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During this time, the area around the Yellow River was ruled by the Shang Dynasty. The first real cities of ancient East Asia, with tens of thousands of inhabitants, appeared here. Tribal chiefs ruled smaller parts of the empire, but the king was still widely known throughout the land. The Chinese are also making very fine bronze during this time.

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The Zhou will be the longest-enduring dynasty in China’s history. The Zhou kings hire family members and loyal followers as "princes" to rule smaller parts of the territory. This is called the feudal system. During this time, the empire expanded outward into surrounding lands, and this was a crucial period for the expansion of ancient Chinese civilization.

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In the Zhou dynasty, the nobles that ruled small territories grew more powerful. They ignored the king's commands and took over their areas. They fought each other for power. This lasted nearly 200 years! To help states fight, they would make peasants and farmers fight!

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Confucianism and Daoism Developed: 500 BCE

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Confucianism and Daoism Developed: 500 BCE

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This is a crucial period for Chinese civilization – a time of great upheaval and great creativity in Ancient China’s history. During this time, Confucius came. In this time of change, he calls people back to their ancient duties of honor and obedience. This is called Confucianism. Dao is a philosophy that means the way to happiness. It says that you will be very happy if you look at things the right way.

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This philosophy talked about the importance of law. The founder thought that humans were naturally evil. He thought that strict laws and hard duties were needed to force people to do their work. He also believed in harsh punishments. It lead to very strict consequences for even the smallest of problems.

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The Qin state conquered all the others, one by one. The Qin Dynasty rulers were the first to rule a unified empire. Their empire lasted barely a generation, however, before it dissolved into anarchy. During their rule, they started to build the famous Great Wall of China, built to protect the Chinese from the Mongols. The emperor was famous for being buried with an entire terra cotta army because he thought he would need protection in the afterlife.

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When the Qin dynasty collapsed, a new dynasty called the Han Dynasty took over. They had the same government system as the Qin, but it was much less strict. Taxes and labors were less severe and the punishments less harsh. During their rule, the expanded the empire and they established almost 2 centuries of peace and zero conflict.