🔴🇨🇳(Part 5 of 5) Zhou Dynasty 周朝 (1046-256 BCE, was the longest dynasty of 790 years)
by Joshua J. Mark
published on 01 July 2020
The Book of Rites 诗经referenced by Liu is one of the classic Chinese texts which was produced during the Zhou Dynasty during the period of the Hundred Schools of thought. The Four Books and Five Classics四书五经 – which managed to survive the book burning of the Qin 秦 – became the standard texts for Chinese education. They are:
The Four Books (四書; Sìshū) are Chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in Confucianism.
🔶The Four Books 四书 are:
🔸The Analects《论语》、
🔸The Works of Mencius《孟子》、
🔸Great Learning《大学》和
🔸The Doctrine of the Mean《中庸》;
🔶The Five Classics 五经 are:
🔸Book of Songs《诗经》、
🔸Book of Documents《尚书》、
🔸Book of Rites《礼记》、
🔸Book of Changes《周易》、
🔸Spring and Autumn Annals《春秋》
These works continue to be studied in the present day and for the same reason: they are thought to not only educate an individual but also elevate the soul and improve one's overall character.
❇️Conclusion
These works were only made possible by the Zhou development of writing. The Zhou developed the Shang script Jiaguwen into the Dazhuan, Xiaozhuan, and Lishu scripts which would lend themselves to the development of still others.
The Zhou's elevation of ancestor worship encouraged the development of religious thought and their vision of the Mandate of Heaven would continue to inform Chinese dynasties going forward for thousands of years.
If the Zhou had only produced philosophers such as Confucius and the others, it would be impressive enough, but they did far more. In the Western Zhou period, they established a decentralized, but cohesive, state which honored and inspired the people of all social classes, not just the noble and wealthy. They consistently improved upon what they had inherited from the Shang and looked for other ways to make their lives, and others', better.
In the Eastern Zhou period, even amidst the chaos of constant warfare, they continued to develop art, music, literature, and philosophy of the highest quality. The Zhou Dynasty's reign of nearly 800 years, in fact, was so profoundly influential at every level of culture that even the destructive policies of the Qin could not erase it. After the Qin fell to the Han Dynasty, the cultural contributions of the Zhou were revived and, today, are indistinguishable from Chinese culture.
❇️(Part 1 of 5) Zhou Dynasty 周朝 (1046-256 BCE, was the longest dynasty of 790 years)
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PHOTO
A gold sword hilt decorated with interlaced dragons. Eastern Zhou dynasty, 6th-5th century BCE. (British Museum, London)
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