How did Chinese Civilization begin? (Shang and Zhou dynasties) Bronze Age China history explained

This is The Bronze Age, an 11 part collaboration. Be sure to follow up with videos from VC3 and Overly Sarcastic Productions. More info on that at the end of the video. The geographical region that became China has clear territorial boundaries. The Gobi Desert in the north, dense jungle in the south, while the east and west are bounded by formidable mountains and the sea. Nearly all of the land fit for agriculture in this region is centered around the flood plains surrounding the Yellow River Valley in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. The major early prehistoric cultures of China were centered around the middle and lower Yellow River Valley. These early people were the first to control the unpredictable and dangerous floods of the river valley through sophisticated irrigation techniques, drastically increasing crop yields and population of the region, and are likely the basis for the semi-mythical Xia Dynasty. Not long after the first bronze objects were cast in the area of the Yellow River, the Shang rose to power. They built the oldest nation state in Asia that we have significant undisputable historical proof for, as they left behind a fully formed writing system, a precursor to modern Chinese, with over 3,000 characters, many still in use today. The Shang were led by an all-powerful priest-king, who ruled over a rapidly increasing population, which expanded in every direction, colonizing and building large walled cities throughout the kingdom, the greatest of which was Anyang, capital city of 12 kings and 8 generations of Shang. Much of this growth was fueled by bronze, sharpened hardy bronze agricultural tools, increased farming productivity, armies armed with bronze weapons and armor, could conquer and control more territory, and large bronze bells and ritual items demonstrated the wealth and power of the state and the king. Between 1300 and 1200 BC, the domesticated horse and spoked-wheeled chariot changed the face of warfare and societal structure within Shang China. Now beneath the king was a powerful military nobility, who controlled vast sprawling estates centered around the production and maintenance of chariots and the breeding of horses. Over time, the Shang gained a reputation for cruelty and oppression, evidenced by the hundreds of commoners believed to have been buried alive that had been found in the graves of Shang nobility. Along the banks of the Wei River, to the west of the Shang, the state of Zhou steadily grew in power as a nominal vassal state of the Shang. Around the year 1050 BC, the Zhou crossed a yellow river with an army of 50,000 men. Initially greatly outnumbered, their fortunes drastically improved when 170,000 slaves that had been armed to protect the capital city, defected and joined the Zhou. The king of Shang set his own palace on fire, dying within. They were able to defeat the Shang, establishing the Zhou dynasty. Unlike the king of Shang, who ruled a very centralized state, the Zhou implemented a system based around semi-independent feudal states, governed by the king's 16 brothers, other family members, and in-laws. Zhou's first king Wu would only rule for three years. When his son succeeded him to the throne, a massive rebellion erupted. Shang loyalists joined together with discontented nobles, including three of the young king's uncles. However, another uncle, Dan, the duke of Zhou, the deceased king's older brother, stayed loyal to the young king. As regent, he defeated the rebellion and his younger brothers in a three-year war, and then consolidated and expanded the kingdom, and developed the Mandate of Heaven doctrine to justify the divine right to rule of the Zhou, because the Shang had become corrupt and decadent. The duke of Zhou also established a new eastern capital city at Luoyang to administer the eastern portion of the kingdom. Once the young king came of age, he gave up power, stepping down as regent, without any trouble or conflict. The duke of Zhou is still revered today in China as an example of loyalty. The Zhou dynasty is divided into two periods, the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou. During the Western Zhou, the kingdom was ruled from the twin capital cities of Fenghao. The Western Zhou period ended when the king was killed and the capital city was destroyed by an alliance of western nomads and the family of one of the king's disgruntled wives. Again, the Mandate of Heaven doctrine was used to legitimize a violent change in government, which would become a reoccurring theme in much of Chinese history. The capital was moved east, to Luoyang, beginning the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is split into the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Spring and Autumn period saw a continual decline in the king's power, to the point where he only had a ceremonial role. While the Marquis and Dukes of Zhou gained greater autonomy, gathering large private armies, and becoming fully independent states over time. During the Spring and Autumn period, an endless cavalcade of increasingly large-scale wars between hundreds of tiny states gradually coalesced into a little over a dozen warring states. Despite the violence and chaos of this age, it was also an age of profound philosophical thought. With, the philosopher Lao Tzu emphasized living in harmony with the natural world. Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, believed justice, peace, and properly acting out one's Han Fei's doctrines of legalism taught that people were selfish and needed strict restrictions placed upon them in order for society to function properly. These ideas heavily influenced Chinese bureaucratic administration for millennia to come. Sun Tzu, a military advisor and general for the state of Wu, wrote down a military treatise, The Art of War. The strategies in this book have been employed in Asian warfare ever since they were written down and later have been heavily used in the West and even the business world, and remains a best-seller even to this day. The constant warfare of this period necessitated military innovation. The world's first-ever trigger-operated firearm, the crossbow, was invented around 650 BC, and soon after, it was being mass-produced in all of the Chinese states. Around 600 BC, iron-smelting technology was either independently invented or introduced into China. Eventually, all of these warring states were unified by China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huan in 221 BC, who had conquered the Zhou 35 years before. Beginning China's imperial age, Bronze Age China saw the oldest continuous civilization that still exists today, with its contemporary Bronze Age, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Near Eastern civilizations fading away. China's geographical isolation and distinct natural borders fostered a unique culture, which during the Bronze Age, looked at itself as not the greatest civilization, but the only civilization. Beginning in the Zhou dynasty, and perhaps before, they began referring to their own country as the Middle Kingdom, China being the modern name. They viewed the fringe states that surrounded their territory as barbarians who made pale imitations of their own culture. The most impressive of these was the state of Shu, which created some of the most impressive bronze work ever created. Interestingly, China's population greatly increased during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, with these states making up over a quarter of the world's population of the time. This was largely due to advances in irrigation and farming technology. The wide implementation of coinage throughout the Eastern Zhou period facilitated a robust economy that seemed to thrive in whatever states were not being currently ravaged by the horrors of war, and saw the emergence, for the first time, of a large middle class in Asia, where those who were not hereditary landowners could purchase land with money they had accumulated. This has been Epimetheus, and this is one of my favorite areas in history, as it is so unique. If you would like to learn more about the Bronze Age right now, look in the description of this video and there will be a link to a playlist, where 11 other channels have made videos about the Bronze Age. Right before me in the playlist is Overly Sarcastic Productions, where Blue made a fantastic video about the Mesopotamian Bronze Age. And next up right after me is VC3 Productions, which made a video about the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the most mysterious and interesting places in time.