Everything Goes Wrong
After 200 years of peace, every one was fairly convinced that it would last forever. Unfortunately, this period of the dynasty is a perfect example of why "forever" does not apply to any sort of government system.
In 771 B.C.E., Chengzhou was overrun by the Quanron ethnic group (a.k.a. barbarians) and King You (the king at the time) was killed. Only his son Ping and a few advisers escaped to the secondary capital of Zongzhou to the east. The people of China at the time, who were convinced that their new rulers had the Mandate of Heaven, saw the fall of Chengzhou as a sign that the royal family was falling as well. And, in a way, it was. Because the people had lost faith in their ruler, they turned to the nearest people in power to protect them. Guess who those lucky people were?
Feudal Systems Cause Problems
You guessed right; the feudal lords were those lucky people. Of course, the feudal lords liked all the attention they were getting, and it dawned on them that it would all go away if the king came back into power. But as time went on, they realized that the royal family had fallen for good. No one respected them after the fall of Chengzhou, so all they could do was sit in the back with the glitter glue and safety scissors and watch as the feudal lords took more and more power for themselves. (And that folks is the only Doctor Who joke you'll gt from me. Unless you count having the T.A.R.D.I.S. on the homepage. Darn.)
This period lasts 600 years, from the sacking of Chengzhou until ca. 256 B.C.E.
After 200 years of peace, every one was fairly convinced that it would last forever. Unfortunately, this period of the dynasty is a perfect example of why "forever" does not apply to any sort of government system.
In 771 B.C.E., Chengzhou was overrun by the Quanron ethnic group (a.k.a. barbarians) and King You (the king at the time) was killed. Only his son Ping and a few advisers escaped to the secondary capital of Zongzhou to the east. The people of China at the time, who were convinced that their new rulers had the Mandate of Heaven, saw the fall of Chengzhou as a sign that the royal family was falling as well. And, in a way, it was. Because the people had lost faith in their ruler, they turned to the nearest people in power to protect them. Guess who those lucky people were?
Feudal Systems Cause Problems
You guessed right; the feudal lords were those lucky people. Of course, the feudal lords liked all the attention they were getting, and it dawned on them that it would all go away if the king came back into power. But as time went on, they realized that the royal family had fallen for good. No one respected them after the fall of Chengzhou, so all they could do was sit in the back with the glitter glue and safety scissors and watch as the feudal lords took more and more power for themselves. (And that folks is the only Doctor Who joke you'll gt from me. Unless you count having the T.A.R.D.I.S. on the homepage. Darn.)
This period lasts 600 years, from the sacking of Chengzhou until ca. 256 B.C.E.