News Story

Haojing- Today, many people are mourning the death of their beloved leader, King Wu of Zhou. King Wu passed away yesterday, sources say he died from natural causes. It has only been six years since he defeated King Zhou at Muye and began the Zhou dynasty. 
        Ji Dan, King Wu's younger brother, otherwise known as the Duke of Zhou, has been appointed regent as King Wu's son is too young to rule. A poll recently taken shows that almost a third of the commoners said they were unsure about how they felt towards Ji Dan becoming regent. About half has said they feel neutral, and the rest feel that the Duke has usurped his position and does not deserve it. 
          The question left is, will the Zhou dynasty grow under this new regent, or is he going to be its downfall? Nobody can be completely sure yet, but most people would agree that it would be best if he helped it become a prosperous and well-known dynasty for future generations.

Map

 

This is a map of the Eastern Zhou dynasty during 770 BC - 221 BC. The black dashed border represents the modern Chinese and Mongolian border. The dark tan color stands for the extension of the Eastern Zhou dynasty from the Western Zhou dynasty. The Eastern Zhou dynasty was located by the northeastern corner of China and took up about half of the eastern side of China. The capital was Luoyi (not shown on the map) and was located where the modern city of Luoyang is now located. The Zhou dynasty capital location changed from  Haojing to Louyi because when the Zhou kings from the Western period lost control to landlords, the Zhou dynasty went into its Eastern period. 

Interview with the Duke of Zhou

Interviewer: How are you related to King Wu, the first emperor of the Zhou dynasty and how did

Duke of Zhou: I am King Wu's brother, and he is the second son of my father King Wen.

Interviewer: Instead of King Cheng becoming emperor after his father passed away, why were you appointed regent?

Duke: King Wu originally wanted me to be his heir, but I decided that the real heir was his son Cheng, and so I became regent. My nephew was still an infant when his father passed way, and so I acted as a "substitute" ruler while King Cheng was still growing up. While I waited for King Cheng to take his rightful place as emperor, I took the opportunity to try and improve the lives of our people.

Interviewer:You are known for forming part of the foundation of the Zhou dynasty. What were your strategies for helping the dynasty move along after your brother passed away?

Duke: I have tried to help the dynasty in any way that I could so all of our subjects could live safely and comfortably.  I suggested move our capital to Luoyi so there could be more control in the east. I put down rebellions and I sponsored the nine square system which helped boost our economy. I also began new music and ceremony systems.

Interviewer: Tell me a bit more about the musical systems, if you do not mind.

Duke: I composed number of musical pieces in order to educate our commoners, as most of them are illiterate, meaning they cannot read or write.

Interviewer: How else have you attempted to educate the commoners?

Duke: I wrote the Zhou Li, the description of the Zhou governmental system, and the Yi Li, one of the most important texts if I do say so myself. I wrote it with the intention of educating my people on how to be moral, and also to try and teach future generations of people.

Interviewer: When King Cheng finally grew up and you had to hand over your power, what have you continued doing so the dynasty can continue being prosperous?

Duke:  I have continued to perfect the laws and I also suggested to King Cheng to move the capital from Haojing to Luoyi.

Inventions

       During the Zhou dynasty, chopsticks were invented. At first, they were used for as instruments for an unknown purpose, but they later became eating utensils. The chopsticks were a new revolutionary way of consuming food, and Confucius promoted its use later on.
      Before chopsticks were invented, people ate with their hands since forks and spoons had not been invented yet. Knives had been invented, but they were only used as weapons, which is why Confucius promoted the use of chopsticks. He believed using knives at the dinner table was wrong because knives were associated with acts of aggression and eating with chopsticks was a more civilized way of eating.
   Chopsticks have revolutionized the way people eat to this day. It has helped shape Chinese dining because of its thinness and the capacity of food it can hold. Part of Chinese culture is defined by its foods, and most of it has been made to be able to be easily handled with chopsticks.

Geographical Feature: The Yellow River

       The Yellow River is an example of an important geographical feature for the Zhou dynasty. It provided water for irrigation purposes which helped people grow their crops so they could have enough food. It was also used as means of travel as it allowed people to go from one place to another by boat and it helped boost the amount of trading that went on between tribes which allowed the dynasty's economy to be great.

Bibliography

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