Ancient civilizations from thousands of years ago are what make up Chinas society today. We are influenced by many of them and still use many of their practices. Traditionally, the history of China is divided by periods of the reign of dynasties, which were normally named after their founder. The Shang, Zhou, and Qin Dynasties had a great impact in China’s society especially in customs, beliefs, practices, and religion. Some of those practices the world still use today. China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and it is now an enormous country with great geographic and cultural diversity that has been shaped by a wide variety of dynasties interacting through various connections over many decades
The first dynasty of china that …show more content…
King Wu led an army across the Yellow River to defeat the King of the Shang Dynasty, bringing a new one in. The Zhou Dynasty lasted from 1046-256 BCE, and it was the longest lasting of China’s dynasties. It is normally divided in two different periods: the first period was the Eastern Zhou (770-256 BCE), also known as the Spring and Autumn period. During this period the states became somewhat independent and didn't really follow a king. They did what they wanted and often fought amongst each other. By the end of this period many states had conquered each other to where there were only seven main states. The second period was the Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE) or also referred to as the Warring States because the seven states left were in war with each other. It was then when the leader, Qin Shi Huang, conquered the six states and crowned himself as the first emperor of a united China. The emperor divided the land into parts that were usually ruled by his relatives, and the government of the Zhou was based on a feudal system because of the emperor Huang. With regards to this, the early leaders of the Zhou Dynasty came up with the idea of the "Mandate of Heaven". This concept asserts that, to rightfully rule china, a dynasty must gain their authority to rule from the gods. They believed that when the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, this was because the Shang had become corrupt and the gods allowed them to fall. Also the period of the Zhou Dynasty is famous for the beginnings of three major Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and legalism. The most important comes from the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE. Most of his sayings and teachings impacted the culture and government in the history of Ancient China. The government used His teachings as the base of the civil service exams. The government liked Confucianism because
The first dynasty of china that …show more content…
King Wu led an army across the Yellow River to defeat the King of the Shang Dynasty, bringing a new one in. The Zhou Dynasty lasted from 1046-256 BCE, and it was the longest lasting of China’s dynasties. It is normally divided in two different periods: the first period was the Eastern Zhou (770-256 BCE), also known as the Spring and Autumn period. During this period the states became somewhat independent and didn't really follow a king. They did what they wanted and often fought amongst each other. By the end of this period many states had conquered each other to where there were only seven main states. The second period was the Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE) or also referred to as the Warring States because the seven states left were in war with each other. It was then when the leader, Qin Shi Huang, conquered the six states and crowned himself as the first emperor of a united China. The emperor divided the land into parts that were usually ruled by his relatives, and the government of the Zhou was based on a feudal system because of the emperor Huang. With regards to this, the early leaders of the Zhou Dynasty came up with the idea of the "Mandate of Heaven". This concept asserts that, to rightfully rule china, a dynasty must gain their authority to rule from the gods. They believed that when the Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, this was because the Shang had become corrupt and the gods allowed them to fall. Also the period of the Zhou Dynasty is famous for the beginnings of three major Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and legalism. The most important comes from the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE. Most of his sayings and teachings impacted the culture and government in the history of Ancient China. The government used His teachings as the base of the civil service exams. The government liked Confucianism because