By Derek Kello and Igor Larionov.

The Zhou dynasty of China was founded in c.1027 B.C.

After 771 B.C. the Zhou capital was moved to Luoyang

States joined to enhance their power, effecting a centralization of authority within each state. to open conflict in the period of the Warring States (403–222 B.C.). In 256 B.C. the emerging state of Qin (Ch'in) conquered the Zhou empire. Struggles among the states for more land led

After 771 B.C. the Zhou Capital got moved to luoyang.

to open conflict in the period of the Warring States (403–222 B.C.). In 256 B.C. the emerging state of Qin (Ch'in) conquered the Zhou empire.

In 256 B.C. the emerging state of Qin (Ch'in) conquered the Zhou empire.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China.

this period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making.

The dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved from the ancient stage as seen in early Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, to the beginnings of the modern stage, in the form of the archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the origins of native Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BC.

The greatest Chinese philosophers, those who made the greatest impact on later generations of Chinese, were Confucius, founder of Confucianism, and Laozi, founder of Taoism.

Other philosophers, theorists, and schools of thought in this era were Mozi, founder of Mohism, Mencius, a famous Confucian who expanded upon Confucius' legacy, Shang Yang and Han Feizi, responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism

Initially the Ji family was able to control the country and the people in it firmly. In 771 BC, after King You had replaced his queen with a concubine Baosi, the capital was sacked by a joint force of the queen's father.

The queen's son Ji Yijiu was proclaimed the new king by nobles from the states of Zheng, Lu, Qin, Xu and Shen.

The capital was moved eastward in 770 BC from Haojing to Luoyang in present-day Henan Province.

The Warring States Period extended slightly past the 256 BC end date of Eastern Zhou.

The Eastern Zhou period is also designated as the period of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

The four main distinct schools were Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and Legalism, along with a host of others.

The ruling families of the Zhou, Shang, Qin, and (possibly) Xia dynasties coexisted together as rulers of independent kingdoms until 286 BC.

Agriculture in the Zhou Dynasty was very intensive and in many cases directed by the government.

All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their serfs, a situation similar to European feudalism.

the government was able to store surplus food and distribute it in times of famine or bad harvest.

a piece of land was divided into nine squares in the well-field system, with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers.

China's first projects of hydraulic engineering were founded during the Zhou Dynasty, ultimately for means to aid agricultural irrigation.

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