Zhou Dynasty , also called Chou Dynasty or Cheu Dynasty , was an early Chinese dynasties, founded by a semi-nomadic clan from the northwest. The starting dates of the Zhou Dynasty are uncertain, varying between 1122 , 1050 , and 1027 BC, when they apparently expelled the weak Shang Dynasty .
As for the date of its end, almost everyone agrees that it was 221 BC. The capital was located at Hao, near present-day Xi’an, but towards the beginning of the 8th century BC , due to invasions by peoples from the north, an eastern capital was built at Loyi, on the Lo River , near present-day Luoyang .
Society
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The power of the Zhou dynasty extended over almost all of China, even to the valley of the Yangzi Jiang (Yang-tse) River. The vastness of this area and the rudimentary communications made it impossible for the Zhou to have direct control over the entire region. Therefore, they delegated part of their authority to vassals , each of whom ruled a walled city and the territory surrounding it.
The hierarchy of these feudal states was headed by the lord, whose social position was hereditary. Below him were the warriors, and at the lowest level were the peasants and slaves. Little by little, these feudal states became more and more autonomous.
Economic activities
Zhou society was based on agricultural production. The land was divided into perfect square plots, each of which was further subdivided into nine others, forming an equilateral surface.
The eight outer plots were given to eight peasant families, who pooled their efforts and resources to cultivate the central plot, the yield from which went to the ruling class. It is not known to what extent this system of land distribution was used, but later dynasties considered it the most equitable way of distributing land.
Religious practices
Religious practices corresponded to the hierarchical social system. The Zhou believed, in accordance with Chinese religion , that heaven granted a power to govern, which sanctioned the political authority of the kings.
The Zhou kings performed sacrifices to a divine principle, who had been called Shang Di (‘the Lord on High’) during the Shang dynasty, and who later came to be called Tian (‘Heaven’), as well as to their ancestors.
The lords of the estates made sacrifices to nature , to the gods of agriculture, and also to their ancestors, a cult that was common to each family. They believed that misfortunes and calamities would befall them if they neglected these sacrifices.
The Eastern Zhou
The Zhou kings were able to maintain effective control over their domains until finally, in 770 BCE , some of the states rebelled and, with the help of foreign forces, drove the Zhou from their capital near the site of present-day Xi’an.
The Zhou subsequently established a new capital to the east at Luoyang . Although now safer from attack by outsiders, the Eastern Zhou could no longer exercise the same political and military authority over their vassal states , many of which were now larger and more powerful than the Zhou themselves. However, as guardians of divine power , they continued the practice of confirming the new lords’ right to rule their lands, and thus remained the overlords and purveyors of legitimacy until the 3rd century BCE.
Economic growth
The 8th to 3rd centuries BC saw rapid economic growth and great social change amid extreme political instability and almost continuous warfare. During these years China entered the Iron Age . The iron-headed ox-plough and more sophisticated irrigation techniques brought increased harvests, which in turn had to feed an ever-growing population. Population growth was accompanied by increased production, and a new class of merchants and traders emerged. Communications improved as the old carts were gradually replaced by horse -drawn couriers .
Economic integration allowed rulers to exert control over larger areas of territory. States on the outer fringes of the Chinese cultural zone expanded on the lack of progress of their neighbours, thereby stimulating and diversifying their own cultures, adopting the most interesting aspects of each foreign civilisation. From the peoples of the northwest, for example, the Chinese in the border areas adopted the use of mounted cavalry units .
For the states in the heart of the North China Plain, expansion meant attacking other states that shared their civilization, and the uniformity of these core states fostered cultural stagnation. By the 6th century BCE, seven powerful border states surrounded the small, weak states of the North China Plain.
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With the decline of the Zhou dynasty’s political authority and the rise of powerful peripheral states, interstate relations became increasingly unstable. During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, brief periods of stability were achieved through alliances between states and the hegemony of the strongest member. By the late 5th century BCE , however , the alliance system became unsustainable, and Zhou China descended into interstate anarchy. This period is known as the Warring States period ( 403–221 BCE ) .
The Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy
The intellectual response to extreme instability and insecurity gave rise to the political formula and philosophies that determined the development of the Chinese state and civilization for the next two millennia. The first and by far the most influential of the philosophers of this period was Confucius . The educated son of a minor aristocratic family in the state of Lu (in present-day Shandong),
Confucius represented the new class of administrators and advisers who helped the ruling aristocracy deal with the complicated problems of national administration and interstate relations. Essentially, Confucius advocated the restoration of the political and social institutions of the early Zhou. He believed that the wise kings of that time had worked to create an ideal society by following the example of their own personal virtue. Therefore, he sought to create a social class of virtuous and learned gentlemen who could occupy high government offices and lead the people by personal example.
The doctrines of Taoism, the second great philosophical school of the Warring States period, are set forth in the Tao-te-ching (The Book of the Way and Virtue), which is attributed to the semi-historical figure Lao-tse , and in the works of Zhuang-zi . The Taoists disdained the complex system advocated by the Confucians for the development of human virtue and the establishment of social order. In the political sphere, Taoism advocated a return to primitive agricultural communities, where life could take its course in a more natural way. The government ‘s policy could be defined as laissez-faire carried to its logical conclusion, allowing all kinds of spontaneous responses from the population.
A third school of political thought that emerged during the same period and subsequently exerted a profound influence on Chinese civilization was Legism. Realizing that the great disorders of their time demanded new and drastic measures, the Legists advocated the establishment of a social order based on strict, impersonal laws governing all aspects of human activity. To implement such a system they needed the creation of a rich and powerful state in which the ruler had unlimited power. The Legists advocated the socialization of wealth, the establishment of government monopolies, and other economic measures designed to enrich the state , strengthen its military power, and centralize administrative control.
The end of the Zhou and the birth of an empire
The greatest beneficiary of Legist ideas was the northwestern kingdom of Ch’in (Qin), one of the states that struggled most to escape the competitive Warring States period. On the periphery of Chinese civilization, the Ch’in grew behind natural defenses that served as fortresses , and adopted cavalry tactics and other military innovations from nomadic peoples. By the 4th century BCE , the Ch’in began to reform their bureaucracy , economy , and military in accordance with Legist principles. Once strengthened, the Ch’in began territorial expansion in the mid-4th century BCE. The pace of expansion increased after the occupation of the Zhou capital in 256 BCE and the rise of King Zheng in 246 BCE. Inspired by Han Fei’s totalitarian legalism, Zheng eliminated the six remaining Warring States in a series of fierce campaigns, and in 221 BC proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of the Ch’in dynasty , and unified China