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Zhou Dynasty
Circa 1050 BCE to 256 BCE
The Zhou Dynasty
Around 1050 B.C., the Zhou conquered
the Shang.
Shang kings had grow corrupt
When Zhou attacked Shang many Shang
warriors refused to fight
The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any
other Chinese dynasty. It lasted from
1050 B.C. to 256 B.C.
Zhou rulers claimed the right to rule or the
Mandate of Heaven.
The Right to Rule
Zhou declared that their success proved
they had heaven’s support
Heaven was the highest for force nature
Right to rule = mandate of heaven
If a dynasty failed to act properly it lost this
right and power would pass to a new
dynasty
To stay in power the rulers needed to act
virtuously
The Dynastic Cycle
The cultural cycle which every Chinese
dynasty receives the mandate of
heaven, maintains peace and prosperity
in the country, but eventually looses the
mandate through mismanagement of
resources/natural disasters
E. Napp
Governing the Zhou
 Expanded its land
through conquest
 To keep control of the
large kingdom the king
placed family members
in control of individual
regions or states
Over time ties between
the Zhou king and local
rulers weakened
Noblemen Grew in Power
This form of
government worked
well for several
hundred years.
However, overtime
the king slowly
became less
powerful, while the
nobleman
grew in power.
Zhou Dynasty Overthrown
 In 771 B.C. while fighting against a
rebellion, the Zhou armies suffered a
terrible defeat. As a result, the Zhou
Dynasty lost even more power to the
noblemen.
 Warring Period (475 B.C.E. – 221
B.C.E.)
Battles ravaged the countryside
Stronger states conquered weaker ones
In 256 that last Zhou ruler was over
thrown
Philosophers during Zhou China
During the Zhou dynasty, two important
Chinese philosophies developed.
Confucianism and Daoism
Both philosophies stressed the importance
of harmony as Zhou China experienced
increased warfare.
Confucius was an
important Chinese
philosopher.
He stressed the
importance of order
to achieve harmony.
Confucius believed
that if people knew
and did what they
should do, then
harmony would
occur.
It is believed that
the founder of
Daoism or Taoism
was Lao Tzu.
Daoism was a
philosophy that
stressed the
importance of
nature. By living
naturally, harmony
could be achieved.
Zhou Society
 The Zhou gave more power to individual
states than the Shang
 Majority of people were peasants
Small number of merchants, artisans, and slaves
 Place a high value on family relationships
 Patriarchal society– men were the authority

Economy and Technology
 Inventions:
Crossbow
Iron Weapons
fertilizer
 Economy:
Coins (made trade
easier)
Built a network of
roads with helped
travel and trade