The Mainstream of Chinese Civilization Stems from Zhou Culture

Before the Zhou Dynasty, the Shang rulers could not culturally unify other tribes. However, the Zhou people’s remarkable influence persisted for thousands of years, from the 11th century BCE to the 19th century CE, maintaining the core values and elements of Chinese culture.

The Zhou People’s Worldview — The Concept and Belief in ‘Heaven’

The Shang people believed that ancestors became ‘ghosts and spirits’ (鬼神), and the spirit world was above the human world. ‘Shamans’ (巫) could traverse the realms of humans and spirits, wielding and leveraging the power of spirits due to their supreme authority. To communicate with the heavens, the Shang used tools such as bronze vessels, divination, and writing. The ‘Di’ (帝) was the supreme authority in the spirit world, the most powerful of the ancestors.

In contrast, the Zhou people believed in ‘Heaven’ (天). Heaven had no anthropomorphic image; it was abstract, a fair and transcendent judging force that ruled over all people. It neither belonged to the Zhou people nor favored them exclusively. If actions conformed to Heaven’s principles, it would protect you; otherwise, you would be punished. The relationship between Heaven and humans constituted the Zhou people’s worldview.

‘The Mandate of Heaven’ (天命) was the most crucial link in the Heaven-human relationship. A person became a ruler by Heaven’s mandate, and the fundamental authority of governance came from Heaven, which could also revoke the power of unqualified rulers.

The Patriarchal Feudal System

The second long-lasting imprint the Zhou left on Chinese civilization was the ‘patriarchal system’ (宗法), which emphasized the importance of kinship.

Patriarchy was closely linked with ‘feudalism’ (封建), which replaced the previous Shang and Xia communal chiefdoms. The essence of feudalism was dispatching armed colonizing forces composed of Zhou relatives to enter and collaborate with other tribes. Through feudal expansion, the Zhou gradually assimilated the culturally diverse regions of China.

The most powerful impact of feudalism was the ‘kinship system’ (亲族系统). Since then, the organization of interpersonal relationships in Chinese society has been centered around kinship in a ‘concentric circles pattern’ (同心圆模式), also referred to as the differential mode of association (差序格局) and the five degrees of mourning (五服).

As feudalism developed, the Zhou also designed the ‘ritual system’ (礼仪制度), which became a crucial component of Chinese civilization.

Chinese Characters

Since their primary function was divination, Shang characters were logographic (表意文字) rather than phonetic. In Shang culture, writing resembled talismans (道符) in later eras—a set of ghostly symbols not meant for recording mundane affairs.

The Zhou learned Shang’s script and invented the ‘Six Principles of Writing’ (六书), developing numerous phonetic characters, enhancing the script’s capability to record language. The relationship between Chinese characters and language is tenuous; they can adapt to linguistic changes while remaining partially independent of rapid linguistic shifts. This independence is a key factor in maintaining cultural integration and political unity across China’s vast, linguistically diverse regions.

The Zhou liberated writing from the hands of shamans, making it a tool for recording human affairs, thus closely linking writing with daily life—a tradition that has persisted for three thousand years.

Six Principles of Writing (六书)

  • Word Formation: Pictographs (象形), Ideographs (指事) (文)
  • Character Composition: Compound Ideographs (会意), Phonetic Compounds (形声) (字)
  • Usage: Associative Compounds (转注), Loan Characters (假借) (字)

Pictographs: Sun (日), Moon (月), Mountain (山), Water (水)
Ideographs: Above (上), Below (下)
Compound Ideographs: Martial (武), Trust (信)
Phonetic Compounds: River (江), Jiang (河) (Phonetic compounds are the most numerous)
Associative Compounds: Test (考), Old (老)
Loan Characters: North -> Back (北 -> 背) (phonetic substitution)

Wén (文), Míng (名), and Zì (字)

Chen Mengjia classified Chinese characters into three categories: Wén (文), Míng (名), and Zì (字). Wén refers to characters whose meaning can be directly understood, like ‘其’ representing a winnowing basket. Míng involves using homophones to name people or objects, such as ‘箕子’ (Jizi). Zì refers to characters derived from Wén, like ‘棋’ (Chess) and ‘麒’ (Kirin).

The Geographic Scope of China

The core of Chinese civilization was initially the northwestern Loess Plateau, which later expanded southeastward. The economic shift occurred the fastest, with political and cultural development following closely behind.

Phonetic vs. Logographic Writing

Phonetic writing (表音文字) records language, making language the primary entity and writing its derivative. In contrast, Chinese, as a logographic script (表意文字), places writing above language. Writing remains constant, extending from ghosts to Heaven and then to humans.

Literature-Centered Historical Perspective

For the Chinese, history is the written record. Since the Song Dynasty, China has had a tradition of epigraphy, studying ancient bronze and stone inscriptions. However, scholars still believed that only what was recorded in historical books was the true history, and inscriptions were unrelated to it.

The Imperial Examination System

He Bingdi’s research on over 50,000 candidate records from the Ming and Qing dynasties concludes that the imperial examination system (科举) was the main force promoting social mobility in China. With the examination system, the extent and prevalence of both upward and downward social mobility increased. The candidate lists recorded not only the names but also the domicile, birthplace, and ancestral identity of the candidates—being listed on the examination roster was a source of pride for one’s ancestors.

Two types of people sought assistance and services at guild halls—candidates and merchants. After making a fortune, merchants, due to their low social status, would urge their descendants to avoid commerce and pursue the imperial examination, or at the very least, transition into landownership.

The Ecology of the Loess Plateau and the Construction of Cities

He Bingdi, based on spore analysis of geological fossils, proved that the Loess Plateau has always been arid with little water, making suitable living areas scarce. The breakthrough and spread of ‘rammed earth city construction’ (夯土筑城) technology artificially created safe living conditions, enabling people to overcome geographical limitations and establish agricultural settlements in more locations.

With city walls came cities, and with cities, there were people, leading to the formation of ‘states’ (国).

City-States (城邦)

States (国) -> Suburbs (郊) -> Wilderness (野) -> Fiefs (封) -> Borderlands (鄙)

The State People (国人)

  1. Lived in the city, 2. Had a ‘surname’ (姓)

State people belonged to a common ‘clan’ (氏), such as the Jin people (晋人) or Yan people (燕人).

Five Ranks of Tribute (五服)

  • Within the state: Dianfu (甸服)
  • Outside the state: Houfu (侯服)
  • Border defense: Binfu (宾服)
  • Remote regions: Yaofu (要服)
  • Tribal areas: Huangfu (荒服)

‘Dianfu’ offers sacrifices (祭), ‘Houfu’ performs rituals (祀), ‘Binfu’ holds feasts (享), ‘Yaofu’ offers tribute (贡), ‘Huangfu’ acknowledges the king (王).
— ‘The Discourses of Zhou’ (国语·周语)

‘Dianfu’ offers sacrifices (祭), ‘Houfu’ performs rituals (祀), ‘Binfu’ holds regular ceremonies (时), ‘Yaofu’ gives annual tribute (岁), ‘Huangfu’ offers tribute once in a generation (世).
— ‘The Lost Book of Zhou’ (逸周书)

The Evolution of the Noble Ranks (爵制嬗变)

‘Gong’ (公) and ‘Hou’ (侯) were not hierarchical but had higher status than ‘Bo’ (伯), ‘Zi’ (子), and ‘Nan’ (男) (similar to the European system).

  • Gong (公): Core relatives of the Zhou, with a higher generation than the Zhou king.
  • Hou (侯): Highly meritorious in battle, responsible for guarding the Zhou king.
  • Bo (伯): Of the same generation as the Zhou king.
  • Zi (子): Of a lower generation.
  • Nan (男): Conferred with military tasks, holding lower military responsibilities.

From the Western Zhou to the Eastern Zhou, as time passed and kinship expanded, a confused system of responsibilities emerged. The rank system gradually became ineffective, and military conquest became the primary method of resolving disputes.

At this time, siege equipment and technology advanced significantly. Iron weapons and tall ladders made city walls lose their defensive advantage, leading to rapid city-state decline. A single state could have more and more cities, which exceeded the old feudal system’s capacity.

Eventually, the ‘feudal system’ (封建制) was overthrown and replaced by the appointment of officials, leading to the establishment of the ‘prefecture-county system’ (郡县制).

Duke of Zhou (周公)

The Duke of Zhou is the first historically credible figure with considerable historical records and the first to make crucial decisions at critical moments that influenced later generations. The Duke of Zhou designed and implemented the feudal system.

Eastern Rule Strategy (东方统治策略)

The key to implementing Zhou’s feudalism was ‘armed colonization’ (武装殖民). The Zhou people originated from the Rong and Di tribes (戎狄), reached Guanzhong (关中), drove out the indigenous people, and settled down to cultivate. They then moved eastward to occupy the livable ‘Zhouyuan’ (周原).

After defeating the Shang, Zhougong (Duke of Zhou) implemented three strategies to address the eastern problem:

  1. Extensive Enfeoffment (大封同姓): All the Zhou clan members were mobilized to form armed forces that advanced eastward. If they could conquer the eastern land, it would be theirs.
  2. Win Over Ancient Clans (拉拢古氏族): These were integrated into the second tier of the feudal system, severing their ties with the Shang and incorporating them into the new Zhou order.
  3. Win Over the Shang (拉拢商人): The Shang people established the state of Song (宋国) and were integrated into the Zhou feudal system, with the remnants of the Yin-Shang (殷商) joining the armed colonization wave.

Large ancient clans were enfeoffed as ‘feudal lords’ (诸侯), while smaller tribes became ‘chiefs’ (大夫) within the state, forming layers upon layers that turned China into a feudal organic body.

The Zhu-Mu System (昭穆制)

The Zhu-Mu system (昭穆制) was a fixed term for different generations. One generation was Zhu (昭), the next was Mu (穆), alternating back and forth. People of the same generation formed a group that erased member distinctions.

The Patriarchal System (宗法制)

The main line of descent (大宗) remained in place for a hundred generations, while the minor line of descent (小宗) changed every five generations.

Sacrifices honored hierarchy, and banquets honored kinship.

Primogeniture (嫡长子制)

The principles of succession were: Legitimate (嫡) > Elder (长) > Worthy (贤) > Divination (卜).

The Origins of the Hundred Schools of Thought (诸子的源头)

The Zhou people did not focus on ghosts and spirits but emphasized three relationships: 1. The relationship between Heaven and humans (天人关系), 2. The relationship between ancestors and the present (先人与今人关系), and 3. The relationships between people in daily life (人与人日常联系).

Thus, people were needed to record history, take oaths, communicate, and maintain the patriarchal system.

After several generations of enfeoffment, some clans would decline to commoner status.

The Date of the Book of Laozi (《老子》成书年代)

The Book of Laozi was not written earlier than the late Warring States period and was likely composed after the Zhuangzi (《庄子》). The reasoning includes: 1. The appearance of specialized terms, 2. Changes in word usage, 3. The emergence of concepts and ideas, 4. The argumentative style, and 5. Changes in rhyming patterns.