Zhou Dynasty History

China during the classical period, a span of time stretching from 1000 B.C.E.-500 C.E., was ruled by many families, each having their own dynasty. The very first dynasty of this period was the Zhou, coming into power after overthrowing the Shang. The last Shang emperor, Di Xin, had essentially abandoned matters of the state in favor of hedonistic activities, using tax money to fund them and therefore becoming very unpopular. This caused the Zhou uprising which led to the establishment of the Mandate of Heaven, a concept that not only allowed the Zhou to gain and maintain cultural power of the Chinese people, but led to widespread notions in Chinese society of the validity of autocracy and a need for extremely centralized government that would

The Vedic Age and the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties set the ground work for some of the prevailing spiritual principals of their societies. On the surface, these beliefs appear to be different, but a closer look may uncover some similar experiences and commonalities.

In the period 1046B.C- 256B.C the Zhou Dynasy ruled. Next, during 221B.C -206B.C, the Qin Dynasty ruled. Finally from 400 years to 220C.E, the Han Dynaty ruled. Throughout all these dynasties, political, economical, social,and religion, were problems which led to different scenerious.

This section will answer or provide context to the question: How did the Enfeoffment system successfully create sustainability of the ancient Chinese empire during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BCE)? The two sources will dig in and excavate the information about the Enfeoffment system, along with its significant contribution to the stabilization of the society.

Despite being the shortest ruling dynasty at fifteen years, the Qin dynasty served a vital role in the development of China’s civilization (51). The Qin dynasty was prefaced by a period of instability caused by an ineffective political system and war between several regions all vying to overtake the others. After the Qin kingdom rose as the victor, King Cheng established for himself the title of Shi huangdi, or emperor, and looked to create a political system that would prevent the empire from fragmenting again. To achieve such a centralized government, Shi Huangdi sacrificed his people’s intellectual freedom and lives and produced a connected and standardized China, whose efficiency and strength still impacts the vision

Within the years of 221-206 BCE, the Qin Dynasty rose as a superpower. During this time period, the Warring States Era, Chinese civilization was impacted tremendously in almost every aspect. These hallmarks in history vary from the spreading of Legalism to the birth of the Great Wall of China. Through these countless contributions, the Qin Dynasty was able to revolutionize the Chinese civilization in such a short period of time.

How did the Qin Dynasty make an impact during it’s Reign in 221-207 B.C.and influence China till the modern day?

Humans have made huge accomplishments throughout history. Many of these accomplishments have changed the world. Some of these accomplishments have come from dynasties and empires that wanted to expand their knowledge and ideas. Some of these things have affected other civilizations after them and some didn’t have that much of an impact. A lot of these achievements and accomplishments are basic things in our everyday lives that these civilizations have took time and effort to come up with. Ancient China has been one of the numerous places that have made accomplishments. Many ancient Chinese dynasties have accomplished many things that have affected the world. The Tang dynasty’s accomplishments in art, farming, gunpowder, and literature have

During the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, violence and chaos were soaring in China. In an attempt to achieve justice, various philosophers offered solutions in order to restore social and political order. From these efforts, three significant ethical systems were founded. These three major schools of philosophy, Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism, are creations of unique views that portray their ideas of adequate societies as well as their perspectives on how one should govern.

During the Zhou dynasty, Chinas economic and social standpoints began to take place. They continued with the farming and agricultural path, trade, and manufacturing ways. Merchants and artisans lived in small towns, owned by the landlord, leaving many to work in groups. There were groups of slaves, most likely prisoners of war, that worked alongside merchnats and traders. Even though there were slaves, scholars do not believe that that slavery was profoundly important during this era due to it not obtaining a large group of the population. The citizens of the Zhou age were able to construct extensive water restriction projects to monitor the flow of water into the fields. They were soon able to create a system of canals and spillways that helped

2. Albert M. Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, Frank M. Turner. “China‘s First Empire”. The Heritage of World Civilizations. 1: 1152 (2007, 2005, 2002) Pearson Education, Inc. New

Chinese Dynasties: 1. Shang: Also called Yin, dynasty that was China's earliest historically verifiable state 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C. A. Reason's for Rise: Unlike the early accounts of history by the Chinese, there is archaeological evidence of the Shang, who built their cities in northern China around the eastern parts of the Yellow River. For this reason they are called the Yellow River civilization. They were a bronze age people; bronze-working seems to have entered China around 2000 BC (about one thousand years after its invention in Mesopotamia). B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The Shang ruled the area from the North China Plain northward into present-day Shantung Province and westward to the tip of Honan

Before the Qin Dynasty, China was composed of a network of city states that were loyal to the Chinese king. The seven Warring States had their own institutions that were run by aristocrats. The Qin Dynasty took initiative to expand their territory and to unite the Chinese empire together. Through their ruthless military techniques the Qin Dynasty was able to conquer the city states in China. The Qin Dynasty ruled from 221 BCE – 206 BCE; during their regime, Emperor Qin’s primary goal was to unify the Chinese people. Even though the Qin Dynasty was a short-lived empire, it played a major role in unifying the Chinese empire and provided a foundation for succeeding regimes through a centralized government, standardized systems, and through infrastructure.

Rhoads Murphey describes the history of China history is on the succession of dynasties that ruled it over a period of time until around 1912 when Republic of china was formed before rising to the current People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. In China, a dynasty was made up of Kings or emperors that came from the same family. They ruled in succession where a king could be inherited by his son or his immediate relatives. Although china’s history is majorly regarded on the basis of dynastic ruling, other small kingdoms were established that ruled different part of china. For example, in 200AD, the fall of great Han dynasty triggered formation of smaller kingdoms all over the china which were later united by a short lived Sui Dynasty that reigned between 580 and 618 AD.

The Six Dynasty period in Chinese historiography is often classified with moments of conflict, revolt, strife, famine, disunity, and not innovation. Historians and academics categorize the period as a placeholder between the more significant Han China—206 BCE to 220 CE—and the Tang dynasty—618 to 907 CE. Understandably, Han China’s military, infrastructure, and civil capabilities were rivalled only by that of the Roman Empire, and even then, the Han dynasties administrative capabilities were rivalled by none. The Tang period is widely considered to be the high point of Chinese culture and civilization, where cosmopolitan China emerged with force vastly shaping China for centuries to come. The significance of the Han and Tang dynasties is not in question, it is the lack of importance that historians confer on the Six Dynasties period. Admittedly the Six Dynasty period in Chinese history can be categorized as a warring period, in which China did not develop unilaterally, but separately along fractured lines (split both north-south, and east-west). Much like the European medieval period, there are few accessible sources from early-medieval china, and because of this, China’s six dynasty period is brushed over as a period of little advancement and innovation. The “Dark Ages” in Europe use to receive the same scholarly interpretation as a period of stagnation.