Download Shang and Zhou Dynasty Notes

The Shang and Zhou Dynasties
~ The First Dynasty Around 2000 B.C.E., legend says that the “Great Engineer,” Yu, founded the
__________________________ dynasty. A dynasty is _______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________.
~ The Shang Dynasty After Xia times, the Shang ruled from _______________ B.C.E. to _______________
B.C.E. They are believed to have built China’s first _________________________________. What innovations are
they most famous for? ___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
~ Writing Chinese writing began over 3,500 years ago on the _________________________________________.
These were used to communicate with _________________________________________. This practice was really
important to kings and nobles.
~ Religious Beliefs The ancient Chinese believed in __________________________________ and
_________________________________________. They tried to keep the nature spirits who lived in mountains
rivers, and seas, happy by offering them food and wine. They also believed that their relatives who had died
(_________________________________________________) were also spirits. This is called ancestor worship.
People hoped that their ancestors would bring them luck and help in times of need, so they made them offerings.
_____________________________ would try to contact the gods, spirits, and ancestors before making important
decisions.
~ The End of the Shang The Shang were excellent in ___________________, but that eventually weakened them.
The kings and nobles lived in ________________________________________. The poorer classes were treated
very ___________________________________. These kings hurt China’s economy by spending lots of money on
palaces, furnishing, clothing, and tombs. They spent more time having fun than taking care of their people. In
1045B.C.E. Wu Wang led a ______________________________________________ against the Shang. This started
the ___________________________ dynasty.
~ The Zhou Dynasty The Zhou needed to convince people it was ok to rebel against the Shang. They
called it the _______________________________________________________.
It was based on 4 ___________________________________________: The right to rule is granted by heaven;
There is only one ruler; The right to rule is based on the virtue of the ruler; The right to rule is not limited
to one dynasty.
It gives the ruler the right to: Be the ___________________________________ ruler; Have
_____________________________________________ power; Be ___________________________________ by
another ruler if the people believe he has the mandate (right).
The Zhou dynasty lasted for over _________________ years. They built ________________________ and
_______________________ for better trade and travel. They were interested in the sciences, especially
____________________________________________. At the time ______________________________________
flourished. The king was believed to be the link between ________________________________________
and _________________________________________. His most important job was being in charge of
religious duties for the kingdom. Rituals were believed to link the ancestors and gods to the people.
The Zhou created a large __________________________________. Kings divided the kingdom into smaller
_______________________________________ with loyal aristocrats in charge of each territory. The power
was _________________________________. This system is called ____________________________________.
~ Characteristics of Both Dynasties Protective ______________________________ surrounded cities.
Inside these walls lived __________________________________________________________________. In
mud house built up against the ____________________________________________ of the walls lived
________________________________________ and______________________________________________.
The _______________________________________________________ lived in nearby villages.
~ Warring States The Zhou werethe most powerful rulers at this time but had not enough power to
control the other states in power at the time. To defeat the Zhou, nobles created large armies of
____________________________________________________. Peasants were forced to serve in the armies.
During this time horse saddles and stirrups were invented. In 221 B.C.E. the Qin defeated the Zhou.