Chapter 21: Chapter 20 Prosperity 2

This time of prosperity and relative peace, however

The decentralized rule of the Western Zhou had from the beginning carried within it the danger that the regional lords would become so powerful that they would no longer respond to the commands of the king. As generations passed and ties of loyalty and kinship grew more distant, this indeed happened. the Zhou king was killed by an alliance [of tribesmen and vassals].

Western Zhou fell when invasions, 

by the peoples known as the Xirong (or Rong), further destabilized the region. The nobility moved the capital to Luoyang in the east which gives the next period of Zhou history its name of Eastern Zhou.

By all accounts, the era of Eastern Zhou was chaotic and violent but managed to produce literary, artistic, and philosophical works of startling originality and substance. The Spring and Autumn Period which begins the era of Eastern Zhou still retained some of the courtesy and decorum of the days of Western Zhou but that would not last for long. The separate states – Chu, Han, Qi, Qin, Wei, Yan, Shu, Ba, Cai, Chen, Song, Xue, Ju, Lu, Cao, Jin, Zhongshang, Dai, Wu, Yue, and Zhao just to name a few - all had more power than the Zhou at Luoyang at this time. Even so, it was still thought that the Zhou held the Mandate of Heaven and so each state tried to prove itself the Zhou successor.

The Qin would undo many of the advances of the Zhou but could not completely rewrite history. In the same way, the Zhou had drawn on the accomplishments of the Shang, so the Qin did with the Zhou. The Zhou's advances in agriculture, for example, were kept and improved upon, notably irrigation techniques, dam building, and hydraulics which would be instrumental in Shi Huangdi's construction of the Grand Canal.

The use of cavalry and chariots in Chinese warfare (also originally Shang developments) was further developed by the Zhou and kept by the Qin. The Zhou had brought horsemanship to such a high level that it was considered a form of art and a requisite for the education of princes. Horses were thought so important, they were frequently buried with their masters or sacrificed for the spiritual power and protection their energy could provide to the deceased.

The Zhou separation of an army into units, deployed in different directions in battle, was also maintained by the Qin as was Zhou metallurgy. Shi Huangdi made the most of Zhou's techniques in metalworking by forcing the subdued states to turn over their weapons which were melted down and turned into statues celebrating his reign.

The Zhou contributions which were discarded by the Qin were all in the areas of art and culture. The Spring and Autumn Period and its time of the Hundred Schools of Thought produced some of the most significant philosophical thinkers in the world. The major schools of thought were founded by Confucius whose famous Confucian precepts continue to inform Chinese culture, Lao-Tzu who codified and founded formal Taoism, and Han Feizi, founder of the school of Legalism.

The Zhou's elevation of ancestor worship encouraged the development of religious thought and their vision of the Mandate of Heaven would continue to inform Chinese dynasties going forward for thousands of years.

If the Zhou had only produced philosophers such as Confucius, Han Feizi, and others, it would be impressive enough, but they did far more. In the Western Zhou period, they established a decentralized, but cohesive, state which honored and inspired the people of all social classes, not just the noble and wealthy. They consistently improved upon what they had inherited from the Shang and looked for other ways to make their lives, and others, better.

In the Eastern Zhou period, even amidst the chaos of constant warfare, they continued to develop art, music, literature, and philosophy of the highest quality. The Zhou Dynasty's reign of nearly 800 years, in fact, was so profoundly influential at every level of culture that even the destructive policies of the Qin could not erase it. After the Qin fell to the Han Dynasty, the cultural contributions of the Zhou were revived and, today, are indistinguishable from Chinese culture.

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But there are a few differences in this world although the Zhou dynasty is weak and can be defeated by some of the states if not most of the states but why the dukes did not crown themselves king? 

In his previous world, Ying Zheng remembers that King Zhaoxiang of Qin started the moment that destroyed the warring states period and created the Qin dynasty.

King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured the Chu capital Ying, conquered the Xirong state of Yiqu, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping, and overthrew the Eastern Zhou dynasty. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path for Qin's eventual unification of China three decades later by his great-grandson 

'If I am not wrong this should be the warring states era but why is the Zhou dynasty not gone yet? They are almost like a cockroach and even odder yet why are there not only seven states? but that does not concern me. I should focus on the meeting even if it is boring but I do not think that will last. I can sense that Lin Feng is about to stir trouble with general Qing Huan. Hahahahaha I love to see when people overestimate themselves. hmph.' Ying Zheng sneered in his heart.

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End of chapter.

This chapter was an introduction to the world although it is the same as our real world but I added a few differences. I hope you will be able to map out the world.

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