Zhou Dynasty
1111-256 BCE
Pardiss Kaviani
Social Life, Culture, and Religion
There was a vary of lives in the Zhou Dynasty. Farmer lived in a small village which usually consists of 100 people. Farmers had small family farms and did most of the work by hand. Some farmers went to the military and built palaces or canals. The women were not important. All they did was take care of the house. They could be put to death and they had no say in marriages. Marriages were arranged by the parents. The wealthy boys were went to school and learned calligraphy and poetry.
A lot of religions started in the Zhou dynasty. One of those religions or beliefs were Confucianism which was started by Confucius. He believed that the leaders should be trustworthy, respectful, honest, to the people, wise, and should act like a father. The Zhou were not greatly influenced by this religion unlike the Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing. This religion helped them achieve great education, highly qualified government officials, and a firm political system. Philosophers told people how to live there live and how to live it the best way.
Politics
The Zhou Dynasty rose to power by over throwing the Shang Dynasty. When the Cities started to rebel the Zhou Dynasty took control. King Wu was the one who got them to power. The Zhou Dynasty did many things to expand and unify China. They started the feudal system. Also, to keep China unified, they sent their family and friends to govern different parts of China so that everyone was under control.
They also expanded the market place. This made trade more common and that meant wealthier citizens. After their period of prosperity they started to get selfish. The citizens struggled to meet their basic needs. The Zhou rulers ignored the needs of the poor and they were no longer concerned about solvong problems. They lost power under King Wu's rain.
Economics
Economics was important to the Zhou Dynasty. They expanded the market places and made a money based system. They introduced iron, glass products, and development in warfare technology. They had a lot of occupations there too. Phiosophers were very common. There was also merchants, state officials, writers, thinkers, artists, builders, inventors, and many more jobs. They also made titles like duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron.
Inventions, Technology, Science, and Architecture
Something that the Zhou Dynasty had were lots of philosophers. One of the most common was confucious which encourged Zhou to live an ordered family centered way of life. This helped China stay stable. They also used horses for travel. This made travel faster and more efficient. They also made iron tipped oxdrawn plows. This made farming easier. They also called their cities Chen cities, but they did not contribute many buildings.