The Western Zhou Period was the first of many in the Zhou dynasty. (Believe me, I had to make all those tabs.) It's capital was Chengzhou, modern Luoyang, and it lasted 200 years, ending ca. (a.k.a. around) 770 B.C.E.. We'll get to that later. For now, Let's look at this magnificent period in which there is just about the only real peace this dynasty sees. Savor it.
The Shang
You thought we were done with them? Dishonor upon you, dishonor upon your cow, dishonor upon your whole family! (Sorry, I saw the opportunity for a Mulan reference, and I took it.) The Shang continued influencing the Zhou even after they were long gone. For example, the Zhou had a agrarian-based city-hierarchy very similar to that of the Shang. (For those with my vocabulary, that means agriculture-based city government with social statuses.) The Zhou also made bronze ceremonial vessels (like a bowl), but they weren't anywhere as good as the Shang's. Which goes over to the fact that the Zhou continued to use oracle bones from the Shang. Of course, they adapted over time to eventually do ancestor worship instead of strict polytheism by the mid-10th century B.C.E., but the basis was Shang. Basically, the Western Zhou dynasty was a continuation of the Shang, except for the fact they made a lot more progress technology-wise.
Advancements
The Zhou, possibly because their bronze work wasn't the best, learned how to make iron ca. 500 B.C.E.. Iron was cheaper and faster make than bronze, as well as being easier to use. New farming techniques arose, creating a surplus of food. They kept working at the Chinese writing system, and eventually created some of the first books. These books were strips of bamboo woven together with string, and painted letters on, but they still count as books! They also invented the use of chopsticks, and coinage in China. We'll elaborate on this peculiar coinage later, as they became most popular in the Spring and Autumn period, but for now let's just say that they didn't need weapons to protect their money.
Government
So we already talked about the city government, but not the dynasty as a whole's government. To fix that, I'm here to tell you that the Zhou dynasty developed the feudal government of China. A feudal government, for those who don't know, is a system of government where local lords govern their own lands but owe military service and other types of support to the ruler. In other words, nobles who were related to the king by blood or marriage (or Shang nobles that were moved far away from their homes) were given fiefs to control under supervision of the king. This didn't cause any problems until the Eastern Zhou period, which is up next!
And the page titled Eastern Zhou does have information on it, so don't skip it. You will be hopelessly lost without reading it. I promise.
The Shang
You thought we were done with them? Dishonor upon you, dishonor upon your cow, dishonor upon your whole family! (Sorry, I saw the opportunity for a Mulan reference, and I took it.) The Shang continued influencing the Zhou even after they were long gone. For example, the Zhou had a agrarian-based city-hierarchy very similar to that of the Shang. (For those with my vocabulary, that means agriculture-based city government with social statuses.) The Zhou also made bronze ceremonial vessels (like a bowl), but they weren't anywhere as good as the Shang's. Which goes over to the fact that the Zhou continued to use oracle bones from the Shang. Of course, they adapted over time to eventually do ancestor worship instead of strict polytheism by the mid-10th century B.C.E., but the basis was Shang. Basically, the Western Zhou dynasty was a continuation of the Shang, except for the fact they made a lot more progress technology-wise.
Advancements
The Zhou, possibly because their bronze work wasn't the best, learned how to make iron ca. 500 B.C.E.. Iron was cheaper and faster make than bronze, as well as being easier to use. New farming techniques arose, creating a surplus of food. They kept working at the Chinese writing system, and eventually created some of the first books. These books were strips of bamboo woven together with string, and painted letters on, but they still count as books! They also invented the use of chopsticks, and coinage in China. We'll elaborate on this peculiar coinage later, as they became most popular in the Spring and Autumn period, but for now let's just say that they didn't need weapons to protect their money.
Government
So we already talked about the city government, but not the dynasty as a whole's government. To fix that, I'm here to tell you that the Zhou dynasty developed the feudal government of China. A feudal government, for those who don't know, is a system of government where local lords govern their own lands but owe military service and other types of support to the ruler. In other words, nobles who were related to the king by blood or marriage (or Shang nobles that were moved far away from their homes) were given fiefs to control under supervision of the king. This didn't cause any problems until the Eastern Zhou period, which is up next!
And the page titled Eastern Zhou does have information on it, so don't skip it. You will be hopelessly lost without reading it. I promise.