Zhou Dynasty

King Wen (aka the 'Cultured King') lived in Zhou, which lay west of the Shang, during the Shang dynasty.
Wen had diplomatic ties to the Shang and took a Shang princess as a wife. He was imprisoned by King
Zhou of Shang but was eventually released. Wen planned to overthrow King Zhou, but died before he
was able to accomplish this. However, he was still honored as the founder of the Zhou dynasty.
King Wu (aka the Martial King) was the son of King Wen and conquered King Zhou of Shang, becoming
the first king of the Zhou dynasty. Wu moved the capital of Zhou further east before launching his
ultimately successful expedition to conquer the Shang. Wu died soon after conquering the Shang,
however. However, he is regarded as one of the three Zhou rulers credited with having established a
stable Zhou state.
Tian, or heaven, was believed to choose individuals (tianzi or Son of Heaven) on earth to carry out its
mandate of virtuous rule on earth. The Zhou theory about their ability to unexpectedly conquer the
Shang was that the Shang had lost Heavens favor due to sexual excess and lack of attention to
government.
The Spring and Autumns was the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, with its name derived from the
chronicle named the Spring and Autumn Annals. At the beginning of the Zhou, the vast territory of the
Zhou was partitioned as fiefdoms to generals and royal relatives. Overtime, the power of the Zhou King
waned and states became more independent and powerful in competing against each other. The king
also would appoint a hegemon, who would see over the alliance of various states.
The Warring States period, which came after the Springs and Autumns, contrasted with the Spring and
Autumns period in many ways. Military campaigns of states coupled with technological developments
such as the low-skilled weapon the crossbow, which allowed states to raise large armies, became longer
and deadlier. Also, wars were fought for annexation, making the stakes of warfare much higher during
this period.
Confucius was Chinas first moral philosopher and also recognized as a ritual master. He expounded
moral principles such as thinking through reciprocity (the golden rule) and filial piety. His principles
emphasized both personal and government morality and that the government functioned for moral
rectification. Confucius ideal world was one where conventions governed actions and hierarchy enabled
harmonious cooperation. Confucius did not write his own teachings down because he did not want his
teaching to seem static. Confucian texts that were transmitted down generations were compiled by his
disciples.
Ren is the highest virtue of Confucius teachings and can be translated as perfect goodness or humanity.
Ren entailed a concern for the well-being of others and made the right action seem the most effortless.
Ren extends to everybody and was a virtue without any hierarchical dimension.
Zheng is a Confucian doctrine that to know and use the proper designation of things in relation to one
another, and to behave accordingly, is most conducive to maintaining good and social harmony.
Confucius believed that social disorder stemmed from a failure to perceive and understand reality, and
that the rectification of names corrected for this
Mencius was a disciple of Confucianism, having studied it with Confucius grandson. He travelled around
offering advice and teachings to rulers, much as Confucius did, reminding rulers of the Mandate of

Heaven. Mencius believed and propounded inherent human goodness and taught that there are four
beginnings of virtue planted in peoples hearts by heaven. People ought to attain their natural state,
which is to be a good, moral person.
The siduan or Four Beginnings is a Mencian idea discussing the inherent goodness that people have in
their hearts. The four virtues are humanity, righteousness, wisdom, and propriety. Mencius also
believed that one needed to cultivate oneself to develop these principles in ones heart. However, ones
natural tendencies were good to begin with.
Xunzi was another Confucian thinker that lived after Mencius. He believed that Mencius was foolishly
defending Confucian ideas. Xunzis essays and teachings were coherent and ordely because they were
written by himself and compiled into Xunzi. Xunzi believed that human nature was basically bad and was
made good through education. He believed people needed models to followsuch as what sages left
behind in texts, rituals, and songs.
Modi was another philosopher during the Warring States periods, and the founder of the school of
thought called Mohism. He taught the idea of universal love and to treat others with the kindness that
one treat oneself with (i.e universally). This contrasted with Confucian thought that individuals should
be treated differently depending on their place in a hierarchy. Mohism also contrasted from
Confucianism in questioning whether ritual practice actually had any utility. Mohists were also experts
at defensive warfare; mohism had many texts on siegecraft and defending a city.
Laozi was a philosopher during the Warring States period best known for his authorship of the Dao De
Jing or the Canon of Dao. Written in the very vague language, the Dao De Jing talked about the Dao,
which referred to the right course of action. Some early interpretations of the Dao De Jing thought the
text was discussing how one might become the best possible rulerby dominating others and becoming
a type of super-king.
Wuwei is a central concept of the Dao De Jing meaning non-doing. Laozi explains wuwei in the
DaoDejing as people who are in perfect accordance with the Dao are able to behave in a non-contrived
and non-forced way. This the attainment of natural behavior.
The Zhuangzi is a text related to the DaoDeJing and is one of the foundational texts of Daoism,
describing with existential problems. It expounded principles similar to those in the DaoDeJing such as
the Dao. It was written by Zhuang Zhou during the Warring States period. The Zhuangzi was an
influential work among scholars throughout Chinese history.
Lord Shang was the chief minister of the state of Qin during the Warring States period and a founder of
legalist philosophy. In the state of Qin, Shang effected reforms that abolished aristocracy. Late in the
Warring States period, the Qin state went from being peripheral to militarily powerful and efficient.
Legalist reforms such as the institution of meritocracy in government and the abolition of fiefdom
contributed to the Qin becoming powerful enough to conquer all of China and usher in the Qin dynasty.
Han Fei was a Chinese philosopher during the late Warring States period that contribute to the
development of Legalist doctrine. He presented himself as the final synthesizer of all older ideals of
statecraft. His text, the Hanfeizi, makes many references to texts that no longer exist as well as using the
most chengyus. His texts expounded the principle of following orders and doing exactly as toldno
more or less.
The First Emperor of Qin, also known as Zheng, was the first emperor of China. After conquering all of
the Warring States, Zheng adopted the title of Emperor rather than King as in Shang and Zhou times. His

father, Zichu, became the King of Qin with the help of Lu Buwei. Zichu took one of Lu Buweis
concubines for his own and had Zheng. As the first emperor, he enacted many political and economic
reforms, as well as executed many scholars and burned many books.
Lu Buwei was a merchant and politician during the Warring States period that befriended Zichu when
Zichu was a hostage of Zhao. Lu Buwei sent gifts to king and queen of Qin to convince them to change
the line of succession to make Zichu the heir. He acted as prime minister to Zichu and the first emperor
when he rose to the throne at an early age. However, Lu Buwei was banished to the Sichuan basin when
he was implicated in a scandal involving the emperors mother, where he patronized scholars, wrote the
Springs and Autumns of Mr. Lu, and eventually committed suicide (at the emperors request).
Li Si was the prime minister of the Emperor of Qin and helped enact many legalist reforms to the Qin
kingdom. Li Si also convinced the King of Qin to become emperor rather than just be king of a peripheral
state. Li Si banished the first emperors son Fusu for wanting to overturn his ideas and instead appointed
Huhai as emperor.
Jia Yi was a Han scholar that believed that the Qin ultimately failed because it was ignorant of the past.
Liu Bang/Emperor Gao was the first emperor of the Han dynasty. After conquering Xiangyu of Chu, who
defeated the Qin, Liu Bang established the Han dynasty. Liu Bang was also one of the few emperors to
have come from the peasant class, having been a mediocre bureaucrat during the Qin dynasty. Under
his rule, Confucianism flourished. During his rule, he also was in constant contention with the Xiongnu,
even being captured once. Ultimately the Han empire had to pay off Xiongnu to not attack.
Liu Che/Emperor Wu was the fifth and longest reigning emperor of Han. He greatly expanded the
territory of the Han dynasty as well as consolidated the power of the central government. He made a
rule where when land was passed down through the patrialineage, it had to be divided among the sons.
Territorial lords that foresaw a diminishing of their power over the land tried to rebel, but were crushed
by a more capable and prepared military (of Emperor Wu).
The Yellow Turbans were a group of peasants, guided by Zhang Jue and Taoist principles, who rebelled
against the Han government in the Yellow Turban Rebllion. The Yellow Turbans were primarily peasants
that felt the oppression of a Han government that heavily taxed the peasant population during an
agrarian crisis. The inability to farm drove many peasants to find employment away from their farms,
where they were exploited by large landowners who leveraged the labor surplus. The rebellion was
eventually put down by the Han government, but military leaders began to self-govern. The rebellion
marked the beginning of the end of the Han.