| A universal guide for China studiesChinese History - Zhou Dynasty 周代 (11th cent.-221 BC) |
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Zhou Dynasty |  period before (Shang)--The Feudal Lords next period (Qin)  | |
| Map and Geography I Map and Geography II Map and Geography III | ||
 |  While the ancestral ritus became more and more a matter of a bureaucratic state, poetry and writing became more individual and allowed to express own opinions about the ruling social stratum. The view of the writing people changed the religion centered inscriptions to a nature and human centered world vision. It was not any more the ancestors and Great Heaven that determined the life of people, but mankind itself. Although the Confucianists see the Western Zhou period as a time of glory, humanity and perfect government, it was a hard time for the Zhou rulers to survive the attacks of the southern and western tribes. But for more than two centuries, they reigned without severe interruption. The case of King You 周幽王 gives nourishment to the Confucian writers who blame him to have followed the words of his consort Baosi 褒似, thus making him equal to King Zhou 商王紂 of the Shang Dynasty and tyrant Jie 夏王桀 of the mythical Xia Dynasty. King You had established a warning system of towers that had to light a fire when the barbarians would attack. Baosi abused this system just for fun. When the Quanrong nomads 犬戎 really attacked, nobody hurried to the weapons. The fleeing Zhou elite had to dig their precious bronze vessels in hoards, a great luck for today's archeologists. Go back to the Zhou Dynasty introduction page and learn more about Zhou Dynasty economy, arts, literature, government... | |
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