Period+6+Zhou+Dynasty

= The Zhou Dynasty = = "BOW TO THE ZHOU" =

Abby Silbert, Jenny Patel , Robin Striar, Kathleen Valiente

Zhou Dynasty took place during the 1100 BC--221 B.C G overnment: -They ruled from the capital. -The leader was Zhougong. -They ruled with a feudal system. -Much of the Chinese culture, philosophy and government stems were from Zhou dynasty. Confucianism is an important movement that had its routs in Zhou's dynasty. -Philosophy of Confucianism touches education, human behavior and economic growth and much of its philosophy is still a component of Chinese imperial policy. -Feudal structure: Duke of Zhou granted land to nobles in return for military service and other community needs. People were subject to a Central Government. As a result of that there was more control, and a greater sense of togetherness. Because of this there was no war for about 200 years. Source: ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/search/results?q=zhou+government []

R eligion:

- One thing that the Zhou believed was to accept both good and bad so the combined them as one.These two dual aspects named the good "Yin" and the bad "Yan" into one. -Putting each piece of each other into one another which mad them connected. The Yin means that a place is in the north slope of a mountain. The Yan means the place is in the south slope of a mountain.The difference about the Zhou dynasty and other dynasties was that they banned human sacrifice. -Music played a central role in China. As early as 6000 BCE. people where playing seven hole flutes in the Yellow river valley for pure entertainment actually the character for music was "pleasure". - The Zhou for a certain time also believed in Daoism. Daoism is a very complicated religion to study. Dao meaning "the way".Daoists loved dreaming they where a butterfly, classic Daoism. Daoism later introduced Confucianism. -Zhou religion was much more abstract and transcendental. -Heavenly spirits, terrestrial forces, and human ancestors were the three realms of deities. -The highest deities were Heaven, Sun, Moon, and stars and planets and different anthropomoph forces reigning the universe and celestial phenomena like wind and rain. -The highest terrestrial deities were, the God of Millet, the Five Offerables, the Five mountains, and geographical phenomena like hills, riverines, and swamps. - The highest priests of the Western Zhou period were prayers, sacrifiers, diviners, and astrologers. -The astrologers also recorded natural phenomena and later historical events, one of the two scribes is said to have recorded royal decretes. -Oracles taken with oxen scapulae or tortoise plastrons were inherited from the Shang Dynasty, but the divination by counting out milfoil stalks soon became the prevalent diviniation method. - The view of writing people changed from the religion centered inscriptions to a nature and human centered world vision. -The ancestors and Great Heaven were not what determined the life of people, but mankind itself.



Ying Yang

sourc es: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhoureligion.html

http://isabellezhoudynasty.blogspot.com/2011/02/religionculture-zhou-dynasty.html

E conomy : __Facts__ - The Zhou society was based on agricultural production. - The land was divided among the peasants to grow crops. __Eastern Zhou__ - During this time, there was economic growth, even with constant warfare between territories. - During this time, China entered its Iron Age. - The population increased. - Greater wealth and people started to become merchant and traders. __ Western Zhou __ - Adhered to the Square-Field System of economics in order to guarentee state ownership of the land. - During the last period, ironware began to be used. - Helped with the development of agricultural technology. - Textile, salt, and wine-making industries were also progressing. - Made an irrigation system.

This is a coin they used in the Zhou Dynasty. "Knife-shaped coin of Zhou dynasty." Image. The Art Archive/Jan Vinchon Numismatist Paris/Dagli Orti. //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

Sources: "Zhou Dynasty (Overview)." //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. "Zhou dynasty." //World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras//.ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

A rt/Architecture: - Adopted Shang artisans and their way of writing. - Buildings had a symmetrical layout that taken from nature - The imperial city of Wang Cheng was in a square pattern with an ancestral temple on the left and and an Alter on the right. This style was later adopted by other civilizations. - In the middle of the Bronze Age so most containers for food and wine were made out of bronze along with many more vessels. Vessels with gold and silver were very popular - The Zhou were the first to make bronze mirrors and candle holders - The first to write and draw on silk Sources: [] [] []

A Bronze Wine Vessle []

T echnology: -The people of Zhou developed a plow that was made out of wood, then bronze, then they changed it to iron because it was cheaper. This made farming a lot more easier and efficient. -One way the people got around was by chariot. -Bronze was an important development, it changed the technology and specialized labor in the cities because of this mixture,copper and tin, labors now branched out into making axes, shields, swards, spears, and burial places. -The Zhou Dynasty had acsess to newly invented crossbows, this piece of technology made hunting easier. -Had damns and irrigation canals which improved agriculture, this was new in the eastern period. -Also during the Eastern period of the Zhou Dynasty they had the advantage to newly built roads that were used to carry trade. Source: ancienthystory.abc-clio.com/search/results?q=Zhou+technology []

S ocial Structure: __Facts__ - The Zhou Dynasty developed a new type of social system called feudalism. - Under feudalism, the king owned all of the land. - The King granted nobles large plots of land in exchange for a percentage of food that they produced every year and to house warriors at times of war. - Nobles would provide warriors with food, clothes, shelter and weapons. - Nobles would give peasants small plots of land to work and live on in return for a percentage of food they produced each year. - Independent craftsmen and merchants often lived outside of the noble's or king's walled cities producing and selling their goods and services. __Nobles__ - Lived in large homes made of mud and wood - usually protected by stone walls. - Buried in large tombs with many of their possesions. __Farmers and Peasants__ - They made up the majority of people in the Zhou Dynasty. - Their life was very hard. - Farmers lived in nearby villages in houses made of mud and straw. - In the summer, peasants lived near the land they farmed, in the winter they moved back to their permanent homes in villages. __Merchants and Craftspeople__ - They were in a social group that was the outside the social pyramid. - Since they did not produce food and were not part of the nobility, they were considered to be outside of the social class structure. - Like slaves, they were hardly considered people. - In times of war, they were not allowed inside the safe city walls, they were left outside to fend for themselves.



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Summary of Achievements: The Zhou dynasty's developments played a very important role in Chinese history. The Zhou dynasty was the longest lasting dynasties that ruled China from1100 BC to 221 BC. The Western Zhou dynasty lasted from1100 BC to 711 BC, and the Eastern Zhou dynasty ruled from 770 BC to 221 BC. The Western Zhou dynasty became a model way of life for Chinese civilizations to follow because of their unity with cultural and ethnic diversity. When Kin Cheng was emperor, Zhou's agriculture was at an all time high,higher than the Shang's dynasty ever was. Source: []