Zhou dynasty

Boundaries of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050 - 771 BC) in China

ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2070–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BCE
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE–220 CE
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280 CE
Wei, Shu & Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420 CE
Western Jin
Eastern Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439 CE
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589 CE
Sui Dynasty 581–619 CE
Tang Dynasty 618–907 CE
5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms 907–960 CE	Liao Dynasty 907–1125 CE
Song Dynasty 960–1279 CE
Northern Song		W. Xia Dyn.
Southern Song	Jin Dyn.
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 CE
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 CE
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 CE
MODERN
Republic of China 1911–1949
People's Republic of China 1949–present	Republic of China (on Taiwan)
Timeline of Chinese history Dynasties in Chinese history Military history of China Naval history of China Economic history of China Linguistic history of China History of Chinese art History of science and technology in China History of education in China

The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: 周朝; pinyin: Zhōu Cháo; Wade-Giles: Chou Ch`ao; 1123 BC to 256 BC^[1]) preceded by the Shang Dynasty and followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other in Chinese history--though the actual political and military control of China by the dynasty only lasted during the Western Zhou. During the Zhou, the use of iron was introduced to China ^[2], while this period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making. The dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved from the ancient stage as seen in early Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, to the beginnings of the modern stage, in the form of the archaic clerical script of the late Warring States period.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the origins of matured Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BC. The greatest Chinese philosophers, those who made the greatest impact on later generations of Chinese, were Kong Fuzi (Latin: Confucius), founder of Confucianism, and Laozi, founder of Daoism. Other philosophers, theorists, and schools of thought in this era were Mozi (Latin: Micius), founder of Mohism, Mengzi (Latin: Mencius), a famous Confucian who expanded upon Kong Fuzi's legacy, Shang Yang and Han Feizi, responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism (the core philosophy of the Qin Dynasty), and Xunzi, who was arguably the center of ancient Chinese intellectual life during his time. Even more so then intellectual iconic figures such as Mencius.^[3] In an age of intellectual sophistication, Chinese philosophy of this period has been often compared to its contemporary in ancient Greece.

Mandate of Heaven

A Western Zhou bronze gui vessel, c. 1000 BC

In the Chinese historical tradition, the Zhou defeated the Shang and oriented the Shang system of ancestor worship toward a universalized worship away from the worship of Di and to that of Tian or "heaven". They legitimized their rule by invoking the Mandate of Heaven, the notion that the ruler (the "Son of Heaven") governed by divine right but that his dethronement would prove that he had lost the mandate. Such things that proved the ruling family had lost the Mandate were natural disasters and rebellions. The doctrine explained and justified the demise of the Xia and Shang Dynasties and at the same time supported the legitimacy of present and future rulers. The Zhou dynasty was founded by the Ji family and had its capital at Hào (鎬, near the present-day city of Xi'an in the Wei River valley). Sharing the language and culture of the Shang, the early Zhou rulers, through conquest and colonization, established a large imperial territory wherein states as far as Shandong acknowledged Zhou rulership and took part in elite culture. The spread of Zhou bronzes, though, was concurrent with the continued use of Shang style pottery in the distant regions and these states were the first to recede during the late Western Zhou.

Zhou military

The early Western Zhou supported a strong military split into two major units: “The Six Armies of the West” and “The Eight Armies of Chengzhou”. The armies campaigned in the northern Loess Plateau, modern Ningxia and the Huanghe floodplain. The military prowess of Zhou peaked during the 19th year of King Zhao's reign, when the Six Armies were wiped out along with King Zhao on a campaign around the Han River, Zhou power declined ever since. The Zhou period saw the introduction of the use of massed chariots in battle, a technology imported from Central Asia.^[4]

Fengjian (Feudalism)

In the West, the Zhou period is often described as feudal because the Zhou's early rule invites comparison with medieval rule in Europe. However, historians debate whether or not this description is valid; the more appropriate term for the Zhou Dynasty's political arrangement would be from the Chinese language itself: the Fēngjiàn (封建) system. The Zhou amalgam of city-states became progressively centralized and established increasingly impersonal political and economic institutions. These developments, which probably occurred in the later Zhou period, were manifested in greater central control over local governments and a more routinized agrarian taxation. Zhou officials were not paid a salary but instead were given semi-regular gifts by the King, which often included land in the Wei River valley. Imperial stability was ensured through marriages between the Zhou court and local lords as well as the installment of Zhou lords into command over distant regions.

Western and Eastern Zhou

Western Zhou Dynasty musical bronze bell

Initially the Ji family was able to control the country firmly. In 771 BCE, after King You had replaced his queen with a concubine Baosi, the capital was sacked by the joint force of the queen's father, who was the powerful Marquess of Shen, and a nomadic tribe, the Quanrong. The queen's son Ji Yijiu was proclaimed the new king by the nobles from the states of Zheng, Lü, Qin and the Marquess of Shen. The capital was moved eastward in 722 BC to Luoyang in present-day Henan Province.

Because of this shift, historians divide the Zhou era into the Western Zhou (西周, pinyin Xī Zhōu), lasting up until 771 BC, and the Eastern Zhou (Traditional Chinese: 東周, Simplified Chinese: 东周, pinyin: Dōng Zhōu) from 770 up to 256 BC. The beginning year of the Western Zhou has been disputed - 1122 BC, 1027 BC and other years within the hundred years from late 12th century BC to late 11th century BC have been proposed. Chinese historians take 841 BC as the first year of consecutive annual dating of the history of China, based on the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian. The Eastern Zhou corresponds roughly to two subperiods. The first, from 722 to 481 BC, is called the Spring and Autumn Period, after a famous historical chronicle of the time; the second is known as the Warring States Period (480 to 221 BC), after another famous chronicle. The Warring States Period extends slightly past the 256 BC end date of the Eastern Zhou; this discrepancy is due to the fact that the last Zhou king's reign ended in 256, 35 years before the beginning of the Qin dynasty which ended the Warring States period. The Eastern Zhou period is also designated as a period of a hundred schools. This is a reference to the different schools of historical Chinese intellectual thought. There were four main distinct schools which were the Ru, Mohist, Daoist, and Legalists. These schools of thought contributed to social, philosophical and political change which played a large part in the decline of the Zhou dynasty.^[5]

Decline

With the royal line broken, the power of the Zhou court gradually diminished, and the fragmentation of the kingdom accelerated. From Ping Wang onwards, the Zhou kings ruled in name only, with true power lying in the hands of powerful nobles. Towards the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the nobles did not even bother to acknowledge the Ji family symbolically, rebelled and declared themselves to be kings. The dynasty had disappeared some years prior to Qin Shi Huang's unification of China in 223 BC.

Agriculture

Zhou vase with glass inlays, 4th-3rd century BCE, British Museum.

Agriculture in the Zhou Dynasty was very intensive and in many cases directed by the government. All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their serfs, a situation similar to European feudalism. For example, a piece of land was divided into nine squares in the shape of the character for "water well," jing (井), with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers. This way, the government was able to store surplus food and distribute it in times of famine or bad harvest. Some important manufacturing sectors during this period included bronze smelting, which was integral to making weapons and farming tools. Again, these industries were dominated by the nobility who directed the production of such materials.

China's first projects of hydraulic engineering were founded during the Zhou Dynasty, ultimately for means to aid agricultrual irrigation. The Prime Minister of Wei, Sunshu Ao, who served King Zhuang of Chu (楚莊王) (died 591 BC) dammed a river to create an enormous irrigation reservoir in modern-day northern Anhui province. For this Sunshu is credited as China's first hydraulic engineer. The later Wei statesman Ximen Bao, who served Marquis Wen of Wei (文侯) (445 BC-396 BC), is the first hydraulic engineer of China to have created a large irrigation canal system. As the main focus of his grandiose project, his canal work eventually diverted the waters of the entire Zhang River to a spot further up the Huang He River.

Gallery from the Shanghai Museum

Defang bronze ritual vessel, Western Zhou Dynasty	Dake bronze ritual vessel, Western Zhou Dynasty	You bronze ritual vessel, Western Zhou Dynasty	Qizhong Hu bronze vessel, Western Zhou Dynasty
Dou vessel with a hunting scene, Eastern Zhou Dynasty	A bo vessel of the Duke of Qin, Eastern Zhou Dynasty	Pu vessel with dragon designs, Eastern Zhou Dynasty	A jade bi with two dragons, Eastern Zhou Dynasty
Eastern Zhou bronze ritual food vessel (ding) with lacquer design, 5th-4th century BC	An Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze ding vessel	An Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze musical bell	Western and Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels
An Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze and silver canteen	An Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze basin	An Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze bird-shaped wine server	Eastern Zhou Dynasty bronze bell set

Zhou dynasty kings

The first generally accepted date in Chinese history is 841 BC, the beginning of the Gonghe regency. All dates prior to this are the subject of often vigorous dispute. The dates provided here are those put forward by the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project, the work of scholars sponsored by the Chinese government which reported in 2000. They are given only as a guide. The complete version of the final report was never published due to technical controversies, a conference to be held in 2003 was cancelled.

See also

• Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project

Footnotes

References

• Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan. (1999). Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series). Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464039
• Shen, Sinyan (1987), Acoustics of Ancient Chinese Bells, Scientific American, 256, 94.
• Sun, Yan. 2006. "Cultural and Political Control in North China: Style and Use of the Bronzes of Yan at Liulihe during the Early Western Zhou." In: Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World. Edited by Victor H. Mair. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. Pages 215-237. ISBN 9780824828844; ISBN 0824828844.
• Feng, Li. 2006. Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC
• Schirokauer & Brown 2006. "A Brief history of Chinese civilization: second edition" Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, pp.25-47

External links

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Zhou Dynasty

• History of the Zhou Dynasty by Leon Poon

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zh-classical:周zh-yue:周朝

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