Transcript Zhou Mandate of Heaven - White Plains Public Schools

Global History I Honors: Spiconardi
 Dynasty Establishment
 The Zhou overthrow the
Shang and eventually
establish to capitals
 Western Capital = Xian
 Eastern Capital = Luoyang
 The Zhou King
 Served as the head of a
growing government
 Controlled the armies
 Seen as an intermediary
between the people and
the god Shang Ti
 The Zhou King made
sacrifices to the god of
heaven
 If any sacrifices or
prayers were missed,
great ill was predicted to
fall on the kingdom of
the neglectful leader
 Feudalism
 Like the Shang, the Zhou
divided the kingdom into
territories
 Each territory was a walled
city
 King had little to no control
over these walled territories
 Each territory was governed
by appointed nobles
 Nobles had peasants farm the
land
 Territories eventually
became more & more
independent
Primogeniture  first born inherits all
property/possessions of his father
 Social Hierarchy
 Lords
 Members of the army
 Artisans and merchants
 Farmers
 Society was based on agricultural production
 Slaves
Center section was tilled
by all peasants for the
lord of their territory
 Very few in Zhou Dynasty China
Peasant #1
Peasant #2
Peasant #4
Peasant #6
Peasant #3
Peasant #5
Peasant #7
Peasant #8
 The Warring States  period of chaos and fighting
among China’s feudal lords
 As each territory became more independent, the Zhou’s
authority became decentralized
 The feudal nobles fought one another and China was no
longer united
 Mandate of Heaven  the divine approval to rule
 Zhou: “Heaven…has sent down ruin on the Shang. The
Shang has lost the Mandate, and we Zhou have received
it…I believe the heavens favor those who are sincere in
their intentions…The Mandate of Heaven is not easy to
gain. It will be lost when men fail to live up to…the
virtues of their forefathers.”
 Dynastic Cycle  explanation of the rise, fall, &
establishment of dynasties in China
 Chinese believe leadership had to be changed when
problems came about, not laws or institutions
 Rulers were seen as sons of heaven and father to the
Chinese people
 Leaders had to be moral and upright
In essence, the
Zhou King had
to rule
effectively or
the people had
a right to
revolution