ln comparlng Lhe aspecLs of Lwo anclenL Chlnese dynasLles Lhe Zhou dynasLy was more

advanced because Lhey used Lhe baslcs whlch were developed by Lhe Shang dynasLy and
developed Lhem for Lhe beneflL of Lhelr people 1he Shang dynasLy exlsLed from Lhe 16Lh11
Lh

cenLury 8C and was followed by Lhe Zhou 1hrough sLudylng Lhelr wrlLlng rellglon economy
and pollLlcal sysLems lL becomes evldenL
1he emperors were very dlfferenL ln Lhelr rullng sLyles 1he Shang emperor 1ang made
peace wlLh Lhe people and Lrled Lo rule wlLh benevolence and klndness Powever laLer ln Lhe
Shang perlod Lhey foughL wlLh nomadlc Lrlbes and Lhelr nelghbours ln Lhe Aslan reglons 1he
klng was head of Lhe 'church' 1hey belleved ln Shang 1l Lhe supreme god and Lhey performed
rlLuals for Lhelr sacred ancesLors and splrlL worshlp
1he Zhou used Lhe 'mandaLe of heaven' Lo overLhrow Lhe Shang dynasLy Accordlng Lo
bashapedla Lhe mandaLe meanL LhaL Lhe gods belleved LhaL Lhe emperor was ln harmony wlLh
Lhe land and had Lhelr auLhorlLy Lo rule 1he Zhou rulers sald LhaL Lhe gods no longer belleved
hlm capable lL dld noL maLLer Lo Lhe people who ruled so lL was Lhe nobles LhaL had Lo be
convlnced and Lhey were
1he Shang uynasLy lnvenLed a wrlLlng sysLem whlch was furLher lmproved by Lhe Zhou
1he wrlLlng sysLem for Lhe Shang was orlglnally plcLographs derlved from plcLures Lhough Lhe
problem wlLh plcLorlal wrlLlng was LhaL lL used Loo much Llme and space
When Lhe Zhou came ln Lo rule Lhey developed Lhe Shang dynasLy's form of wrlLlng lL
was sllghLly dlfferenL so Lhey called Lhls seal scrlpL pronounced 'Zhuan' lL was Lhe prlnclple
scrlpL whlch came ln Lwo forms blg seal scrlpL and small seal scrlpL 1hls was greaL for people
ln Lhelr Llme buL noL very leglble for modern people
8ellglon changed from one maln Cod Lo a varleLy of bellefs 1o sLarL off wlLh Lhe Shang
belleved ln one maln god Shang1l who was Lhe supreme god AparL from LhaL Lhere was no
formal rellglon excepL for ghosLs and gods whlch rlLuals and ceremonles were held ln honour of
1he Zhou lnvenLed Lhe 'MandaLe of Peaven' Confuclanlsm and 1aolsm Confuclanlsm
was lnvenLed by a Lhlnker an educaLor a pollLlcal flgure called Confuclus whose Leachlngs
were Lhe basls of many vlews on educaLlon how one should llve hls llfe and even lnLeracL wlLh
oLhers 1aolsm ls a phllosophlcal rellglon or way of llfe LhaL was mosL llkely founded by a man
who llved before Confuclus called Lao 1su Pe belleved LhaL ln order Lo be happy you had Lo
follow Lhe crowd so LhaL Lhlngs would become more naLural by dolng Lhlngs Lhe easy way 1he
ldea ls called 'wuwel' whlch ls LranslaLed Lo 'dolng by noL dolng'
MaLerlals of Lools alLered as Lhe dynasLles changed 1he Shang had some bronze shlps
Lhough Lhelr weapons were made from wood and sLone as meLals were very scarce Cn Lhe
oLher hand Lhe Zhou were much more advanced ln Lhe facL LhaL Lhey had many Lools and
weapons made from lron whlch were much more sLurdy lncreaslng Lhe agrlculLure of LhaL Llme
1he anclenL Chlnese lnLroduced Lhe commodlLy exchange Powever Lhls was laLer
replaced wlLh moneLary exchange lor Lhe Shang mosL money LhaL was made was made
Lhrough farmlng and Lhe harvesL of crops 1he arLlsans formed anoLher secLlon of Lhe economlc
sLrucLure Weapons rlLual vessels [ewellery were made by any arLlsans Several farmers knew
how Lo Lurn sllk lnLo beauLlful cloLhlng whlch laLer became Chlna's maln exporL
1he Zhou had an agrlculLural lndusLry Lo a greaLer sLandard Lhan LhaL of Lhe Shang 1hey
had mosL of Lhe peasanLs compleLe work LhaL needed Lo be compleLed and were ordered by
Lhe nobles 1hls ls why Lhe handlcrafL lndusLry developed so rapldly 1hey managed Lo grasp Lhe
sklll of meLallurgy hence Lhe meLal Lools and weapons
ln concluslon Lhe Shang dynasLy lnvenLed Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe Chlnese culLure 1he maln
lnvenLlon from Lhe Shang was Lhe wrlLlng sysLem 1he Zhou dynasLy furLher developed Lhls and
renamed lL seal scrlpL 1he MandaLe of Peaven Confuclanlsm 1aolsm were evolved forms of
rellglon 1he Lools and weapons were made from lron legallsm and Lhe moneLary exchange
whlch made llfe easler 1herefore Lhe Zhou dynasLy would have been Lhe beLLer dynasLy
8y Pope CLeary aged 13