The Chou Dynasty

By 1122 B.C., Wu Wang, leader of the barbarian Chou people was threatening the city of Anyang The Chou settled on the Western frontier They have learned to use the war chariot and the bronze weapons of the Shang Wu Wang, The Martial King, won and established the Chou Dynasty o His dynasty lasted from 1122 256 B.C. The Shang survivors were not wiped out o The Chou let the Shang settle in their own state o They also kept many Shang laws and customs o Then they made their own contributions to Chinese civilization

The Mandate of Heaven

The idea of Mandate of Heaven was developed by the Chou to justify their seizure over Shang A dynasty enjoyed heavens blessing as long as it governed wisely and justly If the ruler is lazy, cruel, or corrupt, heaven withdraws the mandate or right to rule It was the case that the last sovereign of your Shang was luxurious to the extreme of luxury, while his schemes of government showed neither purity nor progress, so that heaven sent down such ruin on him Heaven found our kings of Chou, who were able to sustain the burden of virtuous government Key responsibilities of a Ruler: Provide good government Put the well-being of the people above self-interest Natural disasters and invasions are revealed to be a rulers failure to please heaven It is not a crime to rebel against a ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven The overthrow of the Shang was the first of many dynastic changes in China Dynastic Cycle Referred to by the historians as the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties
The New Dynasty Restores peace Appoints loyal officials Redistributes land to peasants Dynasty The Aging Builds canals, irrigation systems, and government duties Neglects roads Ignores corrupt officials Loses control of the provinces Repairs defensive walls Imposes heavy taxes to pay for After luxuries several generations, the new dynasty becomes an aging dynasty Allows defensive walls to decay

New Dynasty claims mandate of Heaven Problems Floods, famine, earthquakes, invasions Aging dynasty loses the Mandate of Armed bandits in the provinces Heaven Peasant revolts

The Chou Government Start of a Feudal system Since the Chou controlled more territory than the Shang, Chou kings allow nobles to govern large parts of the kingdom The nobles then owed loyalty, military service, and tribute to the king The Chou kings controlled the feudal lords for 250 years When Chou strength declined, powerful lords carved out independent states The Feudal lords expanded: North into Manchuria South into the Yangtze Valley Between 771 256 B.C. Weak Chou rulers could not stop warfare among hundreds of feudal states During these centuries of upheaval: Nobles protected their power by replacing hereditary office holders with appointed officials In larger states, complex bureaucracies developed Bureaucracy A system of organizing government by departments or bureaus Government In feudal states of Chou different bureaus controlled: Finances Armed forces Law enforcement Recordkeeping o The state with the most efficient organization had the advantage in the power struggles of late Chou period o Government bureaucracy has remained an important period of China since Chou times Life in Chou (Daily Life) Constant warfare weakened the warrior class As large, well-organized states emerged, a new class of able, ambitious government officials gradually gained power Eventually, these officials became the new ruling class in China By the late Chou: A social system had evolved that would remain a stable force through later dynasties

Social System At the head are the government officials Government officials gain greater status by becoming land owners Below the government officials are the huge peasants Some peasants were tenant farmers on estates owned by wealthy landlords Others farmed land allotted to them by villages Artisans and merchants ranked below peasants because they did not work the land Although warfare was a prominent feature of Chou China, soldiers have a low position in society Education Education became increasingly important as the need for government officials grew In cities and feudal courts, tutors trained boys for government service Educated people wrote books that were later considered classics The Book of Odes contained myths, legends, and love poems Students memorize the book of odes, together with royal histories and books of court etiquette Economic Growth Peasants began to use fertilizers and iron tools Government sponsored irrigation projects and a new ox-drawn plow Peasants farmed more land and increased food production Feudal lords offered peasants favorable terms to settle in newly conquered territories The settlers then carried Chinese culture well beyond the old borders of the Shang kingdom Trade expanded and the cities grew To encourage trade and good communication, feudal lords built many roads and canals Goods flowed along roads, rivers, and canals from villages to cities and back By trading in western Asia, Chinese learned about such animals as the mule, donkey and camel When metal coin was used, trade grew even faster This money economy helped the rich but not the poor Merchants made huge profits by buying grain and then selling it in times of famine for high prices During famines, peasants had to borrow money or grain to survive

 If a peasant could not pay back a loan, he and his family lost the right to farm the land The problem of peasants being forced off the land would haunt Chinese rulers for the next 3,000 years Warfare among the feudal states marked the end of the Chou dynasty Institutions such as bureaucracies and traditions such as the Mandate of Heaven would become the cornerstone of a unified Chinese state