Foundation of Chinese Civilization Shang and Zhou Dynasties 2000- BCE to 221 BCE

1. Foundation of Chinese Civilization Shang and Zhou Dynasties 2000- BCE to 221 BCE

2. Early China, ca. 2000–221 B.C.E. Geography and Resources

3. What was Shang Society like? • King & Nobles at the top • Warriors very powerful • Artisans • Peasants forced to pay taxes • Merchants • Slaves

4. What was the role of women in Shang Society? • Women were subservient to men • Aristocratic women enjoyed a greater freedom and equality than common women • Yin and Yang From the chaotic cosmos were yin and yang separated;From emanate force and amorphous form were they moulded and shaped.With Fu Xi as ruler were the divine and the human distinguished.Thus began male and female, ruler and ruled.The family's dao is regulated and the ruler's dao stabilized.Feminine virtue honours yielding, holding within codes of moral behaviour;Submissive and meek is the female's proper role within the household.Having assumed matrimonial robes, she should reverently prepare the offerings;Dignified and grave in deportment, be a model of propriety.(Quoted in Shane McCausland, First Masterpiece of Chinese Painting: The Admonitions Scroll [New York: George Braziller, 2003]. p. 39.)

5. Shang Elite • Hunting, warfare • Bronze weapons • Horse-drawn chariots

6. Shang Elite Ivory Cup Inlaid with Turquoise The one royal Shang tomb not robbed before it was excavated was for Lady Hao, one of the many wives of the king Wu Ding (ca. 1200 B.C.E.). It contained sixteen human skeletons of both males and females sacrificed at her tomb, and a profusion of valuable objects, such as 460 bronze objects and nearly 750 jade objects. This ivory cup inlaid with turquoise was among the valuables. ((c) Cultural Relics Data Center of China)

7. King was supreme • Shamanistic State • King was chief priest • Bureaucracy • councilors • lesser priests • diviners • King mediated between people and gods • Geomancers read the oracle bones Shang Political Structure • The t'ao-t'ieh (tow-the) mask is a common design on ritual Shang vessels. The symmetrical face is formed around the central flange with intense round eyes, expressive C-shaped horns, and S-shaped mouth. The exact meaning of the t'ao-t'ieh is not known, but is perhaps a symbol of power for the Chinese ruling classes

8. Shang Religion • Polytheistic • Centered on a supreme god, Di, who could not be approached directly • King was intermediary • Ancestors could bring good fortune • Rationale for authoritarian rule • Human sacrifice

9. Chinese Writing This "oracle bone" dates from the reign of King Wu Ding in the Shang Dynasty. It is approximately three thousand years old. Such oracle bones were used by ancient Chinese rulers for divination. The bones were heated until they cracked, and then the cracks were interpreted. The questions asked of the bones (and sometimes also the prognostications and the actual outcomes) were then carved into the bones. The inscriptions on these bones are the earliest known examples of Chinese "characters."

10. Shang Technology • Bronze vessels, such as this tri-pod, or three-legged vessel, were made to honor royal ancestors. They were placed in the tombs of the deceased to invoke blessings on the living. Chain pump for irrigation

11. Shang Economy • Cowry Shells for currency • Agricultural • Sericulture (silkworm) • Thread for silk cloth used for clothing • Became China’s main export • Merchants traded salt, iron, copper, tin, lead & antimony • The artisans formed another group of the economic structure • manufactured weapons, ritual vessels, jewelry, and other items of interest

12. Shang Achievements • Sophisticated writing • Bronze casting • Agriculture • Irrigation • Engineering projects • Two-horsed chariots • Sericulture • Calendar • Decimal system • Blood circulation • Carved Jade • Glazed pottery

13. Question: • China’s development in many instances was distinctive because: • China refused to trade with other countries • Xia dynasty mandated that there be no contact with the outside world. • China is isolated by natural barriers • China had all the resources it needed and had no need for outside contact.

14. Answer: • China’s development in many instances was distinctive because: • China refused to trade with other countries • Xia dynasty mandated that there be no contact with the outside world. • China is isolated by natural barriers. (Correct) • China had all the resources it needed and had no need for outside contact.

15. Zhou Period1045-221 BCE • Zhou territory was a dependent state of the Shang • Defeated the Shang in the eleventh century B.C.E. • Invented the “Mandate of Heaven” in order to justify their actions • The Zhou dynasty is subdivided into two periods: the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou periods

16. Zhou Dynasty • Two periods: Western and Eastern • King Wu created a new land distribution system • New capital city and other urban centers built on a grid pattern • Conformed to principles of feng shui to maintain harmony

17. Zhou Social Order

18. Zhou Society • Over time, King lost power to aristocrats • A hierarchy of status and obligations emerged among families and within families • Older brothers ranked higher than younger brother • Rules of succession determined which males would head family • Married aristocrats brought concubines into the family rather than abandon wife • Ranked lower than his wife • Elites kept track of ancestral heritage Chinese woman stitching embroidery and playing Go. Zhongguo Meishu Quanji

19. Zhou Society • Elites kept track of their ancestral heritage • Married with religious rites and sanctions • Common people lived together and were recognized as a couple by their neighbors • No surnames or recorded ancestors

20. Zhou Society • Book of Songs provides information • Men and women choose each other • Engage in extra-marital sex • Arranged marriages • Male and female babies treated very differently

21. Zhou Political Structure • Land divided into regions • Emperor assigned local ruler who was trusted-called lord (gong) • Each local ruler used all the lands around him • Had own militia • Received gifts from Emperor such as chariots, bronze weapons, servants, animals to maintain loyalty • Lords passed their positions to their sons • Sub-lords provided stability

22. Mandate of Heaven

23. Zhou Religion Women Beating Chimes This drawing of women beating chimes, a scene from a bronze vessel of the Zhou era, illustrates the important role of music in festivals, religious rituals, and court ceremonials. During the politically fragmented later (Eastern) Zhou era, many small states marked their independence by having their own musical scales and distinctive arrangements of orchestral instruments. (Courtesy, Sichuan Museum) • Local lords acted as priests: • performed sacrifice (banned human sacrifice) • hymns sung and dances performed • Right to propitiate the gods of local mountains, streams and of the soil and crops • Worship of various gods from the Shang period continued • Gods of grain, rain and agriculture

24. Zhou Religion • Tian (“Heaven Rules”) • New forms divination “The Book of Changes” • Charms • Confucianism & Daoism

25. Eastern Zhou Period(771-221 BCE) • Zhou monarchs become figureheads • allegiance from rulers of independent states is nominal • Power is fragmented • Warfare dominates • Large armies, conscripted farmers

26. The Art of War by SunTzu • “All warfare is based on deception.” • “The best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. “ • “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”

27. Zhou Contributions • Iron casting • Iron weapons • Chariots • Dye • Glass • Astronomy • Magnetism • Arithmetic • Fractions • Geometry • Cities/Urbanization • Steel • Bureaucratic government • Merit over Wealth/Power • Census • Irrigation channels • Roads • Defensive walls • Palaces • Acupuncture • Fertilizers • Pesticides • Plowing

28. Zhou Economy • Agriculture • Bronze • Iron • Unification between urban and rural areas • Increased wealth due to trade • Most of the work was done by the peasants

29. Daoism • Credit for writing the Way of Virtue • Emphasis on “senses” • “The Way” is the way is the path of nature • Striving is futile • “inaction” • Few Chinese emperors embraced it • Used astrologers and fortunetellers

30. Confucianism • Distressed at the state of society • Wanted to promote harmony in human relations • Drew upon traditional institutions and values • Emphasis on rituals forms of behavior • Addressed issues of morality, conduct, and government • People are good • Need virtuous leaders

31. Five Relationships • Family fundamental • Hierarchical order determined by age and gender • Each person has own place and duties • Filial piety • Not a religion • Respect for gods, ancestors, and religious traditions

32. Evolution of Confucianism and Daoism • Both adapted to changes in society • Incorporated other elements of traditional religion, mysticism, and magic • Daoism "accumulated an elaborate array of gods and rituals." • Some Daoist ideas were incorporated into Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism but they also accused Daoists of witchcraft

33. Male and Female Roles • Clan gave way to three generation family as fundamental social unit • Fathers: • Absolute authority over women and children • Arranged marriages • Sell labor conduct rituals • Make offerings to ancestors though women could maintain the household’s shrine • Men limited to one wife but permitted concubines • Widower expected to remarry • Widow discouraged from remarrying

34. Question: • In the Zhou period, the separation of religion from political dealings allowed China to: • Make war on its neighbors • Develop important secular philosophies • Abandon all religious practices • Adopt Buddhism

35. Answer • In the Zhou period, the separation of religion from political dealings allowed China to: • Make war on its neighbors • Develop important secular philosophies (correct) • Abandon all religious practices • Adopt Buddhism