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Zhou Period in China

Zhou Period in China

The Zhou Dynasty began with a semi-nomadic tribe living towards the west side of the Shang Empire. With the help of their wandering ways of moving here and fro, the Zhou learned ways of working with people from other cultural backgrounds. Later, they got settled in the Wei River valley and became the vassals of the Shang. Gradually, the Zhou became stronger than the Shang. During 1040 BC, the Zhou overwhelmed the Shang in war on account of their obtaining the loyalty towards disaffected cities. Then there was Zhou capital in Xian. The Shang also kept on weakening while constantly getting defeated by the people of the north.

The constant collapse of the Shang dynasty made the Zhou conquer the Shang during the warfares. It is believed that some portion of this traditional Chinese history may have been created by the Zhou themselves, who are even acknowledged with the ideology of the Mandate of Heaven. The Zhou is believed to have made utmost use of this idea to invade the former Shang kingdom in a lawful manner. As per the Mandate of Heaven, Heaven assigns the mandate to rule over a particular family worthy of given responsibilities. However, if the Mandate or the ruler is overthrown, the conqueror gets the Mandate of Heaven.

Zhou often utilized the knowledge, lifestyle, writing system, rituals and administration techniques of the Shang families and communities. The Zhou initially had a feudal system of government, where land was occasionally given to people, and the landowners were the vassals to the king. The Zhou later divided their capital into two specific sections, one reserved for themselves, and the other one for the transported Shang whom they had sent to their cities for their skills. This was supposedly the key change in the two dynasties. The houses in both dynasties remain untouched.

In religion, the Zhou banned human sacrifice and advocated the cult (religious group) of Heaven, wherein sun and stars were worshipped more. Shang Gods were served as feudal lords to the Heaven God.

The Zhou Dynasty was also split into sub-periods, viz. the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou. The victory of Zhou over Shang gave birth to the Western period. In 771 BC, the Zhou was forced to move towards the east by the northern barbarians, and this led to the Eastern period. This period further got divided into two time periods, viz. the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). During the former time period, the Zhou lost against the feudal lords in the west. The latter period (also known as the classical age) fetched its name from the fact that the Chinese major states trying to gain power in the entire area. Flooded with great philosophers, the Warring States Period is also recognized as the One Hundred Schools Period. Religions such as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism were born during this period.

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