such as Yan, Xing, and Li, western and northwestern states such as Jin, Yang, Peng, Ba, Rui, Guo, Yu, and Qin, and southern states such as Ying, Zeng, E, and Wu.
The use of archeological discoveries, handed-down texts, and the interpretation of bronze inscriptions, contribute to our understanding of the emergence of the enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou dynasty and the relationship not only between the king of the Western Zhou and enfeoffed states, but also between the enfeoffed states themselves. Furthermore, they contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the Western Zhou political geography, basic social structure, political system, and operation.
The Western Zhou enfeoffment system significantly influenced the history of China. First, it eventually led to the collapse of the Western Zhou dynasty, bringing about a historical period of political and cultural diversity in the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Second, it affected proceeding rulers’ decisions on whether to use this enfeoffment system or a centralized monarchy political system. Third, the enfeoffment system played an important role in the integration of regional cultures and the formation of the concept of grand unification in Chinese history.
西周时期是指公元前10世纪左右周武王伐纣灭商建立周王朝，到公元前771年周 幽王被犬戎所杀，周王室不得不放弃关中的都城丰镐与周原而东迁洛阳的这一段 时间，共计大约270余年。这段历史上继殷商，下启春秋战国时期，是中国历史上 的一个重要时期，代表其政治制度和文化特征的分封制和礼乐文化对后来的中国 文化与历史走向影响深远。 通过考古发现，我们可以看出西周时期的政治格局可以分为三大圈，即由周王直 接控制的以周原、丰镐、成周三个都城为核心的京畿地区，分布于边缘区域的不 承认周王权威、不接受周王朝礼乐制度的被周人称为“夷、蛮、戎、狄”的四方和介 于王畿和四方之间，因西周王朝推行的“封建诸侯，以蕃屏周”政策而产生的众多诸 侯国所控制的封国地区。其中，封国考古的大量重要发现是除西周都城——周 原、丰镐遗址考古以外最重要的西周考古成就。 以周人观念中的“天下之中”，即西周都城——成周所在的洛阳地区为中心，考古发 现的重要诸侯国包括东方的齐、鲁、滕、莱、卫，北方的燕、邢、黎，西方和西 北方的晋、杨、倗、霸、芮、虢、（弓鱼）、秦，南方的应、曾、噩、吴，等 等。 利用这些考古发现，结合相关传世文献的记载和对青铜器铭文的释读，使我们不 仅对西周时期分封制出现的原因、西周诸侯国的性质、周王与诸侯国之间的关系 以及诸侯国之间的关系等有了清晰的认识，而且对西周时期的政治地理格局、基 本社会组织和政治体制及其运行方式等也有了较全面的认识。 西周分封制对中国历史产生了重要的影响，首先，分封制最终导致西周社会的崩 溃，带来政治、文化多元的东周历史时期；其次，分封制影响到此后中国历史上 多次出现的是采用诸侯分封制，还是采用中央集权制的不同政治体制理念与制度 之争；第三，西周分封制在中国历史上的区域文化整合与大一统观念形成方面发 挥了重要作用。

徐良高，中国社会科学院考古研究所研究员，中国社会科学院研究生院教授。
1986年毕业于北京大学考古系，2002年在英国伦敦大学考古学院学术进修与访问，2004年被聘为中国社会科学院考古研究所研究员，中国社会科学院研究生院教授。曾被聘为北京大学古代文明中心兼职研究员、日本东北学院大学客座教授。主要从事田野考古发掘、两周考古和考古学理论研究，曾主持过苏州木渎东周古城遗址的考古工作，现主持西周都城——丰镐、周原遗址的考古发掘与研究。迄今已出版学术著作3部，论文与学术报告100余篇，代表性著作有《中国民族文化源新探》、《丰镐考古八十年》、《1997年沣西发掘报告》、《先周文化的考古学探索》、《陕西扶风云塘西周建筑基址的初步认识》、《文化因素定性分析与“商代青铜礼器文化圈”研究》、《中国三代时期的文化大传统与小传统》、《考古学研究中的解读与建构》、《民族国家史的建构与“最早的中国”之说》、《近代民族国家史建构中的“中国文明唯一延续论”》，等等。