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Zhou Dynasty Takes Over Shang Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty, which started out as a semi-nomadic tribe to the west of the Shang Dynasty took over the rule of the dynasty. The map to the right shows the locations of each civilization around 1040 B.C. when the Shang were in control, just days before the power was taken from them. The Zhou were temporarily located in the Wei River Valley when they sprang their attack. It is said that the Zhou were getting stronger, and their nomadic ways taught them how to work with people of other cultures. It is also rumored that the Shang dynasty was growing weaker because of constant fighting with people to the north. The Shang had also degenerated morally. The Zhou Dynasty's new capital is located in Xi'an.

The Duke of Zhou-Best Emporer of Ancient China

Of all the emporers in Ancient China, the Duke of Zhou had the greatest, most positive impact on China, and he was a fair and kind ruler. The Duke of Zhou was a very selfless man, and when his brother who was the emporer at the time was dying, The Duke of Zhou asked the gods to take his life instead. This is an important quality because you want a ruler who will do what is right for the people, and this clearly shows that he will always put the peoples' needs infront of his. The Duke of Zhou also coninued traditions from the Shang Dynasty, but also created new traditions during his reign. He used the same rituals, but he just added the banging of gongs and chimes, and had many musical performances. This is important because it shows the respect the duke has for other cultures, that he would not just brush their beliefs and customs aside, but embrace them and change them to be his own. Lastly, The Duke of Zhou established a very intricate feudal system and showed everybody where there place was. This shows that he was a strong leader, and that is an important quality, because if you don't have the respect needed to tell everyone their duties for whatever social class they are in, the empire would be a mad-house. In conclusion, the beliefs that The Duke of Zhou was a selfless man, had respect for other cultures, and was a strong leader shows that The Duke of Zhou was the best emporer in Ancient China.

The Book of Changes

The Book of Changes is the manual in which priests during the Zhou Dynasty looked for answers for the future. In the book it is said that human destiny is related to the ever-changing relationship between the yin and yang. The yin represents everything that was passive, negative, restful, or female, and was applied to the earth, water, and the moon. The yang represents everything that was active, strong, positive, or masculine, and was applied to fire, heaven, and the sun. The picture above shows a yin and yang and the way they are symbolized. These two forces are constantly going back and forth and as one is giving way, the other is expanding since everything in nature goes back and forth, like day and night for example. As shown in the picture there is a tiny piece of each in the other, representing the idea that they are intimately bound to each other. The Book of Changes uses broken and unbroken lines to predict the future. Yin is represented by broken lines, while the unbroken lines represent yang. The broken and unbroken lines were formed into trigrams, and then those trigrams were formed into hexagrams. Each different combinations of broken and unbroken lines represented a different thing that would happen in a preson's future. Since all of the combinations represented different meanings, it became very confusing. King Wen arranged the lines into a total of 64 possible combinations, and recorded them and their meanings on strips of bamboo to keep forever.

Zhou Dynasty Food

There was a much higher standard for imperial food during the Zhou Dynasty, than any other. There were very specific rules indicating exactly what foods the emperor was to eat, and how many bowls and drinks were to be served. There was a set menu for what the emperor had to eat for his three daily meals, including fish, intestine, mutton, pork, and beef. The imperial drinks for these feasts were known as the six clears, five qis, and three jius. The picture above shows many of the key foods included in an imperial meal. It is said there were more than 130 types of plants to eat, and around 100 types of animals to pick from in addition to the necessary foods.

Zhou Dynasty Clothing

During the Zhou Dynasty, the colors and fabrics of your clothes were specific to the occasion, and the social class you belonged to. As shown in the picture to the right, which is a garment made for someone with a position of royalty, clothes were usually very colorful and were loosely fitted robes. Confucius defined yellow, blue-green, white, red, and black as standard colors to support the dynasty's ceremonial rituals. He told the people these specific colors were related to kindness, virtue, and benevolence. During this time, people were relating the colors to the seasons and directions. Red was an honored color, because it represented summer, guarded by a red sparrow and the southern direction. They honored this color, because summer was the most important time of the year for crops, while the sun was in the southern direction. The blue-green color represented the spring with a blue-green dragon as its guardian, and it represented the east. White represented autumn with a white tiger as its main guardian and the western direction. Finally, winter was represented by black with a black tortoise facing the north. Yellow was only worn by people of royalty, and their robes were usually made of silk. Peasants were mostly found wearing clothes made of hemp, which was a material much cheaper to make than silk. Overall, the colors of your clothes greatly reflected the time of year or showed your position of royalty, and the material easily showed your social ranking.

Lacquer Use in Eastern Zhou

Using lacquer on objects to form a hard, smooth shiny, and protective coating was a major craft for craftsmen in the Ancient Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Lacquer was first developed during Neolithic times, but the Eastern Zhou were the first to use it on other surfaces such as clay, bamboo, bronze, leather, paper and cloth. Objects with lacquer coating were totally waterproof, and were resistant to heat and corrosive acids. In the picture to the right, you see a wooden bowl covered in lacquer that was found in the 1970's from around the time of the Zhou dynasty. Although it's been in use since over 7000 years ago, lacquer is still used on artwork today, and is the main reason why crafts from ancient times are still in our possession today.