Mandate of Heaven Bellwork Why might the Zhou Dynasty have created the idea of the Mandate of Heaven? To justify their overthrow and the Shang/ justify their rule The Mandate of heaven lead the development of the__________________ Cycle. Dynastic

Shang Dynasty Bellwork The Shang Dynasty developed along the ________________________ River Huang He What items were used to communicate with the gods in Shang China? Oracle Bones ______________________ ruled territories as a representative of the king Aristocrats

Objective WWBAT: Introduce the major characteristics of Zhou Dynasty China WWBAT: Begin a primary source reading activity on the Mandate of Heaven

Interactive Notebook Set Up 9/1/2015 The Zhou Dynasty This will be one page

Background Feudalism Advancements Mandate of Heaven/Dynastic Cycle

The Zhou Dynasty Background The Shang Dynasty was overthrown and replaced by the leaders of the Zhou Dynasty The Shang were overthrown in the Battle of Muye around 1046 BCE

The Zhou Dynasty Background The Zhou Dynasty kept the same political structure as the Shang Dynasty Aristocrats still ruled territories given to them by the king The Zhou created an interesting way to justify their rebellion and rule

The Zhou Dynasty Background The Zhou Dynasty was the longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history The Zhou Dynasty lasted from 1046 BCE-256 BCE Leaders of the Zhou Dynasty claimed they posed the Mandate of Heaven, which justified their rule

Mandate of Heaven Kings of the Zhou Dynasty claimed they ruled by the decree of Tian or Heaven Kings claimed that if they continued to rule than it was because Heaven allowed them to If a king/dynasty was overthrown it was because they had lost the Mandate of Heaven Kings /dynasties would loose the Mandate of Heaven because they became corrupt, ineffective, and or selfish rulers

Mandate of Heaven Since the kings ruled because of the Mandate of Heaven it was their responsibility to keep the gods happy If the gods were happy than their people would be protected and cared for by the gods

Dynastic Cycle Up until the early 1900 CE power in China followed something called the Dynastic Cycle The Dynastic Cycle is tied directly with the Mandate of Heaven Called the T’ien Ming Let’s look at the Dynastic Cycle

According to legend the last Shang ruler was a wicked tyrant and the leader of the state of Zhou rose up in rebellion Zhou (longest running dynasty in Chinese history) took over around 1027 B.C. (again dates a bit unclear) – justified takeover w/mandate of heaven – said Shang leaders had become poor rulers so the gods took away their rule and allowed the Zhou to take over – became an important belief tied to Chinese government – natural disasters or riots could be seen as signs that the leader had lost the mandate of heaven – played a big role in China’s dynastic cycle

Feudalism A social system was created during the Zhou Dynasty, called Feudalism In the feudal system peasants would be given a small plot of outer land by their lord With the lord’s manor in a central location

Feudalism In exchange all peasants were expected to work on a central plot of land for their lord The peasants would be able to profit from work on their land In exchange for their work, the peasants would get protections from their lord

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty During the Zhou Dynasty regular use of iron began

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty Iron was used for weapon, farming equipment, and craft items Such as jewelry, bells, vessels, ect

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty There were multiple advances in agriculture made during the Zhou Dynasty Advances in irrigation systems made farmers less dependent on rainfall/flooding This made it easier to spread water evenly throughout fields

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty Perhaps the greatest advancement was the introduction of iron plow Iron plows made it possible to farm previously unusable land

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty What impacts would these advancements in agriculture have?

Advancements of the Zhou Dynasty The Zhou created major roads and canals This made moving food much easier, leading to greater food surpluses Also lead to better communication