S.S. Ch.11 Lesson 2

The Shang Dynasty
In 2000 B.C., settlements grew into powerful kingdoms
Tang the Successful brought 1,800 villages under his rule which began the Shang DynastyShang Society invented writing system, worked with bronze, had social classes and lived under a monarchy
The Shang writing system consisted of character, symbols
Oracle bones
Earliest form of writing found on bones
They were used to find out about the future

The Zhou DynastyThe Zhou dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty
Zhou culture began in the Wei River Valley, west of the Shang kingdom.
Zhou moved east until they met
the Shang.
1122 B.C., the Zhou ruler, King Wu, won
victory over the Shang.

The Zhou believed that Tian gave certain people an order, known as the Mandate of Heaven
Zhou kings thought that they would be able to keep the mandate as long as they continued to show virtue, or good qualities.

social structure with three classes1. king and his family
2. noble families
3. peasant families

system of exchanging land for loyalty is known as feudalism.

Decline of the ZhouIn about 771 B.C., the enemies attacked the Zhou capital of Hao .
enemies killed the Zhou king and took control of the whole Wei River Valley.
As a result, the Zhou moved their capital city east to the North China Plain.
The Zhou Dynasty weakened
During the last two hundred years of the dynasty, the fighting grew worse
Warring Kingdoms Period or the Warring States Period.

the kingdom of Chu (JOO) had replaced feudalism with a new kind of government.
divided their kingdom into counties

In 535 B.C., the king of Zheng (JUHNG), a kingdom in the North China Plain, ordered that written laws be created to make sure people could tell right from wrong.

The ideas of confuciusConfucius meant “Great Master Kong.”
spent his life thinking about how to return goodness and order to China.
His sayings often told of the importance of good behavior, kindness, tradition, respect for elders, and education.

Confucius thought that people should use filial piety as a model for showing honor and respect for their rulers

He thought of these duties in terms of five relationships—
parent to child, ruler to subject, older brother to younger brother, husband to wife, and friend to friend.