Questions 1

1. How did the Zhou treat their predecessors?

The Zhou included descendants of the former Shang king in their administration. One of the sons of the last Shang king was installed as the represenatative official for the former Shang territories. The Shang aristocracy was respected, neither enslaved nor publicly humiliated. The Duke of Zhou, one of the most important statesmen of this dynasty was later praised by Confucius for his wise government.

Consider the implications of this treatment for the ‘realpolitik’ of the new Zhou state!

2. What made the Zhou superior to the Shang?

The military force of the Zhou was superior to that of the Shang because they had included war strategies from their multiple warfare against ‘barbarian’ aggressors. A new war chariot drawn by four horses became an important tool in battle. Even more important was a hierarchically structured, large infantry. One of the Zhou kings is reported to have commanded 30,000 conscripted soldiers and 3,000 war chariots. This was possible because the population increased considerably which enabled the aristocrats who supported the king to use peasants as soldiers while cultivation of the land could still be continued to ensure continuous agricultural production. [The ideal of the so-called well-field system as described in historical sources is discussed controversially. In this system plots of land were distributed to peasants around a central field that contained a well. This field was cultivated for the lord, while the peasants were supposed to support themselves by harvesting the crop from the surrounding fields. It is rather uncertain whether this system which ideally could have met the needs of the aristocratic as well as the peasant population was ever employed throughout the Zhou territory.]

3. The year 770 BC brought changes to the Zhou dynasty. Please explain some of these changes.

In 770 BC the Zhou had to move their capital from the Wei valley to the city of Luoyang because they were unable to fend off the attacks by ‘barbarian’ invaders from the western territories. When the Zhou king was killed they transposed their center of administration to the east. This period is called the Eastern Zhou (because the capital Luoyang is located east of the former center in the valley of the Wei river.) Though this measure protected the Zhou from completely loosing control over their territory, as time went by their vassals increasingly began to challenge their political and military superiority. Though originally bound to the Zhou king by kin ties, oaths, and through a rite of enfeoffment (which included receiving an inscribed bronze vessel documenting their political status) their local power increased and inspired them to challenge the central power.

4. Which texts are included in the term ‘the Classics’ in the context of China?

The Book of Changes (Yijing; a manual for divination to communicate with the unseen world ), the Book of Documents (Shujing; a collection of historical material to encourage learning from precedents), the Book of Songs (Shijing; 300 songs and poems describing everyday life, including love songs), the Book of Rites (Liji; described state rituals performed by the aristocracy, sartorial regulations, and even included regulations on personal hygiene; rituals shape the expression of human emotions and were considered important to frame celebrations and mourning in order to avoid excessive behavior that might cause harm), the Spring and Autumn Annals (Zuozhuan; a ‘timeline’ of dates describing the history of the small state of Lu, the home state of Confucius). Since these dates were unintelligible a commentary was composed to illustrate the important events mentioned in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

The Five Classics were important because they formed the basis of the education of every young man and all candidates who wanted to participate in the examinations in order to be able to become a state official until the end of the dynastic period. Later the Five Classics were complemented by 4 further works which were also included in the canon for examination preparation. Their content was also known to all intellectuals in Korea and Japan.