Zhou Dynasty By: Haley Hernandez Jarrett Sippola Jim Edgar Lauren Turner Sara Cody Will Gordy

Human Environment Interactions  Shang and Zhou Dynasties coexisted with each other being friendly at times, but warring with them at others  In the mid 11 th century fighting broke out between the two for almost three years before the Zhou established their rule over all of China  The original Zhou capital was near present day Xi’an  To support the empire in the east and its other rulers, an eastern capital was built at Luoayong  Empire  Because of the large area of the Zhou dynasty it was split up into territories  Territories were walled of cities  Each territory had its own lord who was appointed by inheritance  Then in social classes came the fighting men followed by the peasants and slaves  Zhou was based on agricultural production which was done mostly by the peasants  These territories rebelled and defeated the original Zhou capital but from the east capital they fortified their military and political control over the territories  During this time when the Zhou Dynasty became much stronger was during the Iron Age, bringing improved irrigation techniques in turn bringing greater populations  The Zhou became unstable when it expanded into areas of non-china with the rise of these territories within the Zhou Dynasty  The Zhou Dynasty fell in anarchy and collapsed in the late 5 th century

Politics  1122 – 256 B.C.E.  Emperor rules by mandate of heaven, the belief that dynasties will rise and fall according to the will of heaven, or the ancestors  Emperor  lived in the forbidden city (away from all others)  in full control but bound by duty  had few slaves  “The Son of Heaven”  Political authority controlled by Confucian values  Zhou Philosophy  Concept of heaven emerged  Universal force  Chose the emperor to rule (moral force)  If the emperor was evil, heaven would send natural disasters as a warning. If he didn’t heed the warnings then heaven would withdraw its mandate. Social and political order would break down and there would be a revolution. Emperor Wen: founder of the Zhou Dynasty

Culture  Technology  Silk from silk worms  Iron (instead of bronze)  Copper for coins  Acupuncture  Horseback communication  Chariots and mounted cavalry  Architecture  Irregular walls of rammed earth for defense  Used earth and timber for many buildings  Some multistory buildings  Starting of Chinese bracketing system  Replaced roof tiles with thatch  Started using bricks  Science  Gan and Shi’s Astronomy Book  Mo Jing (physics, MoZi)  Art  Silk paintings  Murals  Musical instruments were still developing

Economics  “Ceremonial Lords of the Kingdoms”  Warfare between territories  Lost control of some territories in 700 B.C.E.  Legalism - strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.  4 th century B.C.E.  Agriculture  Peasants planted crops  Planted crops in a square and the peasant’s crops would be planted on the outside and the emperor’s crops were on the inside  Zhou society was based on agriculture

Social  First dynasty to unite most of China under a single government  Divided into two parts: Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou  Western Zhou  Semi-nomadic clan  Peasants  were physically separated from other classes  Key element  Had supportive functions (sewing, reaping, etc.)  Zhou rulers were the nobles with family names, and they practiced ancestor worship  Eastern Zhou  Also known as the E.Z. period  The decline of ancient forms of religion began and the transformation into Confucianism and Daoism started  The uniqueness of China’s recorded history began  Collection of documents

Resources    htm htm   dynasty dynasty 