The earliest written record of civilization in China began during the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1100 BC) where animal bones known as “oracle bones” and turtle shells became material where it was in scripted. The Shang dynasty is the longest running dynasty ever in Chinese history. It was ruled by 31 different kings and the capital was moved six times. The primary mark of this dynasty is the introduction of writing, the building of walled settlements, the appearance of an elite who extracted obedience and goods from the common people, and the use of large-scale military forces. The succession of power during the Shang dynasty is solely from father to the eldest son. Power revolves solely to the immediate family and relatives of the current Shang king.
By the end of the second millennium BC, the Shang was overthrown by the Zhou people; they were the people living in the west part of the Shang dynasty. The irony is that the Zhou people were considered as the ”Western Protector” by the Shang, this over throwing gave rise to the Zhou dynasty. The primary innovation during the Zhou dynasty was the practice of granting fiefdom where lands can be ruled not just by the immediate family and relatives of the king, but also by allies and other noblemen. The famous mandate of heaven idea was introduced also in this period, the concept of rulers being appointed by the one who is in heaven. If you watched the movie “Hero” it shows a story of an angry assassin abandoning his mission of killing the emperor by a simple phrase “All under heaven”, since heaven is the supreme authority and the current ruler is just the appointee. The idea of a power greater than that of the royal family and the nobility choosing the rightful ruler, would give the serfs a chance to rule the throne as what would be the case in most of the succeeding dynasties.
The practice of fiefdom later on determined the next stage of Chinese history known as the warring states period. Fiefdom allowed mini nobles and kings to divide and rule the large kingdom and the idea of the mandate of heaven opened the idea that anyone can become the supreme ruler; hence the throne was open for power struggle. In this period, there were seven states that became strong enough to consider themselves independent. But amongst the seven, one dynasty stood greater, the Qin state. The Qin state elevated the Chinese from dynasty to imperial as it conquered and united all the seven other states.
~ nobody
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