[11] Confucius believed that society needed to find balance and harmony with each group. The early Shi came from the ancient warrior caste, but the make-up of the Shi gradually evolved until it was mostly made of aristocratic scholars who studied in order to occupy positions of rank, and then further into a bureaucratic scholarly elite where noble lineage was de-emphasized. The Zhou justified the change of dynasty and their own authority by claiming that the dispossessed Shang had forfeited the " Mandate of Heaven " by their misrule. [11] Noble families held positions within the government and ruled the country. The real power of Zhou was so small, that the end of the dynasty was hardly noted.
From being a single political entity, ancient China became fragmented amongst numerous competing states. [7], The Shang Dynasty is the first period of prehistoric China that has been conclusively proven to have existed by archaeological evidence, such as excavated graves and oracle bones, the oldest substantial evidence of Chinese writing.
Scholars use this event to divide the history of the Zhou dynasty into two periods: the Western Zhou (1122-771 BCE) and the Eastern Zhou (771-256 BCE). [12], The Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1046 BCE) was the second dynasty of China which succeeded the Xia Dynasty (c. 2700-1600 BCE. In conclusion there are many things for the author to write about in Ancient China. Farmers and peasants in ancient China were seen as a necessary group of people for the country to grow and be stable.
From the Western Zhou Dynasty, dated c. 1000 BC. Though they could achieve significant wealth, they were held in low esteem because they did not produce anything, but rather transported and traded goods made by others.
Merchants and traders where a very important contribution in society, they werent great compared to the other social classes. The laws in ancient China were every man must carry duties with obedience. [2], As time went by some clans became more and more prominent, and in the Spring and Autumn period (traditionally 771-476 BCE) they became a threat to the power of the regional lords (who themselves had reduced the Zhou king to a cipher). The Zhou Dynasty of China succeeded the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. [8] The early Shi came from the ancient warrior caste, but the make-up of the Shi gradually evolved until it was mostly made of aristocratic scholars who studied in order to occupy positions of rank, and then further into a bureaucratic scholarly elite where noble lineage was de-emphasized.
[8], During the first part of the Eastern Zhou period, called the Spring and Autumn period, the king became less powerful and the regional feudal became lords more so, until only seven consolidated powerful feudal states were left.
[3] [3], These were purchased by an expanding ruling class, which arose from the multiplying of centres of royal power amongst more than a hundred Zhou rulers of principalities and a much larger number of subordinate lords of fiefs.
: this was the lowest class in society. The emperor wore yellow silk robes.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'coolaboo_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_7',107,'0','0'])); The population of ancient China was dominated by farmers and peasants. [8] In ancient China there were many inventions and accomplishments. China also practised a social hierarchical structure in its societies that were divided into classes. In Ancient China an author would write about government, social classes, civilization and the four major professions. [2] [2] Sometimes merchants bought land in order to be considered farmers and therefore command more respect in society. The whole period of the Eastern Zhou is also known as the period of "the One Hundred Schools" a time when numerous teachers and their disciples preached new beliefs and new ways of doing things.
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Rights Reserved. [11] [2] [4] [13], It followed the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) and it finished when the army of the state of Qin captured the city of Chengzhou in 256 BCE.
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[17] Farmers and peasants could own land but not many did own land.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'coolaboo_com-box-4','ezslot_8',108,'0','0'])); They were forced to pay tribute to land owners and work for the government for one month a year. [2], With the decline in the royal authority of the Zhou kings, the later Zhou period saw the rise of a new trans-state system to regulate the conflict between the states. [9] [11], Gong- these were the first members of the Chinese nobility and came from the Shang royal family.
In the first centuries of the Eastern Zhou period, the forces which the states fielded against each other were based on chariots, manned by warrior-aristocrats who fought according to widely recognised rules of war. The gentry came second and were appointed government officials. The conclusion of the Zhou Dynasty came about when an independent noble named Qin Shi Huang united China into the Qin Dynasty.
Farmers were the largest social class in ancient China. By one perspective, the history of China is therefore how one particular people and their culture came to dominate such a large region. Next were landowning nobles who supplied the king's military with fighters and weapons. [8] The court eunuchs were also viewed with some suspicion by the scholar-officials, since there were several instances in Chinese history where influential eunuchs came to dominate the emperor, his imperial court, and the whole of the central government.
It was a society that followed a class system of land-owners, soldiers, bronze workers, and peasants.
However, they commanded more respect than merchants because the skills they had were handed down from father to son. [3] Not unconnected to this, during the Eastern Zhou period Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BCE. [6], It was located in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BCE. Put simply, the great majority became assimilated into the Chinese nation. [2] [11], From existing literary evidence, commoner rankings in China were employed for the first time during the Warring States period (403-221 BC). Scholars – even those who owned land – were never very rich, but they were respected because of their knowledge. For three centuries after the Zhou conquered the Shang, Zhou rulers maintained order in North China and expanded their territories. This group of people in ancient China performed jobs such as potters, metal smiths, jewelry makers, clothes, weavers, and ship builders. There were four social classes in ancient China including noble, farmers or peasants, artisans or craftsmen, and merchants. The result of thesefactors was the toppling of the Zhou Dynasty in the 3rd CenturyBC/BCE and the founding of the legendary Imperial Period of China. The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) unified China under the Legalist system, but became infamous for its oppressive measures, and so collapsed into a state of civil war.
[16] [4] Though they were very important yet their social esteem was low compared to the other three classes because they did not contribute to the production system. [3] [6] Lu was a state during the Zhou's dynasty Lu was founded in the 11 century BC. The occurrence of rich burials on a royal scale in different parts of the Zhou realm testifies to the growing independence and power of these princes. Zhou Dynasty was a feudal period, where China was roughly united by a single spoken language: Mandarin Chinese.
[12] [8], Shang - Merchants and Traders The Shang were the lowest group on the social classes for ancient China. Farmers and peasants were only allowed to wear black or blue clothing made of hemp or cotton. [12], Jie, the last king of the Xia Dynasty (the first Chinese dynasty), was overthrown c. 1760 BCE by Cheng Tang. One of these states was the kingdom of Zhou, which lay on the western frontiers of the Shang-dominated area, and may not have been fully assimilated into it. [2], By the end of the Han dynasty, northern China still remained home to the great majority of the Chinese people, and the heart of Chinese civilization. [6] The Chinese economy and society in ancient times, like all economies at that time (which had advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage), were based on agriculture.
[3] 4. [8] [2] [8] [6] There were four social classes in ancient China including noble, farmers or peasants, artisans or craftsmen, and merchants. [2] Citizens during the Shang dynasty can be classified into four social classes: the king & aristocracy, the military, artisans & craftsmen, and peasants. Philosophies and Religion During the Zhou Dynasty, the origins of native Chinese Philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BC. He looked back on the Western Zhou period, with its strong centralized state, as an ideal. The Gentry of scholars were highly respectable people as the availability of knowledge in itself was limited and these people were highly knowledgeable aristocrats according to their times.
[17] [5] [2] After Zhou Dynasty fell, China went into a warring states period where there was alot of political confusion. 1. After a series of wars among these powerful states, King Zhao of Qin defeated King Nan of Zhou and conquered West Zhou in 256 BCE; his grandson, King Zhuangxiang of Qin, conquered East Zhou, bringing the Zhou Dynasty to an end. The ancient Chinese believed people should act like other people in their social class.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'coolaboo_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_10',110,'0','0'])); Specific rules were made and enforced in ancient China in order for people to act like their specific social class.