why did the zhou dynasty last so long

These hegemons periodically convened interstate meetings to manage such matters as misbehaving states or foreign invasions. Other states came to the rescue, relocating the kings son, Prince Ping, to the eastern capital at Luoyang. In later centuries, in China, Confucius was revered as a sage and teacher, and even today outside of China some people might think of him as a stern pedant, perhaps calling to mind sayings beginning with The Master said. However, in the context of his time, Confucius was anything but stiff and rather a dynamic individual who believed he was mandated by Heaven to return the world to a more socially and politically harmonious time. There was also a great philosophical flowering: the schools of Confucianism, Daoism, and legalism developed in that period. For example, a piece of land was divided into nine squares in the well-field system, with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers. Prior to the Warring States Period, Zhou kings were still accorded a level of respect, at least as symbols of unity and nominal heads of the Zhou feudal order. The noble person, filial piety, humaneness, etiquette, Heaven, and government by men of virtue are just some of the ideas Confucius discussed as he traveled the feudal states seeking to advise their lords. In later centuries, the Daoism of these early philosophers was taken in new directions. A noble looked for a pretext to engage in a vendetta with another lord, at which point a battle was arranged and then carried out according to the protocols of chivalry. Traditionally, it has been given as 1122 bce, and that date has been successively revised as scholars have uncovered more archaeological evidence. The Sui Dynasty was a short, intense dynasty, with great conquests and achievements, such as the Grand Canal and the rebuilding of the Great Wall. Confucius lived just prior to the Warring States Period (551-479 BCE). To achieve these goals, techniques were developed, including special dietary regimens, yoga, Chinese boxing, meditation, and alchemy. One obvious difference is that the Zhou ruled from walled cities rather than castles. However, a rebellion broke out before the whole Shang territory could be consolidated by the Zhou. The dukedom fell in 249 BC. Confucius lived just prior to the Warring States Period (551-479 BCE). The Shang dynasty had begun with wise and benevolent rulers, but later kings were cruel and incompetent, and failed to see to the well-being of their subjects. This Heaven is less a deity than a higher moral order, a kind of beneficent presence. Now, many generations later, his state was a formidable power on the east coast. Burgeoning turmoil also inspired much thinking about what was needful to restore order and create a good society, as well as what defined the good life. (View the image of a Warring States Period soldier at the following link: http://brandonqindynasty.weebly.com/9/8580061.jpeg. Later generations of Chinese have regularly studied the Zhou dynasty for information regarding the origin of their civilization. Historians call this method of governing Zhou kinship feudalism. Their embryonic bureaucracies included such features as a system of official posts, salaries paid in grain and gifts, administrative codes, and methods for measuring a servants performance. 'The Woman of the Ji clan from Li') to Duke Xian of Jin. Upon being elected as their leader, the Zhou king conferred the title of hegemon. The range of applied decoration for the first time included pictorial subjectsfor example, hunting scenes and chariots and horsemen. Trade was increased, towns grew up, coinage was developed, chopsticks came into use, and the Chinese writing system was created out of its primitive beginnings in the Shang period. However, he only managed to hold some minor offices in Lu and generally failed in his political aspirations. The partition of the Jin state created seven major warring states. The military control of China by the royal house, surnamed Ji, lasted initially from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou, and the political sphere of influence it created continued well into the Eastern Zhou period for another 500 years. Yet, it would be wrong to conclude that he wasnt religious in any sense, because he frequently spoke of Heaven. [56] One of the Zhou ruling houses devised a plan to conquer the Shang, and a decisive battle was fought, probably in the mid-11th century bce. It persisted all the way from the 11th to the 3rd century BC. These Daoists largely rejected Confucian ideas about human moral development and social order as artificial constructs. [21] Cultural artifacts of the Western Rong coexisted with Western Zhou bronze artifacts, displaying influences between them. Established during the Western period, the Li (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: l) ritual system encoded an understanding of manners as an expression of the social hierarchy, ethics, and regulation concerning material life; the corresponding social practices became idealized within Confucian ideology. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Other philosophers, theorists, and schools of thought in this era were Mozi, founder of Mohism; Mencius, a famous Confucian who expanded upon Confucius' legacy; Shang Yang and Han Fei, responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism (the core philosophy of the Qin dynasty); and Xun Zi, who was arguably the center of ancient Chinese intellectual life during his time, even more so than iconic intellectual figures such as Mencius.[54]. In brief, Zhou kings ability to control the noble lords diminished over time, and their prestige suffered accordingly. When did they finish building the Great Wall of China? K.E. But it was his son King Wu (Martial King) who brought down the Shang Dynasty. In 771 BCE, in what became a telling sign of weakness, the Zhou king was murdered and his young successor was compelled to relocate farther east, to a capital closer to the heart of the North China Plain. Large bronzes were cast to commemorate these occasions (see Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). Taibo and Zhongyong had supposedly already fled to the Yangtze delta, where they established the state of Wu among the tribes there. During the turmoil of the Warring States period, other individuals developed a philosophy very different from Confucianism called Daoism. We return to that topic after reviewing the ideas put forward by philosophers in the context of these centuries of turmoil. Those who belonged to it are Confuciansindividuals distinguished by their commitment to the ideas articulated by Confucius, classical learning, and the value they place on character and conduct as the key to a good society and political order. Finally, one of those small kingdoms, Qin (from which derives modern Chinas name), succeeded in conquering the rest of the states and establishing the Qin dynasty (221207 bce). The farther removed, the lesser the political authority". Major philosophies and religions emerged that were the basis of Chinese belief in later eras, such as Confucianism and Daoism. Instead, this warrior nobility engaged in an escalating contest for power and prestige. [12] Ju's son Liu,[13] however, led his people to prosperity by restoring agriculture and settling them at a place called Bin,[c] which his descendants ruled for generations. Now, many generations later, his state was a formidable power on the east coast. There were many similarities between the decentralized systems. One of the duties and privileges of the king was to create a royal calendar. Confucius was born to a family of minor nobility and modest means in the feudal state of Lu. The noble person is concerned with rightness, the small person is concerned with profit. (4.16) Confucius redefined the meaning of nobility. [17][e] The Zhou emulated extensively Shang cultural practices, perhaps to legitimize their own rule,[20] and became the successors to Shang culture. The glue that held the Zhou feudal order together was deference to the king and his Mandate and reverence for their shared historyincluding, most importantly, the deceased spirits of their related ancestors. These Daoists largely rejected Confucian ideas about human moral development and social order as artificial constructs. [51], The Zhou army also included "Barbarian" troops such as the Di people. Historians believe the Old Master was a fictional sage invented by Warring States Period philosophers who compiled the book attributed to him. He saw the practice of morality in the family as the root. All warfare is deception, Master Sun states. [37], Zhou rulers introduced what was to prove one of East Asia's most enduring political doctrines: the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven". [40] After the Zhou came to power, the mandate became a political tool. overthrew the last Shang king and formed a new dynasty about 1100 BC. The Zhou dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved from the oracle script and bronze script into the seal script, and then finally into an almost-modern form with the use of an archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period. He held this title (duke) and fief (Qi) because his distant ancestor had served as a commander under King Wu during the Zhou founding. During the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army calmed down the Western Regions again, but set the capital of Xinjiang to Yili. A noble looked for a pretext to engage in a vendetta with another lord, at which point a battle was arranged and then carried out according to the protocols of chivalry. In the 8th century bce the political system, which had essentially consisted of a network of extended family, began to weaken seriously. 4. At their royal palaces, Zhou kings conducted ceremonies of investiture during which they sacrificed to Heaven and the spirits of deceased ancestors, held banquets, and then bestowed noble titles and grants of land upon members of the royal family and relatives by marriage. With King You dead, a conclave of nobles met at Shen and declared the Marquis's grandson King Ping. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. [35] In 403 BC, the Zhou court recognized Han, Zhao, and Wei as fully independent states. King Zhao was famous for repeated campaigns in the Yangtze areas and died in his last action. In addition to these rulers, King Wu's immediate ancestors Danfu, Jili, and Wen are also referred to as "Kings of Zhou", despite having been nominal vassals of the Shang kings. To support the empire in the east and its loyal feudal rulers, an eastern capital was built at Luoyang on the middle reaches of the Huang He. For more than 800 years (9-17 centuries), the Central Plains dynasty failed to effectively control Xinjiang (the Xinjiang was directly under the jurisdiction of Chahe Tai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty). Whenever new territory was added or a noble line was extinguished, kings created counties and appointed magistrates to manage the villages and towns in that area. So where did the other sons of Qin Shihuang finally go? Omissions? Especially Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi. 1046 BCE - 771 BCE. The system was canonized in the Book of Rites, Zhouli, and Yili compendiums of the Han dynasty (206 BC220 AD), thus becoming the heart of the Chinese imperial ideology. Paradoxically, although the Dao is indescribable and cant be seen or heard, the goal of the Daoist is to accord with and follow it. From there, they governed a predominantly rural population of farmers living in villages where life was not easy. This practice meant that lesser but related aristocratic lineages lived in estates across each nobles territory, while also serving as ministers at his court. [2], China's first projects of hydraulic engineering were initiated during the Zhou dynasty, ultimately as a means to aid agricultural irrigation. The Zhou kings contended that heaven favored their triumph because the last Shang kings had been evil men whose policies brought pain to the people through waste and corruption. 2. Zhou, Wade-Giles romanization Chou, also called Zi Zhou, or Dixin, (born early 11th century? The Zhou dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhu; Old Chinese (): *tiw) was a royal dynasty of China (1046 BC - 256 BC) that followed the Shang dynasty.Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history.The military control of China by the royal house, surnamed Ji, lasted initially from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou, and the . Eventually, a Daoist church developed, with its own ordained priesthood, temples, and monasteries. Daoist masters, claiming divine inspiration, composed esoteric texts for their followers that explained how the natural world originated from a primordial ether (qi) and its division into two polar forces: the yin and yang (see Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)). King Xuan fought the Quanrong nomads in vain. Therefore, they devised better ways to control land in their realms. Under this system, it was the prerogative of spiritual authority to withdraw support from any wayward ruler and to find another, more worthy one. The king and his regent did so by implementing three policies. Any ruler who failed in this duty, who let instability creep into earthly affairs, or who let his people suffer, would lose the mandate. This manual of military strategy and tactics stresses the importance of formulating a strategy that ensures victory prior to any campaigning. The manual of military strategy and tactics attributed to him stresses the importance of formulating a strategy that insures victory prior to any campaigning. The dust and sand fell like a drizzle, but it did not last long. One description of an elite soldier states that he wears heavy armor, shoulders a large crossbow and fifty arrows, straps a halberd to his back, buckles a helmet to his head, and places a sword to his side.) If those who lead do so by virtue and conduct themselves according to rules of propriety, people will learn from them and develop a sense of honor and shame. The magistrates job would then be to register the population, maintain law and order, collect tax revenue, and conscript people for labor projects and military campaigns. King Li led 14 armies against barbarians in the south, but failed to achieve any victory. We return to that topic after reviewing the ideas put forward by philosophers in the context of these centuries of turmoil. At their royal palaces, Zhou kings conducted ceremonies of investiture during which they sacrificed to Heaven and the spirits of deceased ancestors, held banquets, and then bestowed noble titles and grants of land upon members of the royal family and relatives by marriage. After announcing the impending campaign at the ancestral temple, a lord and his kinsmen, accompanied by farmer foot soldiers, would proceed in their chariots to a prearranged location and engage in a skirmish. It is so divided because the capital cities in the Western Zhou of Fengyi (presently in the . He saw the practice of morality in the family as the root. In 1059, upon witnessing five planets align, the Zhou ruler declared himself king and proceeded to engage in military conquests that made his kingdom a regional power. One description of an elite soldier states that he wears heavy armor, shoulders a large crossbow and fifty arrows, straps a halberd to his back, buckles a helmet to his head, and places a sword to his side.). [51] Other possible cultural influences resulting from Indo-European contact in this period may include fighting styles, head-and-hooves burials, art motifs and myths. After the Xia and Shang, the next major dynasty in Chinese history is the Zhou Dynasty (1045 256 BCE). What little we know about his life comes primarily from the Analects, a record of conversations Confucius held with his students compiled after he died. Accessibility StatementFor more information contact us atinfo@libretexts.orgor check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. It was technically the longest dynasty, though the Zhouhad effectively lost power by 770 BC. In return, the ruler was duty-bound to uphold heaven's principles of harmony and honor. Western Zhou dynasty replaces the Shang Dynasty in China. Over a half millennium, Zhou nobility engaged in escalating warfare with each other over matters small and large. 2. He believed that the nobility was honorable, observed moral codes, and upheld social standards. Zhou dynasty, Wade-Giles romanization Chou, dynasty that ruled ancient China for some eight centuries, establishing the distinctive political and cultural characteristics that were to be identified with China for the next two millennia. Brashier writes in his book "Ancestral Memory in Early China" about the tsung-fa system of patrilineal primogeniture: "The greater lineage, if it has survived, is the direct succession from father to eldest son and is not defined via the collateral shifts of the lesser lineages. The Zhou dynasty had formally collapsed only 35 years earlier, although the dynasty had only nominal power at that point. The Shang Dynasty is the earliest ruling dynasty of China to be established in recorded history, though other dynasties predated it. This dynasty was the longest in Chinese history. To his mind, he was living at a time when civilization was collapsing and society was decaying. Putting away his emotions, Jing Wudao's right hand flicked in the air, and the flexible sword on the Wu Ji patriarch's back returned to his hand. In 771 BCE, in what became a telling sign of weakness, the Zhou king was murdered and his young successor was compelled to relocate farther east, to a capital closer to the heart of the North China Plain. As they did so, their lands evolved into powerful states (see Map \(\PageIndex{2}\)). One of Emperor Wen's most prominent achievements was to create the imperial examination system to select talented individuals for bureaucratic positions. Now, the Zhou royal court was faced with the task of governing newly conquered territory, including the former lands of the Shang Dynasty. 5. According to Chinese mythology, the Zhou lineage began when Jiang Yuan, a consort of the legendary Emperor Ku, miraculously conceived a child, Qi "the Abandoned One", after stepping into the divine footprint of Shangdi. Fengjian. These kinsmen took their families, contingents of soldiers, and emblems of nobility to the granted territory and set up palaces and ancestral temples in walled towns. The armies campaigned in the northern Loess Plateau, modern Ningxia and the Yellow River floodplain. The state theology of the Zhou dynasty used concepts from the Shang dynasty and mostly referred to the Shang god, Di, as Tian, a more distant and unknowable concept, yet one that anyone could utilize, the opposite view of the Shang's spirituality. Even he did not dare to take the ultimate move released by the Wu Ji patriarch head-on, let alone Gu Mingzhou. [55] The Zhou wanted to increase the number of enlightenment seekers, mystics, and those who would be interested in learning about such things as a way to further distance their people from the Shang-era paradigm and local traditions. Confucianism and Daoism were both responses to the crisis presented by the breakdown of the Zhou feudal order and escalating warfare in China. As a vassal of the Shang kings Wu Yi and Wen Ding, Jili went to conquer several Xirong tribes before being treacherously killed by Shang forces. Then, King Wu returned to his capital in the Wei River Valley, where he passed away in 1043 BCE. The principal purpose of these Daoists was to attend to a persons physical and psychological well-being. (The line of Zhou kings had, however, already been extinguished in 256 BCE, so that date marks the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.). There were two principal reasons for this. [d] The Zhou enfeoffed a member of the defeated Shang royal family as the Duke of Song, which was held by descendants of the Shang royal family until its end. Although chariots had been introduced to China during the Shang dynasty from Central Asia, the Zhou period saw the first major use of chariots in battle. The king and his regent did so by implementing three policies. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Master Sun was a military commander and strategist who served the lords of the state of Wu just prior to the onset of the Warring States period (c. fifth century BCE). The Zhou heartland was the Wei River valley; this remained their primary base of power after conquering the Shang. That involved not only teaching individual techniques for preserving the life spirit, but also the use of exorcism and faith healing to remove malevolent influences. 5. In 1046, with three-hundred chariots and 45,000 foot soldiers equipped with bronze armor and pole-mounted dagger-axes, he met and decisively defeated the last Shang king and his army. 841 BCE - 828 BCE. This separation became tied into Confucian moral values. They did so . Those below are those published by XiaShangZhou Chronology Project and Edward L. Shaughnessy's The Absolute Chronology of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Chinas three major pre-modern philosophical and religious traditions are Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. However, in the course of doing so, he reinterpreted the past and imbued the virtues he stressed with rich, new meanings. Although Wu's early death left a young and inexperienced heir, the Duke of Zhou assisted his nephew King Cheng in consolidating royal power. This practice meant that lesser but related aristocratic lineages lived in estates across each nobles territory, while also serving as ministers at his court. They know the golden rule: what you would not want for yourself, he taught, do not do to others. (15.23) Confucius emphasized that a society cannot function if people are incapable of taking others perspectives and doing their best for them. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.. Zhou kings remained there for the next five hundred years, during the period called the Eastern Zhou. This period, in the second half of the Eastern Zhou, lasted from about 475-221 BCE, when China was united under the Qin Dynasty. [citation needed]. Stratagem is critical. Legal. This political theory, which is known as the. This move marked the beginning of the Eastern Zhou (770 256 BCE). Historians call this method of governing Zhou kinship feudalism. However, their enemies' rule did not last long. According to one passage, a lord once asked one of Confuciuss students about his master, but the student fell silent. He believed that Heaven ordains a certain course of life for each individual, including becoming a moral person. Over time, ties of kinship lost their meaning. It was not until the Dong Zhou and the classical age of Confucius and Laozi that unique local traditions became apparent. So Han Dynasty abolished the Qin legal system and advocate Confucianism to make the government friendly to its people and make the people obey the rules of government. [35] When King You demoted and exiled his Jiang queen in favor of the beautiful commoner Bao Si, the disgraced queen's father the Marquis of Shen joined with Zeng and the Quanrong barbarians to sack Hao in 771 BC. The Dao is mysterious: it is beyond sense-perception and yet the source of life and the universe, the ultimate truth transcending the polarities that make up life and yet pervades them, empty and yet the mother of all things. [27][28][f] According to the historian Li Feng, the term "Rong" during the Western Zhou period was likely used to designate political and military adversaries rather than cultural and ethnic "others". Daoists also developed communal prayers and rituals that could cure illness, free souls from hell, win blessings from heaven, and eliminate sins from the community. The Nine Schools of Thought which came to dominate the others were Confucianism (as interpreted by Mencius and others), Legalism, Taoism, Mohism, the utopian communalist Agriculturalism, two strains of Diplomatists, the sophistic Logicians, Sun-tzu's Militarists, and the Naturalists. These jobs came to symbolize proper order in society. As the empire was breaking up, arts and culture were flowering in the various component states, encouraged and stimulated by the highly localized interests that fed the impulse toward independence of the empire. Heaven has given birth to the virtue that is in me. 1 (7.22) Interpreters of Confucius have rightly noted that he is quite silent about the supernatural and what happens after death, rather emphasizing the life we have and serving others. To govern is to rectify. Yet, although hegemons maintained a semblance of order, warfare remained constant because it was a way of life for the illustrious lineages of the Zhou realm. Eventually, the noble lords of the most powerful states declared themselves as kings, and fought to gain control over all of China. The final battles were said to have been extremely bloody, and Shang survivors may well have served as Chinese culture bearers to places as far removed as Korea. Zhou kings remained there for the next five hundred years, during the period called the Eastern Zhou. Stratagem is critical. The wars of the Warring States were finally ended by the most legalist state of all, Qin. In victory, a noble redressed matters of honor and brought glory to his ancestors, something symbolized by the mound of dead enemies placed by his ancestral temple. The system, also called "extensive stratified patrilineage", was defined by the anthropologist Kwang-chih Chang as "characterized by the fact that the eldest son of each generation formed the main of line descent and political authority, whereas the younger brothers were moved out to establish new lineages of lesser authority. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Both the purpose and conduct of warfare changed. The book of odes written during the Zhou period clearly intoned this caution.[38]. Young men should be filial at home and respectful to their elders when away from home. (1.6) Filial piety is central to Confuciuss thought. Accessibility StatementFor more information contact us atinfo@libretexts.orgor check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. King Wu then returned to his capital in the Wei River Valley, where he passed away in 1043 BCE. He believed that Heaven ordains a certain course of life for each individual, including becoming a moral person. Since rulers claimed that their authority came from heaven, the Zhou made great efforts to gain accurate knowledge of the stars and to perfect the astronomical system on which they based their calendar. Others followed, marking a turning point, as rulers did not even entertain the pretence of being vassals of the Zhou court, instead proclaiming themselves fully independent kingdoms. Their embryonic bureaucracies included such features as a system of official posts, salaries paid in grain and gifts, administrative codes, and methods for measuring a servants performance. A series of states rose to prominence before each falling in turn, and Zhou was a minor player in most of these conflicts. But they fought even more fiercely. Consequently, society will become more orderly. After a series of wars among these powerful states, King Zhao of Qin defeated King Nan of Zhou and conquered West Zhou in 256 BCE; his grandson, King . Over the next 250 years, during what is referred to as the Warring States Period (475 221 BCE), these states averaged one major battle per year until, at the very end, only the state of Qin [cheen] remained. According to the Duke of Zhou, Heaven had decreed that Shang kings must fall and Zhou rulers should replace them. If you lead the people by being rectified yourself, who will dare not be rectified? (12.17) Confucius believed that good governing flows from good men. Both the purpose and conduct of warfare changed. They know the golden rule: what you would not want for yourself, he taught, do not do to others. (15.23) Confucius emphasized that a society cannot function if people are incapable of taking others perspectives and doing their best for them. 1. Master Zhuang, however, lived during the fourth century BCE. The Shang dynasty had begun with wise and benevolent rulers, but later kings were cruel and incompetent, and failed to see to the well-being of their subjects. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. No longer able to impose their will on unruly noble lineages, Zhou kings failed to maintain a semblance of peace and order throughout the realm. The Wuwang emperor continued his father's work and formed a coalition with eight other border states, which defeated the evil last ruler of the Shang. Yet, although hegemons maintained a semblance of order, warfare remained constant because it was a way of life for the illustrious lineages of the Zhou realm. The capital was moved eastward to Wangcheng,[1] marking the end of the "Western Zhou" (, pX Zhu) and the beginning of the "Eastern Zhou" dynasty (, pDng Zhu). Their central concept is the Dao (Way). In the context of his time, Confucius was a dynamic individual who believed he was mandated by Heaven to return the world to a more socially and politically harmonious time.