Life During the Shang and Zhou Periods

Life in Ancient China during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties:

After Xia times during the Bronze Age, first, the Shang family and then the Zhou family ruled ancient China.

The first ruling family was the Shang. The Shang are famous for their use of bronze, chopsticks, jade, silk, spices, oracle bones, and a system of writing. The kingship was very odd. Instead of going from father to son, it went from brother to brother or from brother to nephew. The Shang justified their right to rule using the Mandate of Heaven. (The gods said they could rule.)

The second family was the Zhou. The Zhou built roads and canals for better trade and travel. They were interested in the sciences, especially astronomy. Literature flourished. It was under the Zhous that ancient China broke into feudal states.

For most people, daily life was very similar during both dynasties.

Clan leaders in various cities during both the Shang and Zhou Dynasties always fought each other to control land and cities. Each city was surrounded by a massive wall made of solid clay brick. A wall might be 30 feet high and 65 feet deep. Some walls ran for miles. These barriers served as protection from enemy invaders.

Inside the walls of a city lived nobles and priests:

The nobles, priests, king or emperor, and his family lived in splendor. Their palaces were made of wood and clay bricks, lavishly decorated with colorfully painted tiles and bronze candlesticks. The palatial complex featured flower gardens and also grew spices. Food for this class was plentiful. Their status was also seen in their clothing, which was made of silk. Burials for this class were often in gorgeous tombs filled with art and real chariots. The kings, or the emperors, were frequently buried with real people and real animals, often guards and dogs buried alive to protect them in the afterlife.

Outside the walls of a city lived artisans and merchants:

Artisans and merchants were not treated very well. The merchants and artisans lived outside the walls in mud huts. This class was paid for their work, usually in food. Just as in India, a person could not change their place in life. Whatever class their father was, they also were. The only exception would be to join the military, and that was not usually a move up. If the city came under attack, the craftsmen and merchants would remain outside the city walls. This class was not considered important enough to risk soldiers to bring them into safety. They were left to fend for themselves as best they could.

Not even near the wall, Farmers:

In small villages scattered around the countryside lived the lowest class of people, the peasants, who represent the vast majority of the ancient Chinese people during Shang and Zhou times. People in this class were farmers. Life for them was hard and often brutal. The clothing they wore was uncomplicated and straightforward, made up of plain tunics and trousers. Being poor, people of this class often had very few belongings. They usually did not have any furniture in their homes.

They did not own their farms. The land was broken up into small plots. Each plot of land was owned by a noble, who might own many in the area. Each plot was a separate unit farmed by a different peasant family. In exchange for their labor, peasants were allowed to keep some of the food they produced. If they were caught hoarding extra food to feed their families, they were killed.

In the summer, peasants lived in temporary bamboo homes built on their small plots of land. They farmed with stone and wood tools.

In the winter, they moved back into their village where families had their permanent home, usually a one-room mud hut. Since they were not farming, they worked without pay on other projects. Some worked on building projects in noble houses or repairing bridges, roads, and canals for the king or emperor. The military took others to be foot soldiers until it was time to plant crops.

Warriors:

In the beginning, warriors tried to fight with horse-drawn chariots. As the terrain was too rough, the use of chariots fell out of style. Battles were most frequently fought on horseback or on foot. Some warriors, the elite or top warriors, wore battle clothes made of bronze, an early form of armor. Soldiers of this level rode horses and carried metal daggers and spears and axes. The majority of the army was composed of foot soldiers pulled from the peasant class. Due to their lack of wealth, these soldiers did not have battle clothes, instead wearing tattered tunics and trousers into combat. The weapons they carried were made of stone, and their shields were made of wood if they had any.

Family:

For all people during Shang and Zhou times, the family was all-important. The oldest male of each family, from nobles to peasants, was the head of the household. Children were required to be respectful, obedient, and never argue. (If they did, they were severely punished.) If one family member did something wrong, the entire family was in disgrace and could be punished.

(Information from mrdonn.org)