Zhou dynasty

Zhou
Zhou
	"Zhou" in ancient bronze script (top), seal script (middle), and regular script (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese	周
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōu
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōu
Bopomofo	ㄓㄡ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Jou
Wade–Giles	Chou1
Tongyong Pinyin	Jhou
Yale Romanization	Jōu
IPA	[ʈʂóʊ]
Wu
Romanization	Tseu
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Jāu
Jyutping	Zau1
IPA	[tsɐu˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Chiu
Tâi-lô	Tsiu
Old Chinese
Baxter (1992)	*tjiw
Baxter–Sagart (2014)	*tiw

Zhou
周
Zhou 周;
c. 1046 BC –256 BC
	Territory of the Western Zhou (c. 1000 BC)
Capital	Fenghao (1046–771 BC); Wangcheng (771–510 BC; 314–256 BC); Chengzhou (510–314 BC);
Common languages	Old Chinese
Religion	Chinese folk religion, Ancestor veneration, Heaven worship
Government	Monarchy
King
• c. 1046–1043 BC	King Wu
• 781–771 BC	King You
• 770–720 BC	King Ping
• 314–256 BC	King Nan
Chancellor
History
• Battle of Muye	c. 1046 BC
• Gonghe Regency	841–828 BC
• Relocation to Wangcheng	771 BC
• Deposition of King Nan by Qin	256 BC
• Fall of the last Zhou holdouts	249 BC
Population
• 273 BC	30,000,000
• 230 BC	38,000,000
Currency	Spade money
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Shang dynasty
	Predynastic Zhou
Qin
Today part of	China

The Zhou dynasty ([ʈʂóʊ]; Chinese: 周)^[c] was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from c. 1046 BC until 256 BC, the longest such reign in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (c. 1046 – 771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military control over ancient China. Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for the Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier,^[5] but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC.^[6]^[7]

The latter Eastern Zhou period is itself roughly subdivided into two parts. During the Spring and Autumn period (c. 771 – c. 481 BC), power became increasingly decentralized as the authority of the royal house diminished. The Warring States period (c. 481 – 221 BC) that followed saw large-scale warfare and consolidation among what had formerly been Zhou client states, until the Zhou were formally extinguished by the state of Qin in 256 BC. The Qin ultimately founded the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC after conquering all of China.

The Zhou period is often considered to be the zenith for the craft of Chinese bronzeware.^[8] The latter Zhou period is also famous for the advent of three major Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism. The Zhou dynasty also spans the period when the predominant form of written Chinese became seal script, which evolved from the earlier oracle bone and bronze scripts. By the dynasty's end, an immature form of clerical script had also emerged.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Xu, Zhaofeng. "Considering Chengzhou ('Completion of Zhou') and Wangcheng ('City of the King')" (PDF). Chinese Archaeology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
^ "Tian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^ Schinz (1996), p. 80.
^ Baxter, William H.; Sagart, Laurent (2014). Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-199-94537-5.
^ Pankenier, David W. (2015). "The cosmo-political mandate". Astrology and Cosmology in Early China: Conforming Earth to Heaven. Cambridge University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-107-53901-3.
^ Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1992). "The Date of the Zhou Conquest of Shang". Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels. University of California Press. pp. 217–236. ISBN 978-0-520-07028-8.
^ Nivison, David S. (1983). "The Dates of Western Chou". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Vol. 43. Harvard-Yenching Institute. pp. 481–580. JSTOR 2719108.
^ Von Glahn, Richard (2016). The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-139-34384-8.

[Chengzhou-3] Xu, Zhaofeng. "Considering Chengzhou ('Completion of Zhou') and Wangcheng ('City of the King')" (PDF). Chinese Archaeology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.

[Encyclopædia_Britannica_Tian-4] "Tian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

[FOOTNOTESchinz199680-5] Schinz (1996), p. 80.

[6] Baxter, William H.; Sagart, Laurent (2014). Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-199-94537-5.

[8] Pankenier, David W. (2015). "The cosmo-political mandate". Astrology and Cosmology in Early China: Conforming Earth to Heaven. Cambridge University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-107-53901-3.

[9] Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1992). "The Date of the Zhou Conquest of Shang". Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels. University of California Press. pp. 217–236. ISBN 978-0-520-07028-8.

[10] Nivison, David S. (1983). "The Dates of Western Chou". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Vol. 43. Harvard-Yenching Institute. pp. 481–580. JSTOR 2719108.

[11] Von Glahn, Richard (2016). The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-139-34384-8.

[a]

[b]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[c]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]