Zhou (or Chou) Dynasty (1027 or 1022 - 221 BC)

The first dynasty to unite most of China under a single government was the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou was a semi-nomadic clan from the north western fringe of the Chinese world. They replaced the Shang Dynasty (1600-1027 or 1766-1122 BC). The capital was at Hao, near modern Xi'an. The government form there was a feudal monarchy. This Dynasty saw the full flowering of ancient civilization in China. During this period the empire was unified, a middle class arose, and iron was introduced. From a social standpoint the Western Zhou was quite similar to the Shang. The rulers were the nobles with family names and they practiced ancestor worship. Divination marked every important decision or event. Peasants were physically separated from other classes but were a key element. They carried out vital and supportive functions such as sewing and reaping. The Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other, from 1027 to 221 BC. The sage Confucius developed the code of ethics that dominated Chinese thought and culture for the next 25 centuries. The Zhou conquest of the Shang was given an important meaning by later moralistic interpretations of the event. The Zhou kings, whose chief deity was heaven, called themselves "Sons of Heaven," and their success in overcoming the Shang was seen as the "mandate of heaven." From this time on, Chinese rulers were called "Sons of Heaven" and the Chinese Empire, the "Celestial Empire". The transfer of power from one dynasty to the next was based on the mandate of heaven. Zhou rule in China continued for nearly nine centuries. During that time great advances were made. In 771 BC Zhou's king was killed by invading barbarians who were allied with rebel lords. The capital was moved eastward to Luoyang in present-day Henan Province. Because of this shift, historians divide the Zhou era into the:

Western (Early) Zhou (1122-771 BC).
Western Zhou territory covered most of the North China Plain. It was divided into about 200 princely domains. The Zhou political system was similar to the feudal system of medieval Europe. The Zhou people combined hunting and agriculture for a living. Associating the success or failure of crops with the disposition of nature, the people prayed to numerous nature gods for good harvests. One of the ruler's duties was to placate heaven and Earth for all people. Failure to do so deprived him of the right to rule. Such beliefs are still widely held today among the Chinese people. Ancestor worship also developed during the Zhou period and has been important in East Asia for the last 2,000 years. The Zhou were invaded in 771 BC by a less cultured, more militaristic people from the northwest. The capital was moved east to Luoyang. From this point on, the dates are considered reliable. The manner in which the Western Zhou fell followed a pattern that was repeated throughout Chinese history. People who led a nomadic, or wandering, life in the northern steppe land would invade settled agricultural communities to solve periodic food shortages. The conflict between the nomads and settled farmers has been a continuing feature of Chinese history. Settled Chinese called the nomads "barbarians," a term applied to all peoples of non-Chinese culture up to the 20th Century. From this concept an idea developed that China was the center of the civilized world, hence the traditional name "Middle Kingdom/Country," referring to China. When the western Zhou started is uncertain but traditionally 1122 BC and 1027 BC are the dates given to us.

Eastern Zhou (770-221 BC)
The Eastern Zhou period is thought of as the 'shaping period' of Chinese culture. It is during this time when the uniqueness of China's recorded history begins, with the collections of documents, and historical romances coming to us. It was also during this time that the decline of the ancient forms of religion and the transformation into Confucianism and Daoism took place. From a social standpoint they created Legalism which is "a loose bundle of thinkers from different traditions rather than a proper school". This social organization was then adopted by other dynasties. It is also in this time that military thought and technology advanced. The end of the Zhou period is in 221 BC when the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified the land on a new imperial basis. The Eastern Zhou period is divides into two sub-periods:

The Spring and Autumn Period (770 to 476 BC): Named after a famous historical chronicle of the time. In the Spring and Autumn period, iron replaced bronze for tools and weapons.
The Warring States Period (475-221 BC): The use of iron led to an increase in agricultural output, growth of the population, and warfare among the states. By the 4th Century BC the number of states had shrunk to seven. In 256 BC the princes of those states assumed the title of king, stopped paying homage to the Zhou king, and continued to fight for supremacy. The strongest of the seven states was Qin (or Chin). The disruption caused by this prolonged warfare had a number of long-range consequences. One was the rise of a new social group, the scholars (shi). They were forerunners of the scholar-officials of the Chinese Empire, who became the most influential group in China. In the Later Zhou period, however, they were a relatively small group of learned people. Often wandering from state to state in search of permanent employment, the shi worked as tutors to the children of feudal princes and as advisers to various state governments. The most famous of these scholarly shi was Confucius.