Zhou Dynasty

The first emperor of China accomplished many great feats by implementing radical and innovative ideas and abandoning the traditional ways of thought. During his reign, government and public affairs underwent massive reconstruction. Formerly a feudal state during the Zhou Dynasty, the different regions fell victim to one of the largest and most aggressive military conquests by the Qin Armies and became the largest Chinese dynasty to ever exist. Thus, a nation unified under the philosophy of Legalism was born. After adopting and concentrating on one extinguished the social class of Confucianist scholars and their educational material. After his centralization, he was assisted by the three ministries of civil authority, military authority, and…

As a citizen of the Zhou confederacy I am part of the longest lasting dynasties in China’s long history. My dynasty, which actually stretched from 1046-256 BC, saw a great deal of changes and advances. The dynasty was even divided into two separate time periods. The West Zhou Dynasty and the East Zhou Dynasty. This was because in 770 the capital was shifted towards the East as it was deemed safer there, as they ocean created a wonderful natural barriers from invaders. The Zhou Dynasty is one…

The Zhou dynasty (1050-256 BCE) Conquered the Shang Dynasty, the later generations tried to reclaim and preserve the peace of the early Zhou, which would be the Eastern Zhou period (770-221 BCE). The Zhou split up into Western, when the capital was near Xian, and Eastern when the capital was moved eastward to Luoyang. The main intellectual focus was practical political and social concerns while metaphysical speculations remained secondary. Arts and philosophy flourished in China like never…

Introduction Patterns in Classical China • China born from isolation Isolation caused China create its own identity Invasions from neighboring regions happened rarely With the decline of the Shang dynasty there was relatively little chaos • Intellectual theory and heritage Harmony of nature Ying and Yang, everything is balanced by an opposite Dao used to appreciate, but avoid excess appreciation of opposites • Patterns in Government Dynasties or family of…

One of China’s first and most important cultures, is the Zhou Dynasty that lasted for almost a century from around 1122 BCE to 256 BCE -in the Neolithic era- succeeding the Shang Dynsaty. Although marked by periods of territorial strength and weakness, it was also a phase of flourishing literary works. The Book of Lord Shang, dating from 338 BCE is undoubtedly one of them. This collection of the works of Lord Shang, composed of approximately 25 sections of which some are lost, have been compiled…

Throughout the late centuries of the Zhou dynasty, the political turmoil led to the Period of the Warring States. Even through this chaos, the people were able to rise above. These mindful people were looking for answers and wanted to know what the proper way a human being should present themselves and act around others. The people were yearning to restore social and political order by helping their peers. Three schools of thought were brought forth during that time that which would have a…

A lot of the organizations and cultural traditions that rose in east Asia amid an early period continues to the present. The combination of factors led East Asian culture was able to retain its social coherence and culture. An important prerequisite to it is a set of principle named «mandate of heaven» that was introduced during the Zhou dynasty. «Mandate of heaven» puts responsibilities on a ruling authority to promote high moral standards, maintain order and rule with the conscience. If the…

Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Chinese people treated China itself as the center of the world. It was an ideology of ancient China and called as “Sinocentrism”. Indeed, China had great achievements in different areas, such as politics, the economy, military affairs, culture etc. Most of the countries located around China were affected by China, like Koryo (Korea), Annam (Vietnam), and Japan. These countries used to be part of the tributary system of China, and thus Chinese emperor had a…

During the Eastern Zhou era (770-256 B.C.E), a numerous number of Chinese noble struggled for supremacy. These Chinese nobles acted as independent warriors in their own realm and imposed their own way of ruling. Consequently, the Chinese sense of unity and central authority ceased and the Zhou dynasty ended. The fall of the Zhou dynasty led to chaos, which lasted for about two centuries. The duration of anarchy was called the “Warring States Period” (403-221 B.C.E). During this period, the…

developed most of his own philosophical work there. He fled to Chalcis after Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, and died there in the next year (Anagnostopoulos, 2013). In most of his life, Aristotle was well-respected and most of his philosophical views are highly valued. The life of Confucius is somewhat more dramatic. Primarily, Confucius is the Romanized translation for his honored name, Kong Fuzi (Master Kong, after he is well known). His true name is Kong Qiu. He was born in the Spring…