WESTERN

ZHOU
 GROUP MEMBERS
 Name of students: Kereece Bennett, Alkesna
Casey, Shamark Edwards, Shevaughn Fearon,
Danicia Lewis, Daniel Lowe, Tamia Rose, Shevari
Sidden, Gabriel Watson
 Group #: 2
 Form: 2M
 Date: February 28,2018
 Subject: History
 Topic: Western Zhou Dynasty
 Teacher : Mrs. Dennis
 THE RISE
Order Name Notes Reign Time (years)

With the assistance

of Jiang Ziya, he
developed the Zhou
1 Wenwang (Ji Chang) that laid the 1097 BC - 1046 BC
foundation for
overthrowing the
Shang Dynasty.
The son of
Wenwang; He
defeated the Shang
2 Wuwang (Ji Fa) Dynasty in 1046 BC 1046 BC - 1043 BC
and established the
Western Zhou
Dynasty.
The son of Wuwang;
he established the
Chengwang (Ji
3 capital city of Luoyi 1042 BC - 1021 BC
Song)
 Chengwang; Under
4 Kangwang (Ji Zhao) 1020 BC- 996 BC
his reign, the Zhou
Dynasty prospered.
The son of
Kangwang; the
5 Zhaowang (Ji Xia) Zhou Dynasty began 995 BC - 977 BC
to decline during
his rule.
The son of
Zhaowang; His reign
time is the longest
6 Muwang (Ji Man) 976 BC - 922 BC
among all the
emperors in the
Western Dynasty.

7 Gongwang (Ji Yihu) The son of Muwang 922 BC - 900 BC

The son of
Gongwang. The
8 Yiwang (Ji Jian) Zhou Dynasty fell 899 BC - 892 BC
into a decline in his
reign.
 Originally a dependency of the the Shang, Zhou developed
quickly under the reign of Wenwang and Wuwang-(the
son of Wenwang), (King Wen and King Wu). In 1046 BC,
Wuwang defeated the Shang and established the Zhou.
This signaled what is called the Western Zhou in Chinese
history.
 THE RISE: WAR OF MUYE
The Battle of Muye was fought in
China in 1046 BC. The battle led
to the end of the Shang dynasty,
and the beginning of the Zhou
dynasty. The Zhou dynasty marks
the beginning of the feudal phase
of Chinese history.
THE RISE: WAR OF MUYE CONT’D
Background
 By the 13th century BC, Shang influence had
reached what is now Gansu Province, a region that
was occupied by a people known as the Zhou. King
Wen of Zhou , the ruler of the Zhou, who was a
Shang vassal, was given the title “Count of the West"
by the King Di Xin of Shang . Di Xin used Duke Wen to
guard his rear while he was involved in a south-
eastern campaign. 
THE RISE:WAR OF MUYE CONT’D

 Chinese civilians greatly supported Ji's rebellion.

In legend, Di Xin, initially, had been a good
ruler. But after he married Daji, he became a
ruthless ruler. Many called for the end of the
Shang Dynasty
THE RISE: WAR OF MUYE CONT’D
 Duke Wu of Zhou led an army of about 50,000. Di
Xin's army was at war in the east, but he still had
about 530,000 men to defend the capital city but
to further secure his victory, he gave weapons to
about 130,000 slaves to protect the capital. The
slaves did not want to fight for the corrupted
Shang Dynasty, and defected to the Zhou army
instead. 
THE RISE: WAR OF MUYE CONT’D
 This event greatly lowered the morale of
the Shang troops. When engaged, many
Shang soldiers did not fight and held their
spears upside down, as a sign that they no
longer wanted to fight for the corrupted
Shang. Some Shang soldiers joined the
Zhou side altogether.
 THE RISE: WAR OF MUYE CONT’D
Aftermath
After the battle Di Xin placed many valuable jewelry
on himself, and lighted a fire and burned himself to
death in his palace of the  Deer Terrace Pavilion.
 Duke Wu personally killed Daji after he found her.
Shang officials were released without charges, and
some later worked as Zhou officials. The imperial
rice storage was opened right after the battle, to
feed the starving population.
 This Battle left Duke Wu as master of all of Shang's
important cities. Duke Wu proclaimed the Zhou
dynasty as Kin
 THE RISE: GOVERNMENT
 Fēngjiàn ( 封建 ) was a political ideology during the
latter part of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, its
social structure forming a decentralized system of
government based on four occupations, or "four
categories of the people." The Zhou kings enfeoffed
their fellow warriors and relatives, creating large
domains of land. The Fengjian system they created
allocated a region or piece of land to an individual,
establishing him as the ruler of that region.
 THE RISE: GOVERNMENT CONT’D

 Each state was independent and had its own tax

and legal systems along with unique currency.
 Four occupations

The four occupations were the shì ( 士 ) the class of

"knightly" scholars, mostly from lower aristocratic
orders, the gōng ( 工 ) who were the artisans and
craftsmen of the kingdom and who, like the farmers,
produced essential
 THE RISE: GOVERNMENT CONT’D
goods needed by themselves and the rest of society,
the nóng ( 农 / 農 ) who were the peasant farmers
who cultivated the land which provided the essential
food for the people and tributes to the king, and the
shāng ( 商 ) who were the merchants and traders of
the kingdom.
SOCIAL CLASS PYRAMID
 CULTURE AND ARTS
The Zhou emperors paid much attention to etiquette. In

sacrificial ceremonies, funerals, wedding ceremonies and

other important events, there were strict regulations for

the people to abide by. In order to change the

extravagant customs which prevailed in the late period

of the Shang, no one was allowed to be drunk. So that is

why some drinking goblets commonly seen during the

Shang Dynasty disappeared in the Western Zhou.

 CULTURE AND ARTS CONT’D
The prediction method used during the Shang Dynasty was

still popular in the Western Zhou Dynasty. As for the

characters, they were widely used and were carved not

only on animal bones but also on bronze ware.

In astronomy, specialists appeared to observe celestial

phenomena and make records. All of these developments

showed that there were great advancements in science.

 THE ECONOMY
 The agriculture in the Western Zhou developed
into a higher level than that in the Shang Dynasty.
Not only were tools now made of bronze, the ways
of furrowing were advanced. Fields were usually
divided into three parts with one of these left
unplanted each year to allow it to regenerate. The
primary products were of diverse kinds including
millet, wheat, rice and some fruits.
 THE ECONOMY

 Because of the existence of slaves, the

handicraft industry developed quickly. The
production of bronze wares was done on a large
scale. In textiles and architecture, there were
also great progresses. During the late period of
the Western Zhou, people began to grasp the
skill of metallurgy.
METAL CHARIOT PARTS
WINE VESSEL
 ACHIEVEMENTS
 PHILOSOPHY-Great philosophers who wrote books about their
dynasty’s culture were highly recognized such as Lao Zi who
wrote a book of Tao (Tao Te Ching) and Confucius who wrote
the Analects.
 REIGNS-The western zhou dynasty had a total of 13 emperors
before moving to the east .
 INVENTIONS-The people of the western zhou dynasty were
skilled inventors. They created pottery water pipes, chariots,
chime bells, bamboo books and vessels.
Bamboo Book
 THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN

The concept of Mandate of Heaven also

included the right of rebellion against an

unjust ruler. The concept of the Mandate of

Heaven was first used to support the rule of

the kings of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE)

 THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN
CONT’D
 The Mandate of Heaven , also known as
Heaven’s Mandate, was the divine source
of authority and the right to rule of China
’s early kings and emperors. The ancient
god or divine force known as Heaven or
Sky had selected this particular individual
to rule on its behalf on earth.
THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN CONT’D

 An important element of the mandate was

that although the ruler had been given
great power he also had a moral
obligation to use it for the good of his
people, if he did not then his state would
suffer terrible disasters and he would lose
the right to govern.
 CONFUCIANISM
 The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (Confucius,
551-479 B.C.E.) did not intend to found a new religion,
but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the
Zhou dynasty, under which many people thought the
ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt

 Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social

and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact,
Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to
establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent
ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist
Robert Bellah called a "civil religion,“ the sense of
religious identity and common moral understanding at the
foundation of a society's central institutions.

 It is also what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused

religion"; (3) its institutions were not a separate church,
but those of society, family, school, and state; its priests
were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents,
teachers and officials. Confucianism was part of the
 Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians,
everyday life was the arena of religion.
 RELIGION
TAOISM
 Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy
and religious belief that is deeply rooted in
Chinese customs and worldview.
 Taoist ideas have become popular throughout
the world through Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and
various martial arts.
 THE FALL OF WESTERN ZHOU

The downfall of Zhou began with the end of Western

Zhou, over 500 years before Zhou's final demise. King
You's actions in seeking to please his concubine Baosi
(including replacing the heir apparent with her son) led
to a revolt by the forces of Marquis Shen and assisted by
the Western Rong and Quan (Dog) Rong tribes. King You
was killed and the capital Haojing was razed.
Baosi (the woman next to him)
 ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT
WESTERN ZHOU
 The Zhou emperors made laws about how fancy
your house could be. Only the emperors were
allowed to have artists carve their pillars and
paint them red. Only the very richest families
could paint their pillars black. People who were
not so rich painted their pillars yellow.
 It was during the Zhou Dynasty that the Art of
War, a famous book about war, was written by
Sun Tzu.
 ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT
WESTERN ZHOU

 The Western Zhou Dynasty was the longest

dynasty of Ancient China.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Asia Society ( 2018) Confucianism
https://asiasociety.org/education/confucianism
 BBC (2014) Taoism
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/
 Mark Cartwright (July 25 2017) Mandate of Heaven
https://www.ancient.eu/Mandate_of_Heaven/
 Travel China Guide (2018) Western Zhou Dynasty

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/zhou/
western/
 Wikipedia (December 22 2017) Fengjian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fengjian
 Wikipedia (February 22 2018) Western Zhou
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou
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