Ancient China tells the story of the first civilizations in China, briefly mentioning the Xia or Erlitou culture, and focusing on the Shang and Zhou, China's first dynasties. Confucianism and Taoism is also discussed.

Archaeological evidence, such as oracle bones and bronzes, and transmitted texts attest to the historical existence of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC). Findings from the earlier Shang period comes from excavations at Erligang, near present day Zhengzhou, and Shangcheng. Findings from the later Shang or Yin (殷) period, were found in profusion at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, the last of the Shang's nine capitals (c. 1300–1046 BC). The findings at Anyang include the earliest written record of the Chinese so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals—the "oracle bones", dating from around 1250 BC.

A series of thirty-one kings reigned over the Shang dynasty. During their reign, according to the Records of the Grand Historian, the capital city was moved six times. The final (and most important) move was to Yin in around 1300 BC which led to the dynasty's golden age.

The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC to 256 BC) is the longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history. By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty began to emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang. The Zhou appeared to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system. The Zhou lived west of the Shang, and the Zhou leader was appointed Western Protector by the Shang. The ruler of the Zhou, King Wu, with the assistance of his brother, the Duke of Zhou, as regent, managed to defeat the Shang at the Battle of Muye.

The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his rule, a concept that was influential for almost every succeeding dynasty. Like Shangdi, Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China. It was believed that a ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven.

In the 8th century BC, power became decentralized during the Spring and Autumn period, named after the influential Spring and Autumn Annals. In this period, local military leaders used by the Zhou began to assert their power and vie for hegemony. The situation was aggravated by the invasion of other peoples from the northwest, such as the Qin, forcing the Zhou to move their capital east to Luoyang. This marks the second major phase of the Zhou dynasty: the Eastern Zhou. The Spring and Autumn period is marked by a falling apart of the central Zhou power. In each of the hundreds of states that eventually arose, local strongmen held most of the political power and continued their subservience to the Zhou kings in name only. Some local leaders even started using royal titles for themselves. China now consisted of hundreds of states, some of them only as large as a village with a fort. Many famous individuals such as Laozi, Confucius and Sun Tzu lived during this chaotic period.

The Hundred Schools of Thought of Chinese philosophy blossomed during this period, and such influential intellectual movements as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism were founded partly in response to the changing political world. The first two philosophical thoughts would have an enormous influence on Chinese culture.

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0:00 Intro
0:21 Neolithic China
1:11 Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE)
3:50 Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE)
5:30 Zhou Dynasty Spring and Autumn Period (722-476 BCE)
8:25 Confucianism and Taoism

All images used with CC license.
Music used:
Shamanistic by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4343-shamanistic
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license