The Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou people were good farmers. When the Western Zhou was started, there were further developments in agriculture. There were copper farming tools and numerous types of crops. People began to improve the farming method. The farmers often worked in pairs. They usually divided the farmlands into three parts. One part was left fallow each year. The soil would not become bad easily.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the farmers used better fertilizers, such as ash and the manure of men and animals, to improve the soil. In those days, people began to use tools made of iron. With the help of cattle, less time and labour were spent. Moreover, people made use of the principle of lever to create some simple tools such as jie gao and luk lou. These could help them obtain water from wells to irrigate their farmlands.

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