Editing Zhou dynasty (section)

===Western Zhou===
{{main|Western Zhou}}
[[File:EN-WesternZhouStates.jpg|thumb|380px|States of the Western Zhou dynasty]]
During the Western Zhou (1045–771&nbsp;BC), King Wu maintained the old capital for ceremonial purposes but constructed a new one for his palace and administration nearby at [[Haojing]]. Although Wu's early death left a young and inexperienced heir, the [[Duke of Zhou]] assisted his nephew [[King Cheng of Zhou|King Cheng]] in consolidating royal power. Wary of the Duke of Zhou's increasing power, the "Three Guards", Zhou princes stationed on the eastern plain, [[Rebellion of the Three Guards|rose in rebellion]] against his regency. Even though they garnered the support of independent-minded nobles, Shang partisans, and several [[Dongyi]] tribes, the Duke of Zhou quelled the rebellion, and further expanded the Zhou Kingdom into the east. To maintain Zhou authority over its greatly expanded territory and prevent other revolts, he set up the ''[[fengjian]]'' system.{{sfnp|Chinn|2007|p=43}} Furthermore, he countered Zhou's crisis of legitimacy by expounding the doctrine of the [[Mandate of Heaven]] while accommodating important Shang rituals at [[Wangcheng (Zhou dynasty)|Wangcheng]] and [[Chengzhou]].{{sfnmp|Shaughnessy|1999|1pp=310–311|Chinn|2007|2p=43|Hucker|1978|3pp=32–33}}

Over time, this decentralized system became strained as the familial relationships between the Zhou kings and the regional dynasties thinned over the generations. Peripheral territories developed local power and prestige on par with that of the Zhou.{{sfnp|Hucker|1978|p=37}}

The conflicts with nomadic tribes from the north and the northwest, variously known as the [[Xianyun]], [[Guifang]], or various "Rong" tribes, such as the  [[Xirong]], [[Shanrong]] or [[Quanrong]], intensified towards the end of the Western Zhou period.<ref name="WT"/> These tribes are recorded as harassing Zhou territory, but at the time the Zhou were expanding northwards, encroaching on their traditional lands—especially the [[Wei River]] valley. Archaeologically, the Zhou expanded to the north and the northwest at the expense of the [[Siwa culture]].<ref name="WT">{{cite book |last1=Tse |first1=Wicky W. K. |title=The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25–220 CE: The Northwest Borderlands and the Edge of Empire |year=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-53231-8 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-y9iDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT45 45–46], [https://books.google.com/books?id=-y9iDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63 63], n.40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-y9iDwAAQBAJ |via=Google Books}}</ref>

When [[King You of Zhou|King You]] demoted and exiled his [[Qiang_(historical_people)|Qiang]] queen in favor of the commoner [[Bao Si]], the disgraced queen's father the [[Marquis of Shen]] joined with Zeng and the Quanrong. The Quanrong put an end to the Western Zhou in 771&nbsp;BC, sacking the Zhou capital at [[Haojing]] and killing the last Western Zhou king [[King You of Zhou|You]].<ref name="WT"/> With King You dead, a conclave of nobles met at [[state of Shen|Shen]] and declared the Marquis's grandson [[King Ping of Zhou|King Ping]]. The capital was moved eastward to [[Wangcheng (Zhou dynasty)|Wangcheng]], marking the beginning of the Eastern Zhou period.<ref name="Chengzhou"/>