Early Zhou
With the slow decline of the Shang Empire coupled with the increase of power from the Zhou tribe, the chief of the Zhou people, Wenwang, assigned his son, Wuwang, to finally defeat the Shang. After the death of his father, Wuwang devised a plan to conquer the Shang and fulfilled his father’s final command. A battle was fought between the Shang and the Zhou and the Shang Dynasty ended in 1122 B.C.E. Before the land could be controlled by the Zhou, rebellion broke out among the people. The rebellion raged for three years before it was shut down and a feudal system was finally established.
Feudal System
The feudal lords generally consisted of the royal family or friends who were thought trusted by the emperor. The original Zhou capital had been located near present-day Xi’an on the Wei river. To support the empire in the east and its loyal feudal rulers, an eastern capital was built at Luoyang on the middle reaches of the Huang He.
Fall of the Zhou Dynasty
After 200 years of feudal success, the Zhou system of government began to collapse with the increased self-interest of multiple feudal lords. The decline of the feudal king’s power, the lords that once served him began to rise up against him, forming roaming armies and becoming warlords in their own right. Thus initiating the Period of the Warring States and the fall of the Zhou Dynasty.
With the slow decline of the Shang Empire coupled with the increase of power from the Zhou tribe, the chief of the Zhou people, Wenwang, assigned his son, Wuwang, to finally defeat the Shang. After the death of his father, Wuwang devised a plan to conquer the Shang and fulfilled his father’s final command. A battle was fought between the Shang and the Zhou and the Shang Dynasty ended in 1122 B.C.E. Before the land could be controlled by the Zhou, rebellion broke out among the people. The rebellion raged for three years before it was shut down and a feudal system was finally established.
Feudal System
The feudal lords generally consisted of the royal family or friends who were thought trusted by the emperor. The original Zhou capital had been located near present-day Xi’an on the Wei river. To support the empire in the east and its loyal feudal rulers, an eastern capital was built at Luoyang on the middle reaches of the Huang He.
Fall of the Zhou Dynasty
After 200 years of feudal success, the Zhou system of government began to collapse with the increased self-interest of multiple feudal lords. The decline of the feudal king’s power, the lords that once served him began to rise up against him, forming roaming armies and becoming warlords in their own right. Thus initiating the Period of the Warring States and the fall of the Zhou Dynasty.
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/114678/Zhou-dynasty
- https://sites.google.com/site/dynastiesofancientchina/zhou-dynasty/economic-and-political-features-of-zhou-dynasty
- http://history.cultural-china.com/en/46History1570.html
- http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/zhou/