The nobility of the Zhou dynasty refers to the power dynamics of the aristocracy in Zhou dynasty China. The nobility interacted with the royal apparatus of state across multiple dimensions of relationship, and in ways that changed over time. This has been subject to considerable misunderstanding due to a philosophical attempt to project backwards in time upon the Western Zhou dynasty a systematization of noble titles where none existed. In translation, these misunderstandings have been compounded by an enduring false equivalence between titles of Zhou nobles and those of European feudal peers, as well as inattention to context in certain use cases. Chinese bronze inscriptions and other archaeologically excavated texts have helped clarify the historical situation.