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FPO
The Zhou kings copied the Shang sys-
tem of dividing the kingdom into smaller
territories. The kings put aristocrats they
trusted in charge of each territory. The posi-
tions the aristocrats held were hereditary.
That meant that when an aristocrat died,
his son or another relative would take over
as ruler of the territory.
The Chinese considered the king their
link between heaven and earth. His chief
duty was to carry out religious rituals. The
Chinese believed these rituals strengthened
the link between them and the gods. This
belief paved the way for a new idea that
the Zhou kings introduced to government.
They claimed that kings ruled China because
they had the Mandate of Heaven.
What Was the Mandate of Heaven?
According to Zhou rulers, a heavenly law
gave the Zhou king the power to rule. This
mandate (MAN•DAYT), or formal order, was
called the Mandate of Heaven. Based on the
mandate, the king was chosen by heavenly
order because of his talent and virtue.
Therefore, he would rule the people with
goodness and wisdom.
The Mandate of Heaven worked in
two ways. First, the people expected the
king to rule according to the proper
“Way,” called the Dao
(DOW). His duty
was to keep the gods happy. Anatural dis-
aster or a bad harvest was a sign that he
had failed in his duty. People then had the
right to overthrow and replace the king.
The Mandate of Heaven also worked
another way. It gave the people, as well as the
king, important rights. For example, people
had the right to overthrow a dishonest or evil
ruler. It also made clear that the king was not
a god himself. Of course, each new dynasty
claimed it had the Mandate of Heaven. The
only way people could question the claim
was by overthrowing the dynasty.
New Tools and Trade For thousands of
years, Chinese farmers depended on rain to
water their crops. During the Zhou dynasty,
the Chinese developed irrigation and flood-
control systems. As a result, farmers could
grow more crops than ever before.
Improvements in farming tools also
helped farmers produce more crops. By
550
B.C., the Chinese were using iron plows.
These sturdy plows broke up land that had
been too hard to farm with wooden plows.
As a result, the Chinese could plow more
and produce more crops. Because more
food could support more people, the popu-
lation increased. During the late Zhou
dynasty, China’s population had expanded
to about 50 million people.
400 km
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Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
400 mi.
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W
E
120°E
40°N
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Yellow
Sea
East
China
Sea
Luoyang
Xian
Zhou rulers maintained the longest-
lasting dynasty in Chinese history.
1. What body of water made up the
eastern border of Zhou territory?
2. Why did the Zhou divide their
kingdom into smaller territories?
230 CHAPTER 7 Early China
Zhou Empire
Zhou empire,
1045-256
B.C.
KEY
224-231 C7S1-875047 9/13/06 2:09 PM Page 230