Answer:
Zhou kings governed China much like Shang rulers.
The king led the government, ruling with the help of a(n)
Bureaucracy. The king divided the kingdom into
Territories. He assigned loyal Aristocrats to
govern each of the territories. These positions were
Hereditary —when an aristocrat died, a son or another
member of his family governed the territory.
Zhou kings introduced a new idea to Chinese government.
They claimed that the king’s right to rule came from the
Gods. This is called the Mandate of Heaven. The
king must rule by the proper “Way,” known as the Dao.
Under Zhou kings, the Chinese developed new systems to
Irrigate the land. With a better water supply,
farmers were able to grow more crops than ever before.
China’s trade also expanded. Archaeologists have found
pieces of Chinese silk in central Asia and as far away as
Greece. Their findings suggest that Chinese Trade
reached many different areas of the world.
Over time, the Aristocrats who ruled the territories of
the Zhou kingdom grew more powerful. These rulers began to
fight one another for power. These wars began in the 400s
B.C. and went on for nearly 200 years. Because each
aristocrat formed his own state, this time in China’s history is
called the “Period of the warring.”
Explanation:
Lesson 1 of The Birth Of Chinese Civilization
