The Zhou feudal system Flashcards
1
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The Zhou feudal system
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- feudal states were not contiguous but rather were scattered at strategic locations surrounded by potentially dangerous and hostile lands
- The scattered feudal states gradually acquired something like territorial solidity as the neighbouring populations established closer ties with them, either by marriage or by accepting vassal status; the gaps between the fortified cities were thus filled by political control and cultural assimilation.
- For about two centuries Zhou China enjoyed stability and peace. There were wars against the non-Zhou peoples of the interior and against the nomads along the northern frontier, but there was little dispute among the Chinese states themselves.
- The familial relationship among the nobles gradually was diluted during the Chunqiu period.
- Huangong (reigned 685–643 bce), the ruler of the state of Qi on the Shandong Peninsula. After his death the state of Qi failed to maintain its leading status.