The economic role of cities in Eastern Zhou China

An oft-mentioned aspect of the comprehensive sociopolitical and economic transformation of continental East Asia during the Eastern Zhou period (771-221 BCE) is the rise of a market economy undergirded by extensive trading networks in which urban centers-cities-were the principal nodes. This paper takes a preliminary look at the archaeological evidence presently available that can help us understand this development in a concrete fashion. What were Eastern Zhou-period cities like, and how did they change in response to the economic challenges of the epoch?