The early Chou rulers developed this political form into a more tightly bound system of feudalism held together by kinship ties. The Shang had ruled through a decentralized system of vassalage based on a strong mutual sense of obligation. Thus, moral values came to be associated with the conduct of government this idea would be taken up by the philosopher Confucius (551–479 BC). Central to this worldview was the idea that the rule of the Chou king was a gift bestowed by heaven: If the king acted properly, his mandate to rule would be retained and the kingdom would flourish however, if the king neglected his duties or acted tyrannically, his mandate would be revoked and the kingdom would descend into chaos. The transition from Shang to Chou was marked by the introduction of the concept of heaven, which the Chou thought of as the moral power of the universe. In reality, it is likely that the decentralized political system through which the Shang controlled its territories had weakened, providing an opportunity for the Chou to overtake the faltering dynasty. Wu justified his attack by proclaiming that he had a “mandate from heaven” to rescue the suffering Shang. 1115 BC), the ruler of the western frontier state of Chou, overthrew Chou Hsin (c.
According to Chinese history, the Chou dynasty was established in the eleventh or twelfth century BC, when King Wu Wang (d. The Chou was preceded by the Shang dynasty, even though archaeological evidence suggests that the two shared some elements of a common culture and may have coexisted for a time. Despite its longevity, the Chou dynasty was marked by political chaos as it followed a path from centralized monarchy to decentralized state authority and, ultimately, to imperial rule. The latter is further divided into the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) and the Warring States period (475–221 BC). From 1122 to 771 BC it is known as the Western Chou, and from 770 to 221 BC it is called the Eastern Chou. The Chou dynasty is divided into two periods. The Chou was the longest-running dynasty in Chinese history, spanning almost a millennium (1122–221 BC). The Chou dynasty was the last of three hereditary dynasties-the Hsia, Shang, and Chou-that ruled ancient China.
FEUDAL KINGDOMS MAP PROFESSIONAL
In the latter half of the dynasty, political power shifted to the rulers of autonomous regional states, who employed professional civil servants. The Chou dynasty of ancient China governed its territories through a system of feudalism headed by a hereditary monarchy.
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