Finally Wen Wang's son, Wu Wang after many years led an army across the Yellow River to defeat the King of the Shang Dynasty. A new dynasty named the Zhou Dynasty was established by King Wu.
Government:
The idea of the "Mandate of Heaven"was introduced by the early leaders of the Zhou Dynasty. The leaders would gain their authority to rule from the gods was the concept behind this idea.
According to their belief the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty was because the gods allowed them to fall and the Shang had become tyrants.
The feudal system was the base of the government of the Zhou. The land got divided into fiefs by the emperor which were usually ruled by his relatives. The farmers who worked on fiefs were basically owned by the nobles who ruled those lands.
Religion:
The beginnings of two major Chinese philosophies made the latter period is the Zhou Dynasty famous; those were Confucianism and Taoism. From 551 to 479 BC was the time the Chinese philosopher Confucius lived.
The culture and government throughout the rest of the history of Ancient China was impacted by many of his saints and teachings. Another famous philosopher Lao Tzu introduced Taoism. The concept of the yin and the yang was introduced by him.
Technology:
During this period several technological advances occurred in China. Invention of cast iron was one of them enabling strong and durable iron tools and weapons to be manufactured.
Crop rotation was one of another important innovations which allowed more efficient use of the land and the addition of soybeans as a major crop.
Western and Eastern Zhou:
The Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou were the regions in which the Zhou Dynasty was often divided. The Western period is the first part of the Zhou Dynasty. A relatively peace time was there during this period. The Zhou king lost control of some of his territories around 770 BC.
Many of his lords became rebel and took over the capital city. The son of the Zhou king however built a new capital after escaping to the east. The new eastern capital which ruled the dynasty from now on is called the Eastern Zhou.
Spring and Autumn Period:
The Spring and Autumn period is termed for the first part of the Eastern Zhou. The lords of the states became somewhat independent during this period as they didn't really follow the king.
They often fought amongst each other as they did what they wanted to do. Many of the lords had conquered each other by the end of this period to where there were only seven main states.
Warring States Period:
This period lasted up until the end of the Zhou dynasty in 221 BC as it began around 475 BC. Only seven major states were left in the empire. It was very eminent that they would fight each other until only one was left.
The leader of the Qin state, Qin Shi Huang at the end of this period conquered the other six states and crowned himself as the first emperor of a united China.
Interesting Facts about the Zhou Dynasty:
A lot of the bronze vessels had detailed inscriptions on them which were made during this time. From these inscriptions archeologists have been able to learn a lot about the Zhou.
The Book of Songs which was a collection of poems was one of the most popular pieces of literature. The states were generally fought battles under a strict set of "rules".
The soldiers of the time fought with honor as they were considered chivalrous. The Art of War was a very famous book on war. It was written by Sun Tzu during this time.
The Zhou are most famous for their work with bronze although iron was introduced during this period.
Written by: Gourav Chowdhury
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