Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty – Part 2/4

September 7, 2010

To defeat the Shang Dynasty, King Wu crossed the Yellow River and immediately marched his army toward the capital.

At the Battle of Muye, the Zhou army was outnumbered more than three to one with less than fifty thousand troops against one hundred and seventy thousand.

However, during the battle, many slaves and conscripted prisoners of war from other tribes in the Shang army changed sides to fight with the Zhou army.


Video: Chinese with English subtitles

The remaining Shang army offered little resistance after that.  The Shang king fled to his capital leaving what was left of his army behind. Once he arrived at his capital, he set himself on fire.

To honor his father, King Wu named him the founder of the Zhou Dynasty (1126 – 222 B.C.). Now an Emperor, Wu established a feudal kingdom built on a patriarchal clan system.

The agricultural system of the time required peasants to not only farm the land they owned but also a plot of state land—this was called the “jing-fields” system.

Return to Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty – Part 1 or continue with Part 3

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty – Part 1/4

September 6, 2010

Wu of the Western Zhou Dynasty was named Jifa. He was the second son of King Wen, and the founder of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The Zhou Dynasty would last almost 900 years. Source: Cultural China

The Zhou people lived along the western part of the Yellow River and were one of the first nations to develop agriculture. To the Northwest of Zhou were barbarian tribes.


Video: Chinese with English subtitles

The Zhou capital was near today’s modern city of Xian in Shanxi Province, and the Zhou, a vassal state, were given the job of protecting the Shang Dynasty’s western frontier.

However, while the brutal last king of the Shang Dynasty waged endless wars with surrounding tribes, the Zhou ruler placed more importance on developing agriculture and his small kingdom grew wealthy.

Zhou’s prosperity bothered the Shang king so he threw King Wen in prison.  After his release, Wen recruited a talented general to lead his army to wage war on the Shang Dynasty.

The Zhou king died during the war and his son Wu became king and defeated the Shang. To achieve this victory King Wu forged an alliance with other Shang vassal states.

According to historical records, the Shang Dynasty fell in the first month of 1027 B.C.

Continued with Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty – Part 2

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

To subscribe to “iLook China”, sign up for an E-mail Subscription at the top right-hand side of this page and then follow directions.

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Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1122 B.C.) 3/3

August 31, 2010

Archeologists discovered China’s first chariots while excavating the Shang capital of Xin Xu.

The archeological evidence shows the development of the war chariot from two horses to four for more horsepower.

The narrator of the video takes us for a ride in a replicate of the Shang war chariot.

The Shang Dynasty also had women warriors.  Fu Hao, queen consort of King Wuding (Shang Dynasty’s 22nd king), was not only the mother to some of the king’s children but also a fighting general.

Fu Hao’s tomb was one of two discovered that had not been looted. Oracle bones revealed that she led thirteen thousand troops into combat. Fu Hao was more than a military leader. She was also high priestess and oracle caster.

The video’s narrator talks about jade having the same status in China that diamonds have elsewhere.  Jade is not only a symbol of luxury and wealth since ancient times but also represents refinement and purity.

During the Shang Dynasty,  The I Ching, The Book of Changes was written, which is based on the principle of a broken line representing yin and an unbroken line representing yang. This is the first book that attempted to explain the secrets of the universe.

See The Life of Confucius

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1122 B.C.) 2/3

August 31, 2010

The excavations of several rammed earth palace foundations at Xin Xu revealed the Shang Dynasty was a highly developed slave society.

The most valuable discovery was oracle bones, the evidence of China’s earliest writing system.

Tortoise shells, due to their hardness and longevity, were used for the oracle inscriptions.   However, tortoise shells were not the only material.  Animal bones were also inscribed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMG4jtOr7JU

The inscriptions carved into bones and tortoise shells were questions to the high God Shang Di, lesser gods and ancestors. 

These questions were on issues that concerned the dynasty such as harvests, childbirth, and from everyday advice to military campaigns.

Oracle bones, also known as dragon bones, were often ground into powder and used in Chinese medicines, which explains why oracle bones were also a myth at one time.

What makes the oracle bones important today is the script carved into the shells or bones—the roots of the Chinese writing system.

The Chinese writing system is the only language that still uses the same methods used more than three thousand years ago. The narrator of the video explains briefly how Chinese characters evolved.

See The Han Dynasty

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1122 B.C.) 1/3

August 31, 2010

It is commonly believed that ancient Chinese civilization started with the Hsia Dynasty 5,000 years ago.

However, in archeological terms. Hsia is a myth because no evidence has been found that this dynasty existed.

The Shang Dynasty was also a myth until about a hundred years ago with the discovery of the dynasty’s last capital, Xin Xu.

Xin Xu was the capital for about three hundred years.

Tomb robbers discovered the Shang tombs first.  Although most of the tombs excavated by archeologists had already been looted, the site still provided evidence of Shang culture and rituals.

The narrator of the video takes you on a tour of a Shang tomb. She says it is like a pyramid upside down.

Sacrifice to the gods and ancestors were a major part of Shang social and domestic life.

Bronze artifacts have been unearthed that represent the highest level of technology for the dynasty.

The Shang people used elaborate and dramatic rituals and music was one of the most important elements of ceremony.

Three thousand years ago, the Shang people cooked food in ceramic steamers.

Archeologists have also discovered that the Shang capital had a complex walled city structure.  It even had an underground, piped water supply in some areas.

See Measuring Earthquakes During the Han Dynasty

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

His latest novel is the multiple-award winning Running with the Enemy.

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