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Chapter 21 Continued
The Zhou Dynasty
Overthrowing the Shang
 Around 1045 B.C.E., during the
Shang Dynasty, the Zhou, a
group of people from
northwestern China moved into
the central plains.
 They claimed that the Shang
Dynasty was far too cruel and
launched a rebellion against
them led by their king, Wu
Wang.
 To justify his actions, Wu Wang
claimed that he had been given
the Mandate of Heaven, a
divine right to rule China.
Mandate of Heaven
 According to this belief, Heaven
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was a power that controlled
human destiny.
The king was the son of Heaven.
As long as the king governed
well, Heaven gave him the right
to rule.
However, if he did not govern
well, Heaven would send
warning signs like earthquakes
and floods.
This was a signal that others had
the right to overthrow him.
Feudalism
 The Zhou increased the
stability of their rule through
feudalism, a system where
the king gave large pieces of
land to lords who supported
him.
 The lords were rulers of their
own lands and had absolute
power over the peasants who
worked as tenant farmers
on the land.
 In exchange, the lords sent
soldiers to fight if the king
was attacked.
The System Breaks Down
 Feudalism worked for a time to
keep China stable, but by the 700s
B.C.E., it was beginning to fail.
 The lords of individual states
became more powerful and
ambitious and began to fight one
another.
 These wars brought some 250 years
of disorder to China which is often
called the Period of Warring States.
 This would eventually cause people
to look for new ways to restore
order and pave the way for a new
dynasty to take over.