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The Zhou dynasty (; Chinese: 周) [c] was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from c. 1046 BC until 256 BC, the longest of all dynasties in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period ( c. 1046 – 771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji , had military control over ancient China .
The new Qin king proceeded to conquer East Zhou, seven years after the fall of West Zhou. Thus the 800-year Zhou dynasty, nominally China's longest-ruling regime, finally came to an end. [6] Sima Qian contradicts himself regarding the ultimate fate of the East Zhou court. Chapter 4 (The Annals of Zhou) concludes with the sentence "thus the ...
The Western Zhou (Chinese: 西周; pinyin: Xīzhōu; c. 1046 [1] – 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 771 BC when Quanrong pastoralists sacked the Zhou capital at Haojing and killed ...
The second half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, from 475 to 221 BCE, was called the Warring States period, [3] during which the King of Zhou gradually lost his relevance and ruled merely as a figurehead. After moving the capital east, the Zhou royal family fell into a state of decline.
After the fall of the Shang dynasty, King Wu of Zhou had appointed his younger brothers Guanshu, Caishu and Huoshu as the "Three Guards" of the East to secure the newly conquered Shang lands. [1] After his death and his young son King Cheng's coronation, King Wu's brother Dan, the Duke of Zhou, declared himself regent and took over the court.
The Zhou defeated the Shang at Muye and captured the Shang capital Yin, marking the end of the Shang and the establishment of the Zhou dynasty—an event that features prominently in Chinese historiography as an example of the Mandate of Heaven theory that functioned to justify dynastic conquest throughout Chinese history.
Of the Seven Warring States, the state of Qin grew to be the strongest and eventually conquered and successfully annexed the other six states; Han was the first to fall in 230 BCE, while Qi was the last to surrender in 221 BCE. [1] Ying Zheng, the King of Qin, created the new title of Huangdi and became China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in the Guanzhong region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal demesne centered on Luoyi. During the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. [11]