Zhou and Qin Dynasty: China
Background—from dynasty to empire
Our tale of two dynasties begins after the fall of the Shang Dynasty. From about 1600 to 1050 BCE, the Shang only loosely controlled their territory. Each local region had its own rulers. In 1050, the Zhou overthrew the weak Shang king. The Zhou controlled eastern China, from north of the Yellow River down to the Yangtze River. Like the Shang, the Zhou had local leaders in different regions. The Zhou also weakened and the Qin Dynasty took over. The Qin conquered most of what is now China and created the first Chinese empire.
Formation—Heaven said we could
In 1046 BCE, the Zhou King Wu overthrew the Shang. He justified his actions through the Mandate of Heaven, or tian. Tian was more about morality and good works than heaven. A ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven if he became immoral or cruel.
Map of the Warring States Period of the Eastern Zhou. By SY, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Zhou Dynasty ruled for over 700 years from 1046 to 226 BCE. However, the Zhou kings did not tightly govern their states. Over time, kings found if harder to control the states. By 771 BCE, most of them were independent, and by 334 BCE, Zhou rulers had lost all power in China.
The Qin Dynasty conquered all the Zhou states. The Qin only ruled for a short, but important 15 years. King Zheng of Qin gave himself the higher title of Qin Shihuangdi, meaning “August Emperor”. He ruled over his empire with an iron fist, and people attempted to assassinate him three times. In the end, Qin Shihuangdi was killed after drinking a potion that he thought would bring him immortality. His son Qin Ershi harshly ruled the empire until he died in 206. The Qin Dynasty had officially ended.
Map of the Qin Empire. By SY, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stone rubbing of Qin era depiction of one of the three assassination attempts against Qin Shihuangdi. The would-be assassin Jin Ke is on the left, being restrained by a physician. Qin Shihuangdi is center right fleeing the scene while holding a jade disc. The assassin’s blade is stuck in the pillar in the center. Public domain.
Administration
Zhou kings ruled over a kingdom of as many as 200 states. However, there was no central power for the states. These states were mostly run by rulers who were family members of the Zhou king. This created a network of states united by family ties, or kinship. This system of rule was similar in many ways to the feudalism of Medieval Europe.
Kinship ties weakened over time as states became independent. The Zhou ruler had less and less control over the growing states. Eventually, a state controlled by the Qin Dynasty overthrew the Zhou and conquered all of China.
Qin rule over China was very different from that of the Zhou. The Qin followed the system of legalism, which was a strict practice that required people to follow the laws. Even breaking less important laws could be punished by death. Qin Shihuangdi limited the power of local leaders and burned any books that might inspire people to challenge his rule. The emperor also began a number of projects, including the Great Wall of China.
Drawing of Qin Shihuangdi by unknown artist (c. 1850 CE). Public domain.
The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling. By Severin.Stadler, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Religion and philosophy
At that time, Chinese religion worshipped many gods. Before the Zhou, the Shang rulers had worshipped a god named ti. The Zhou worshipped a god named tian, meaning “Heaven.” The Zhou claimed that Heaven granted them kingship. Eventually, various states began worshipping other gods to challenge the Zhou’s power.
Later in the Zhou era, several major thinkers inspired Chinese religion and philosophy. Confucius (551-479 BCE) developed a philosophy of social hierarchy called Confucianism. Laozi developed a belief system called Daoism that focused on nature. Sun Tzu wrote an important military book called The Art of War.
In 361 BCE, Lord Shang brought legalism to Qin. According to Shang, power came from the law and gave the ruler absolute power. The laws also had to be applied equally to all, no matter their social status. Shang was eventually killed for his beliefs. However, legalism continued to define the Qin empire.
Portrait of Confucius by the Tang Dynasty artist Wu Daozi (685-758 CE). Public domain.
Trade—No merchants, please
Trade appeared during the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou system of roads made it easier to transport goods and ideas. As trade made merchants wealthier, they began using peasants for labor. However, Confucianists and legalists disagreed with the merchants’ business practices. They thought merchants could cause conflict in society, and many merchants were sent away during Qin rule. As a result, trade didn’t grow much under Qin rule.
Women and society
The Zhou and Qin followed the traditional separation between men and women, mostly when it came to work. Men farmed, and women spun cloth. By the end of the Zhou period and the beginning of the Qin dynasty, this separation became tied into Confucian moral values. One Chinese work tells of a woman who chose to burn to death in a fire rather than break the moral code.
Example of a spade coin (as in money) dating to the Eastern Zhou period (650-200 BCE). By Davidhartill, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Decline and fall—A sinking (kin)ship
The Zhou system was bound to fall apart. Kinship ties to the king weakened and the states started separating. Eventually, these powerful states competed for power and pushed out the Zhou rulers.
It’s hard to say what caused the Qin to collapse. Traditional Chinese historians say the collapse was caused by an abusive ruler. Meanwhile, the people themselves turned their back on traditional values of kinship. Historians outside of China tend to explain the collapse with other social factors. For example, there were numerous peasant revolts against the king. Regardless of the cause, the Qin left a major mark on China for years to come. In fact the name “China” likely comes from “Qin”!
Photograph close up of the head of a terracotta archer from Qin Shihuangdi’s tomb complex. By Charlie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photograph of one (small) section of the terracotta army (pit 1) buried along with Qin Shihuangdi at his tomb complex (Xi’an, China). By Maros M r a z (Maros), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sources
Hinsch, Bret. 2003. “The Origins of Separation of the Sexes in China.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 123: 595-616.
Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessy eds. 1999. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 b.c. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Li Xueqin. 1985. Eastern Zhou and Qin Civilizations. Translated by K.C. Chang. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Twitchett, Denis and John K. Fairbank eds. 2009. The Cambridge History of China, Volume I: The Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 b.c.—a.d. 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dennis RM Campbell
Dennis RM Campbell is an associate professor of History at San Francisco State University. He primarily conducts research on esoteric topics in ancient history and writes about ancient language, religions, and societies.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover: Terracotta Warriors, Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China. © Tom Till / Photographer’s Choice / Getty Images Plus
Map of the Warring States Period of the Eastern Zhou. By SY, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Early_Warring_States_Period.png
Map of the Qin Empire. By SY, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qin_Dynasty.png
Stone rubbing of Qin era depiction of one of the three assassination attempts against Qin Shihuangdi. The would-be assassin Jin Ke is on the left, being restrained by a physician. Qin Shihuangdi is center right fleeing the scene while holding a jade disc. The assassin’s blade is stuck in the pillar in the center. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Assassination_attempt_on_Qin_Shi_Huang.jpg
Drawing of Qin Shihuangdi by unknown artist (c. 1850 CE). Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qinshihuang.jpg
The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling. By Severin.Stadler, CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Wall_of_China_at_Jinshanling-edit.jpg
Portrait of Confucius by the Tang Dynasty artist Wu Daozi (685-758 CE). Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confucius_Tang_Dynasty.jpg
Example of a spade coin (as in money) dating to the Eastern Zhou period (650-200 BCE). By Davidhartill, CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Square_Shoulder_Spade.jpg
Photograph close up of the head of a terracotta archer from Qin Shihuangdi’s tomb complex. By Charlie, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Archer_head.jpg
Photograph of one (small) section of the terracotta army (pit 1) buried along with Qin Shihuangdi at his tomb complex (Xi’an, China). By Maros M r a z (Maros), CC BY-SA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terracotta_Army_Pit_1_-_2.jpg
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