Western Zhou (c. 1100 - 771 BC)
Most scholars think that the Zhou were much more "Chinese" than the Shang. For one, they used a
father-to-son succession system. Also, they weren't too keen on human sacrifice. However, they
weren't as good at working bronze as the Shang. Still, it would be centuries before the West was able
to cast bronze as well as the Zhou. Some, though not all, scholars believe that the Xia, the Shang, and
the Zhou actually were three different cultures that emerged more or less at the same time in different
areas of the Yellow River valley. And the historical record supports this view -- the Shang were
conquered from outside by the Zhou, as the Xia had been conquered from the outside by the Shang.
The Zhou actually didn't rule all of what was then China. China
was then made up of a number of quasi-independent principalities.
However, the Zhou were the most powerful principality and played
the role of hegemon in the area. They were located in the middle
of the principalities, giving rise to what the Chinese call their
country -- the Middle Kingdom. The Zhou were able to maintain peace
and stability through the hegemon system for a few hundred years;
then in 771 BC, the capital was sacked by barbarians from the west.
|
