Zhou Dynasty Essay

Zhou Dynasty During the rise of the Chinese civilization, there were many dynasties that reigned over periods of time. Many different dynasties had their own fate and list of innovations that helped form China to the way it is to the present day. From Chinese literature to the Great Wall of China, ancient China has been very influential in world culture. One of these dynasties that contributed to these innovations was the Zhou. The Zhou were one of the longest and most advanced dynasties of ancient China.

Before elections to select the president, ancient China had a different way of selecting who would rule as king in their civilizations. The Zhou Dynasty did not believe their king would be chosen by the people, but by the approval of the

The Zhou settled down in their capital city of Haojing. This was considered the Western Zhou period of the dynasty. The Western Zhou is also known as the period in which historians saw the heights of splendor of prehistoric times. The Zhou held undisputed power in Ancient China during the Western Zhou (Saylor 1). The Zhou was split into thirteen different regions and each region had their leader who would still take commands from King You in 1050 B.C. (Western 1). During the beginning of the Western Zhou period, it was peaceful with little to no conflict within the regions. Once settled and more aware of their land, the Zhou were focused on trying to expand their knowledge rather than their territory. The Zhou dynasty was starting to grow more and more over time, which meant needing more supplies to take care of their people. One of the biggest concerns of the growing population was the supply and demand for food. This would then lead to the need for more land, seeds, and slaves to be able to produce enough rations for the people. Some of the primary products that the Zhou planted were millet, wheat, rice and soybeans (Western 1). With so much more land to tend to and having to produce more food, the Zhou realized they needed to make changes if they wanted to be able to take care of their kingdom. This led to the invention of the ox-drawn plow which helped make farming

Other than Confucianism, the two other main religions in ancient China were Taoism and Legalism. These religions are still being practiced today in China and neighboring countries. The first religion is Taoism and the foundation of Taoism is to focus on your personal relationship with the world and nature around them and civilization. This is shown that everything in the world is connected to each other and nothing makes sense by itself. Lao Tzu wrote a book called “The Way of Virtue'' which explained the beliefs of Taoism. The belief of Taoism is that the god of Tao is the source and ideal of all existence. The spirit is unseen but not transcendent , immensely powerful yet very humble and is the root to all things. Taoism is practiced in temples, monasteries and by priests who make offerings, meditate and perform rituals (Saylor 2). The second religion is legalism and is quite different from Taoism. The viewpoint of Legalism is to have high authority as a ruler, you must keep everyone in check and to have strict rules. Legalists created a system that revolved around punishment and reward based on behavior. This religion was quite important during the Warring States period to keep kingdoms united and establish order from the chaos. This religion is not taught as much today but it was highly used in ancient China (Saylor