Legalism functioned as the ideological basis of the various independent states as they expanded their bureaucracies, strengthened the power of the state, and issued written codes of law.ĭ. Legalism assumes that human nature is essentially wicked and selfish, and that people will only behave if they are ruled by strict laws and harsh punishments. The most significant of these schools of philosophy were Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism.ħ. The Eastern Zhou is particularly known as the era in which influential political philosophies were developed. Technological innovations of the Eastern Zhou include the construction of long walls for defense, iron and steel metallurgy, and horse riding.Ħ. The Eastern Zhou period is further sub-divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn Period (771–481 b.c.e.) and the Warring States Period (480–221 b.c.e.).ĥ.
The Eastern Zhou period was characterized by a decline in the strength of the central government as regional elites began to rule their territories as independent states, often fighting with each other. Like the Shang, the Zhou exercised direct control over their core territory and administered the peripheral areas indirectly.Ĥ. During the Western Zhou period (eleventh–ninth centuries b.c.e.), the Chinese developed a model of government that defined kingship in moral terms. The Zhou period saw the development of a number of important secular philosophies.ģ. During the Zhou period, the priestly power of the elite faded, resulting in the separation of religion and government. The Zhou dynasty is subdivided into two periods: the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou periods.Ģ. and invented the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven” in order to justify their actions. They defeated the Shang in the eleventh century b.c.e. The Zhou territory was a dependent state of the Shang.
The chief written remains are oracle bones used in divination.ġ.
The Chinese writing system of today is directly related to the writing of the Shang dynasty. The Chinese writing system (Chinese characters) developed during the Shang period. Other technological advances include the horse-drawn chariot, the use of water buffalo as draft animals, and extensive civil engineering projects.Ħ. Shang technology included the use of bronze for weapons and ceremonial vessels. The kings worshiped the spirits of male ancestors, practiced divination and sacrifice, and presented themselves as intermediaries between the gods and the human world.ĥ. Shang kings carried out military campaigns against nomadic enemies and engaged in a far-flung commerce that may even have included some indirect trade with Mesopotamia. The Shang kings ruled directly over the core area of their kingdom and exercised indirect rule over peripheral areas.Ĥ. The Shang dynasty had its origins in the Yellow River Valley and later expanded to include territory from Mongolia to Gansu and south to the Yangzi Valley. Later documents concerning the Xia may be referring to one of the late Neolithic societies of the Yellow River Valley.ģ. There are no contemporary documents to confirm the existence of the legendary Xia dynasty. Pigs, chickens, and millet were domesticated, silk textiles developed, and bronze metallurgy begun (ca. Pre-Shang China was a land of Neolithic communities. Agriculture in this region required the coordinated effort of large numbers of people.ī. The loess soil and cool climate of the north are suitable for growing millet rice may be cultivated in the warmer and rainier south.Ĥ. China’s natural resources include timber, stone, and metals. The northern area includes the Yellow River Valley and has a dry, cold climate the southern area includes the Yangzi Valley, has plentiful rainfall, and is relatively warm.ģ. The eastern zone is subdivided into two areas: north and south. China is divided into two major geographical regions: the steppe, desert, and high plateau west and northwest and the eastern zone, more suitable for settled agriculture.Ģ.