Zhou Dynasty

The beginnings of the Zhou Dynasty

1600 BCE

During this time the people of Zhou were just moving on from barbaric ways migrating west to grow more agriculturally. From about 1600 BCE to 1099 BCE when the Shang grew afraid of King Wen's power and locked him up, the two societies lived in harmony

King Wen

1099 BCE

This was the first showing of anyone being a ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, around this time Wen is credited with gaining alliances with neighboring chiefs that gave the Zhou the military strength that could overthrow the Shang dynasty. Once the Shang found out about his actions in recruiting his own powerful army that could combat the Shang the leaders of the Shang locked Wen away in the city of Youli.This then lead to Wen's supporters rioting into war against the Shang.

The start of the Zhou Dynasty

1046 BCE

The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty and became the new power of Ancient China. The Zhou did this with King Wu, the son of King Wen, leading an army of about 50,000 troops against an army of almost 70,000 Shang soldiers. Although at this time the Shang people were so unhappy with the ruling of the Shang Dynasty that many did not fight and some even helped the Zhou army in the fight against their rulers.

The Western Zhou

1046 BCE

From about 1046-771 BCE the Zhou were mostly in control of the Western part of China. The only control the Zhou court had over most of the Eastern part of China during this period was by granting power to the royal family or favored adherents throughout those parts. These people who gained authority and power even ended up being the local chiefs of any area without royal family or favored adherents.

King Li

877 BCE

During King Li's rule, which was approximately between 877- 841 BCE the parts of China the Zhou court did not have strong control over started to ignore their duties given to them by the Zhou and started to fight amongst themselves. Since the Zhou started to lose control of China, non-chinese forces saw an opportunity to attack a weakened society. During King Li's rule he fought off 14 non-chinese armies with no positive results.

King Xuan

827 BCE

King Xuan ruled from 827-782, and was the last king of the "Western Zhou". During his rule he was fighting off many non-chinese armies and his son King You died from a barbarian attack lead on the city of Haojing, the capital city. The loss of King You lead to Haojing being overrun and sacked by a pack of northerners. After this attack all of the royal heir that was lucky enough to survive the attack saw it as vulnerable to attack, moving the capital to Luoyang, located further east of Haojing.

Eastern Zhou

770 BCE

After the Zhou were run out of the western part of China, they had lost a lot of their power. Their bonds throughout most of China had weakened, except for the Qin, who had taken over the Zhou's old land around 700 BCE. The Qin became the power of the western part of China, and gained a very good relationship with the zhou, even maintaining marriage relations with their ruling class. This started the time of the Eastern Zhou, also known as the Dong Zhou.

Confucius is Born

551 BCE

Confucius was born in the Warring States Period and grew up to be a very influential teacher during this state of constant war brought upon China. He was the founder of Confucianism which was a school of thought used to restore family order and social harmony.

Four Major Chinese States Form

550 BCE

Around 550 BCE the Qin, Qi, Jin, and Chu states formed, creating the basis of the disputes caused by the Warring States Period. The Qin being to the West of the Zhou, the Qi in the east, the Jin in the north, and the Chu to the south. The forming of these powerful states ended up as one of the biggest faults to the ending the Zhou Dynasty. The growing power of each of the states during the Warring States Period lead to the Zhou being much weaker than the rest, which made the Qin over take them.

The tax-by-land system

549 BCE

In 549 BCE the State of Lu accepted the "Tax-By-Land System" which taxes the citizens of the state considering the size of their land. This would ultimately increase the societies money and revenue, while solving and preventing the poverty seen in their state.

The Art of War

510 BCE

In 510 BCE the very powerful past military general and strategic genius of his time Sun Tzu wrote the book "The Art of War", which was a book about the military generals experiences during the Warring States Period. This became the most popular book in China for a long period of time.

The Wei and Qi States Declare Power Over China

334 BCE

During the Warring States Period, the Zhou Dynasty was starting to lose power and the other states surrounding it were gaining more and more power. The Qi and Wei states then recognized each other as the kings of China in 334 BCE and also recognized the weakness of the Zhou. This lead to other states in China declaring their Kingship and the first major showing of the Zhou Dynasty coming to and end.

Han Fei is born

280 BCE

Han Fei was born in 280 BCE and went on to become one of the major contributors to Legalism. Han Fei believed that strict ruling was the efficient way to gain respect and control over their subjects, which highly conflicted with schools of thought such as Daoism, Confucianism, etc.

The fall of the Zhou Dynasty

256 BCE

The Zhou dynasty finally fell in 256 BCE, during the warring states period which, a war fought over different schools of thought in China, Daoism, Legalism, etc. The warring states period were led by the four states surrounding the Zhou, the Qin, Jin, Chu, and Qi states. With all of these states gaining more and more power the Zhou dynasty was taken over by the Qin Dynasty. The taking over the city of Chengzhou, and killing the last ever Zhou king, King Nan, marked the end of the Zhou Dynasty.