Editing History of China (section)

===Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC)===
{{main|Zhou dynasty|Western Zhou}}
{{further|Iron Age China|Predynastic Zhou}}
The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC to about 256 BC) is the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history, though its power declined steadily over the almost eight centuries of its existence. In the late 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty arose in the Wei River valley of modern western Shaanxi Province, where they were appointed Western Protectors by the [[Shang]]. A coalition led by the ruler of the Zhou, [[King Wu of Zhou|King Wu]], defeated the Shang at the [[Battle of Muye]]. They took over most of the central and lower Yellow River valley and enfeoffed their relatives and allies in semi-independent states across the region.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |author=Li Feng |title=Landscape and Power in Early China: the Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780511489655 |language=en |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511489655 |ref={{sfnref|Li|2006}} |author-link=Li Feng (sinologist)}}</ref> Several of these states eventually became more powerful than the Zhou kings.

The kings of Zhou invoked the concept of the [[Mandate of Heaven]] to legitimize their rule, a concept that was influential for almost every succeeding dynasty.<ref>{{Cite web 
|last= Mark | first= Joshua J.
| year=2012
|title=Ancient China |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/china/ |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> Like Shangdi, Heaven (''tian'') ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Jinfan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOu5BAAAQBAJ&q=tian+China+rulers&pg=PA159 |title=The Tradition and Modern Transition of Chinese Law |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2014 |isbn=978-3642232664 |page=159 |language=en |author-mask=Zhang Jinfan (張晉藩)}}</ref> It was believed that a ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.

The Zhou established two capitals [[Zongzhou]] (near modern [[Xi'an]]) and [[Chengzhou]] ([[Luoyang]]), with the king's court moving between them regularly. The Zhou alliance gradually expanded eastward into Shandong, southeastward into the Huai River valley, and southward into the [[Yangtze River]] valley.<ref name=":2"/>

====Spring and Autumn period (722–476 BC)====
{{main|Spring and Autumn period}}
[[File:Chinese plain 5c. BC-en.svg|thumb|Chinese polities in the late 5th century BC, before the breakup of Jin and the Qin move into Sichuan.]] 
In 771 BC, [[King You of Zhou|King You]] and his forces were defeated in the [[Battle of Mount Li]] by rebel states and [[Quanrong]] barbarians. The rebel aristocrats established a new ruler, [[King Ping of Zhou|King Ping]], in [[Luoyang]],<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Chen Minzhen |last2=Pines |first2=Yuri |author2-link=Yuri Pines |date=2018 |title=Where is King Ping? The History and Historiography of the Zhou Dynasty's Eastward Relocation |journal=Asia Major |series=3 |publisher=Academica Sinica |volume=31 |pages=1–27 |jstor=26571325 |number=1}}</ref>{{rp|4}} beginning the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou period, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The former period is named after the famous ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]''. The sharply reduced political authority of the royal house left a power vacuum at the center of the Zhou culture sphere. The Zhou kings had delegated local political authority to hundreds of [[Ancient Chinese states|settlement states]], some of them only as large as a walled town and surrounding land. These states began to fight against one another and vie for [[hegemony]]. The more powerful states tended to conquer and incorporate the weaker ones, so the number of states declined over time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hsu|first=Cho-yun|title=Ancient China in Transition: An Analysis of Social Mobility, 722–222 B.C. | author-link= Cho-yun Hsu 
|series= Stanford Studies in the Civilizations of Eastern Asia | url= https://archive.org/details/ancientchinaintr0000hsuc/ | url-access= registration | oclc= 1145777819 |date=1965 |publisher=Stanford University Press |language=en | lccn=65013110 }}</ref> By the 6th century BC most small states had disappeared by being annexed and just a few large and powerful principalities remained. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue). Many new cities were established in this period and society gradually became more urbanized and commercialized. Many famous individuals such as [[Laozi]], [[Confucius]] and [[Sun Tzu]] lived during this chaotic period.

Conflict in this period occurred both between and within states. Warfare between states forced the surviving states to develop better administrations to mobilize more soldiers and resources. Within states there was constant jockeying between elite families. For example, the three most powerful families in the Jin state—Zhao, Wei and Han—eventually overthrew the ruling family and [[Partition of Jin|partitioned the state between them]].

The [[Hundred Schools of Thought]] of [[Chinese philosophy|classical Chinese philosophy]] began blossoming during this period and the subsequent Warring States period. Such influential intellectual movements as [[Confucianism]], [[Taoism]], [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Mohism]] were founded, partly in response to the changing political world. The first two philosophical thoughts would have an enormous influence on Chinese culture.

====Warring States period (476–221 BC)====
{{main|Warring States period}}
[[File:EN-WarringStatesAll260BCE.jpg|thumb|The Warring States, {{c.}} 260{{nbsp}}BC]]

After further political consolidations, seven prominent states remained during the 5th century{{nbsp}}BC. The years in which these states battled each other is known as the [[Warring States]] period. Though the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] king nominally remained as such until 256{{nbsp}}BC, he was largely a figurehead that held little real power.

Numerous developments were made during this period in the areas of culture and mathematics—including the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'' within the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' (a literary work summarizing the preceding Spring and Autumn period), and the bundle of 21 bamboo slips from the [[Tsinghua Bamboo Slips|Tsinghua]] collection, dated to 305{{nbsp}}BC—being the world's earliest known example of a two-digit, base-10 multiplication table. The Tsinghua collection indicates that sophisticated commercial arithmetic was already established during this period.<ref>{{cite news
| doi=10.1038/nature.2014.14482
|last=Qiu | first= Jane
| publisher= Nature
| url= http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-times-table-hidden-in-chinese-bamboo-strips-1.14482  
| title= Ancient times table hidden in Chinese bamboo strips. The 2,300-year-old matrix is the world's oldest decimal multiplication table
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122064930/http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-times-table-hidden-in-chinese-bamboo-strips-1.14482 |archive-date=22 January 2014
| date=7 January 2014
 }}</ref>

As neighboring territories of the seven states were annexed (including areas of modern [[Sichuan]] and [[Liaoning]]), they were now to be governed under an administrative system of [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] and [[prefectures]]. This system had been in use elsewhere since the Spring and Autumn period, and its influence on administration would prove resilient—its terminology can still be seen in the contemporaneous ''[[Administrative divisions of China|sheng]]'' and ''[[Administrative divisions of China|xian]]'' ("provinces" and "counties") of contemporary China.

The state of [[Qin (state)|Qin]] became dominant in the waning decades of the Warring States period, conquering the [[Shu (state)|Shu]] capital of [[Jinsha site|Jinsha]] on the Chengdu Plain; and then eventually driving [[Chu (state)|Chu]] from its place in the Han River valley. Qin imitated the administrative reforms of the other states, thereby becoming a powerhouse.<ref name=":0"/> Its final expansion began during the reign of [[Ying Zheng]], ultimately unifying the other six regional powers, and enabling him to proclaim himself as China's first [[Emperor of China|emperor]]—known to history as [[Qin Shi Huang]].