Lesson 4 The emergence and development of early states

The Establishment of the Xia Dynasty and the "Family World"

In about 2070 B.C., Yu ended the tribal alliance and established the Xia Dynasty. This was the first dynasty in Chinese history and marked the emergence of an early Chinese state. During his reign, Yu conquered the three southern Miao, built a city in Yangcheng, and established various systems that led to the development of social production and the gradual division of society into classes. Yu initially wanted to pass the throne to Bo Yi, but Yu's son, Qi, succeeded him after his death due to his great power. From then on, the hereditary system replaced the meditation system. The Xia Dynasty established an army, a criminal code, prisons, and a calendar called the "Xia Calendar".

The central area of the Xia Dynasty was mainly in the southern part of present-day Shanxi and the central and western part of Henan. Archaeologists have excavated the site of a capital of the Xia dynasty, Yiritou, in the Luoyang Plain, which contains a palace complex, large tombs and craft workshops, as well as commoner living quarters and burial sites, reflecting the class divisions and hierarchical boundaries of the Xia dynasty. The site has also unearthed fine jade and percussion instruments used for rituals, sets of bronze drinking vessels, fine bronze medallions inlaid with turquoise, and noble ceremonial vessels used by the royal family, reflecting the civilization process during the Xia Dynasty.

The Xia Dynasty lasted for more than 400 years until the reign of King Jie of Xia, when the country was weak. Jie did not cultivate virtue, ruled brutally, and used force to hurt the people, causing popular resistance.

Shang Tang Destroys Xia

In the late Xia Dynasty, the Shang tribes in the area of present-day Hebei and Henan became stronger and the Shang leader, Tang, contacted the surrounding tribes and rose to attack the Xia king, Jie, who was defeated and the Xia Dynasty fell. Around 1600 B.C., Tang established the Shang Dynasty, with its capital in Bo. The capital was built in Bo, and the Shang dynasty soon became powerful as the Shang king appointed wise people and developed agriculture, handicrafts and commerce.

The Shang dynasty was influenced by wars and environmental changes, and the capital was moved several times to Yin when King Pan Geng of the Shang dynasty moved to Yin, and remained relatively stable thereafter. The Shang dynasty had a long history of foreign conquests and expanded its control over a wide area. In order to consolidate its rule, the Shang dynasty established prisons and instituted torture to tighten its control over slaves and civilians. King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty, spent a lot of money on foreign conquests, built luxurious palaces, imposed heavy taxes on the people, and tortured and maimed them.

King Wu conquers Zhou

During the late Shang Dynasty, the Zhou tribes, located in the Weishui Valley of Shaanxi Province around Zhou Yuan, established their state by agriculture and expanded their territory and developed rapidly.

During the time of King Wu of Zhou, he was assisted by Lu Shang, Duke of Zhou and other people, and grew stronger and stronger. In 1046 BC, King Wu formed a huge political alliance with the Shang army and fought a duel in Muye, which led to the fall of the Shang army and the capture of the Shang capital by the Zhou army. King Wu of Zhou established a dynasty and set the capital at Haojing, which was called the Western Zhou.

The feudal system of the Western Zhou

In order to stabilize the political situation and consolidate the territory of the early Zhou Dynasty, the king of Zhou divided the feudal lords and their relatives according to their blood relations and merits, and granted them the power to manage the land and people, and established vassal states to ensure the control of the Zhou Dynasty over the local areas, as well as to stabilize the political situation and expand the scope of rule. The vassals had greater independence, but they were required to pay tribute to the king of Zhou and to transfer troops to the king of Zhou on a monthly basis. The feudal lords were allowed to sub-divide within their own fiefs, thus establishing the Zhou dynasty's social hierarchy of "feudalism". The Zhou dynasty was divided into the ranks of the sons of heaven, the vassals, the great officials, and the scholars.

In 841 B.C., King Li of Zhou competed with the people for profits and caused "national riots", and he fled. By the time of King You of Zhou, the dynasty was corrupt and various social conflicts intensified. In 771 B.C., the Western Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by the Injun tribe. Later, King Ping of Zhou moved east to Luo Yi, which was called the Eastern Zhou.