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

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  • Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
  • How did Chinese Civilization begin? (Shang and Zhou dynasties) Bronze Age China history explained
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    • The Bronze Age
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    Sources:
    Ancient China (by Edward Schafer)
    The Shang Dynasty (By George Cottrell)
    Historical Atlas of Ancient civilizations (John Hayward)
    Lacrousse encyclopedia of ancient and medieval history
    China in the Early Bronze Age (By Robert L. Thorp)

КОМЕНТАРІ • 860

  • @Monke-fj2qz
    @Monke-fj2qz 4 роки тому +523

    "After every victory, one must develop the custom of saying GG EZ to the enemy, demoralizing them and bringing their prestige lower"-Sun Tzu.

    • @DianaLlovitmacam08
      @DianaLlovitmacam08 3 роки тому +10

      lol

    • @longyu9336
      @longyu9336 3 роки тому +69

      "One who repeatedly squats and stands up in short order with his scrotum hanging over the face of his defeated enemy in a fashion called Tea-bagging shall be granted the highest wisdom."
      Sun Tzu

    • @ammaryounis5593
      @ammaryounis5593 2 роки тому +1

      lol

    • @ammaryounis5593
      @ammaryounis5593 2 роки тому

      @@longyu9336 lol

    • @GianHainAap.
      @GianHainAap. Рік тому

      @@ammaryounis5593 lol

  • @Strangelove101
    @Strangelove101 4 роки тому +213

    The philosophy of Mohism should have deserved a mention; Mohists they were the numbers and science people - engineers, logicians and maths whiz of the time.

    • @doodlemecrzy8075
      @doodlemecrzy8075 3 роки тому +8

      Mohists had very similar ideals with the fictional Jedi. Both groups believed in compassion, frugality and opposed military aggression. Also like the Jedi, Mohists were mostly wiped out, thanks to the ambitions of many other men who weren't as selfless.

    • @OkurkaBinLadin
      @OkurkaBinLadin 3 роки тому +3

      @@doodlemecrzy8075 I think, Ive read manga about Mohi monk centered in warring states era. Fascinating stuff.

    • @doodlemecrzy8075
      @doodlemecrzy8075 3 роки тому

      @@OkurkaBinLadin yea theres Bokkō which was made into a movie starring Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.

    • @steve5123456789
      @steve5123456789 2 роки тому

      Most of them fled to mongolia.

  • @octapusxft
    @octapusxft 3 роки тому +108

    I also find the ancient Chinese history really exciting.
    They had all the incidents, intrigue and philosophy that any great civilization could have plus the absolute mad lads wrote down as many things as possible which gave a much easier job for the historians

  • @StefanMilo
    @StefanMilo 5 років тому +501

    Wow that's a lot of philosophers. It's kind of like the Asian version of classical Greece.

    •  5 років тому +40

      They’re high intelligence on average so of course they’d produce higher civilisation and all the things that come with it. Be it a written language, domesticated pack animals, complex agriculture, a developed economy, mathematics and philosophy etc.

    • @HVLLOWS1999
      @HVLLOWS1999 5 років тому +60

      Kikuyu Kiiru
      I heard it's because of rice cultivation over wheat like in the west. Rice is much harder and requires more work both physically and mentally. Also it takes math. Doing this for thousands of years made the eastern people smarter.

    • @coleball6001
      @coleball6001 5 років тому +74

      There were far more asian philosophers than western ones. People in this thread say its because asians are smarter cause they had rice but I don’t think this is true. We don’t know that there was any ancient Egyptian, Hittite, or Sumerian philosophers because they either didn’t write their ideas down or more likely their writing were destroyed during the Bronze Age Collapse or the ravages of Time. Leaving us with only Greek Philosophers but they were actually influence by some foreign ideas that have since been lost.

    • @Chigou
      @Chigou 5 років тому +37

      It annoys me to no end that discussion about philosophers of this age often leaves out the two MOST dominant philosophical forces of their time. Follows of Yang Zhu and Mozi. It was said at the time that the world (meaning China) was divided into either those who subscribed to Yang or Mo. Just no one foresaw the rise of legalism to wipe the board clean.

    • @rosswebster7877
      @rosswebster7877 5 років тому +20

      Yeah, something about the Bronze Age just stimulated a lot of thinking. There were the Greek and Chinese philosophers, in the Levant, the prophets Elijah and Isaiah were doing their thing, and in India, Buddhism and Jainism were getting started.

  • @patrickwoods2583
    @patrickwoods2583 4 роки тому +106

    I started learning Chinese 22 years ago, have lived in China for 8 years but only just now getting interested in China history... especially the beginning. These videos are great for me to catch up. I often pause and rewind a lot. But very, very interesting! Cheers, Epimetheus.

    • @Fyre0
      @Fyre0 3 роки тому +4

      Any other videos/sources of early China you recommend?

    • @user-nf9xc7ww7m
      @user-nf9xc7ww7m 2 роки тому +5

      I'm the opposite. History first, then Chinese language.

  • @CogitoEdu
    @CogitoEdu 5 років тому +421

    China has been around for so long!! It's truly remarkable and its history is so fascinating. This video is a great dive into it. Great job :)

    • @darkshaver1
      @darkshaver1 5 років тому +6

      I mean, were would it go?

    • @sephiroxicalcloud3771
      @sephiroxicalcloud3771 5 років тому +24

      Lord Voldemort not really

    • @withastickangrywhiteman2822
      @withastickangrywhiteman2822 5 років тому +19

      They had collapsed for many times, 5 barbarian tribe invasion, Mongol invasion, Manchu Invasion, European invasion, Japanese Invasion and communist invasion.

    • @Shenzhou.
      @Shenzhou. 5 років тому +55

      China has 5000 years of history and is among the world's oldest 'continuous' civilization still alive today, whereas other great ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Rome and Egypt have since succumbed to history.

    • @sephiroxicalcloud3771
      @sephiroxicalcloud3771 5 років тому +32

      Lord Voldemort Their Civilization started much later than Chinese or even Koreans. They don’t have any historical record in their early days and have to rely on Chinese record for those periods.

  • @anasevi9456
    @anasevi9456 5 років тому +54

    Great video, Bronze and Iron age China is so criminally overlooked. The Language barrier is a big issue too, there are mountains of archaeological finds documented and studies published untranslated into English... and honestly Chinese historical academics are notoriously conservative, with very strict litmus acceptance which is nice. They loved to fight and debunk amongst themselves; which at least makes finding peer reviewed accurate data easy if you can translate it.

  • @semiautothanoscar9612
    @semiautothanoscar9612 5 років тому +170

    "Infinity war is the most ambitious crossover in history"

  • @vikashv1
    @vikashv1 3 роки тому +28

    The Art of War also says " Dab on those fools and drop nuts on their corpses"

    • @eboranshard6220
      @eboranshard6220 3 роки тому +1

      -_- really dude xD dab on dem fools and drop nuts -_- Sun be like " I donno dis guy yo "

  • @Dragons_Armory
    @Dragons_Armory 5 років тому +317

    Dan-, the Duke Wen of Zhou's life is nothing sort of extraordinary. For starters, he was Confucius' hero even though the 2 men lived nearly half a millennium apart.
    As you mentioned, During his regency of the young King, Wen introduced "Mandate of Heaven." This way, vertically, it guaranteed the legitamacy of the Zhou (and the illegitimacy of the Shang.) The Shang had always branded themselves as the sons of Heaven or the sons of Tian, so this entire re-framing of the situation acknowledged both that perhaps Shang was once truly great and benevolent, but they have lost their way, and because the new Zhou dynasty was virtuous and freed the slaves and fed the poor they were legitimate. Horizontally, Duke Zhou also reformed the labyrinthine system of Kings and petty vassals, and gave birth to feudalism in China, formalized them into titles such as Dukes, Marquis, and Counts. Incidentally, this completely mirrored that of the later medieval European. Two thirds of the states were bestowed to members of the royal family and families loyal to them.
    With this in mind, two achievements were realized. One: Vertically Duke Wen legitimized the Zhou dynasty as both favorable and blessed by the divine Heavens, thus paving the way for a streamlined top- down chain of command that allowed the Zhou Kings to exact a greater control. Two: Horizontally, Duke Wen placed many of the Zhou family members and trusted Zhou allies across the 2/3 of the states of the realm. These two factors quickly created a synergy that further preserved the Zhou hold on power, and formed the society of China for the next millennia until the first Emperor. It was also because this division of the nobilities that a new class was born, the scholar- retainers called “Shi” (士) meaning attendant, the class that some of the greatest thinkers from ancient China would be born from: including Laozi, Sun Tzu, Mencius and Confucius himself.
    And then, after having done all of these things, Duke Wen abdicated his station as the young King's regent and retired in peace. In terms of feudalism, he shaped China for the next 1000 years, in Mandate of Heaven, he shaped China's thinking for the next 3000 years until the end of the Qing, in the scholarly class tradition, I think his influence still lives on even today. Duke Wen was arguably the single figure that created the foundation of the Chinese identity and cultural soul. He also lived almost contemporaneously to the historical Trojan War so that's shows how long his impact for China is.

    • @EpimetheusHistory
      @EpimetheusHistory  5 років тому +45

      Thanks for the fantastic comment :)

    • @Dragons_Armory
      @Dragons_Armory 5 років тому +17

      @@EpimetheusHistory 💖 you are doing great work man

    • @MrLi-fd4hs
      @MrLi-fd4hs 5 років тому +8

      The Chinese believe in "sky." "Sky(天)" is similar to God. The Han religious Taoism and Confucianism have the belief of "sky". He is the core of the Han religious belief.
      The god of sky/sky (the Westerners call it heaven worship, In China, this god means "sky".Heaven is called Tianting (天庭).The paradise(天庭) of Chinese religion is where the gods live. The god of the sky (Jade Emperor) is the king of the gods. This God has no form. It oversees the world. It represents the power of the universe, eternal and natural. It rules everything and is the supreme being. It will punish those who do bad things or commit crimes. The Chinese emperor claimed to be the son of this God, and they are accepting the authority of God to rule China.

    • @URProductions
      @URProductions 4 роки тому +12

      I love his name.
      His name was _Dan_ and he was a _duke_ in the _Zhou_ Dynasty (kinda pronounced "joe").
      For brevity's sake, a guy could just as easy call him Dan Zhou Duke...
      ... or as I prefer, "Dan Joe Duke".
      (which is just like an old friend mine, Daniel Joseph Duke).

    • @FOLIPE
      @FOLIPE 4 роки тому +13

      Western feudalism wasn't "incidentally" similar to China's. It just so happens there are limited numbers of ways to organize large rural societies, and once you go for say feudalism, there is bound to have some coincidences with other feudal systems.

  • @AncientHistoryGuy
    @AncientHistoryGuy 5 років тому +148

    When you are writing the scripts for your next few videos, and you see Epimetheus has released a new video all work stops and you watch the video. Simple.

    • @verrybarato892
      @verrybarato892 5 років тому

      yup!!

    • @AlekseiR
      @AlekseiR 5 років тому +2

      Excellent video ! I love your content as besides the in-depth knowledge it shares, you can feel the passion being put into the making of the videos . I must say, the videos relating to the civilisations in East Asia and the Midle East are my favorites on UA-cam
      Those and the one you recently made about Romania :)

    • @EpimetheusHistory
      @EpimetheusHistory  5 років тому +7

      :D

  • @davidking6242
    @davidking6242 5 років тому +42

    my whole youtube feed just got thrown back into the bronze age

  • @grizla1895
    @grizla1895 5 років тому +5

    I absolutely love that you guys are teaming up with some of my favorite history channels on youtube! I cannot wait to watch it all!

  • @residentialsparky5127
    @residentialsparky5127 5 років тому +12

    This collaboration is amazing! Thank you for being such awesome creators. Way better than ANYTHING on tv

  • @Chigou
    @Chigou 5 років тому +258

    Guys, please STOP using the character for water (水) to represent Confucianism. Confucianism was historically never been associated with that character. The correct character to represent Confucianism is Yu (儒) as the school/tradition itself is called Yujia (儒家). And if anyone is wondering, Yu was defined as nobilities who studied the civics/literati/arts, and don't have a stable government job. Which was what Confucius was. The meaning of the word changed after the collapse of the hereditary system and just means the philosophy. So please, no more water!!

    • @laocongge
      @laocongge 5 років тому +53

      exactly, when i went to an american high school, my world history teacher showed me the character of water and told me that it was the most significant religion of China and I was like what the hell is that...

    • @jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901
      @jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901 5 років тому +17

      From what I understand it is used internationally as it originally symbolised an aspect of confucianism (like the chi-rho in Christianity or the tao symbol which only symbolises part of the religion)

    • @jagvillani338
      @jagvillani338 5 років тому +34

      If anything, water is more closely linked to Daoism, especially in passage 8 of the Dao De Jing: "The highest goodness is like water..."

    • @coleball6001
      @coleball6001 5 років тому +3

      What does the water character mean in Confucianism?

    • @coleball6001
      @coleball6001 5 років тому +4

      Chenstev isn’t Confucianism more of a ideology than a religion, kind of like communist or capitalism.

  • @miketacos9034
    @miketacos9034 5 років тому +14

    Epimetheus, you are one of the best history channels out there! Keep up these great collabs!

  • @connorgolden4
    @connorgolden4 5 років тому +50

    Yes! More Bronze Age videos!

  • @HVLLOWS1999
    @HVLLOWS1999 5 років тому +39

    The Bronze age is my favorite age of history! This is so awesome to me

  • @LisaBowers
    @LisaBowers 5 років тому +6

    Second stop on the playlist. Great work! 👍🏻

  • @triggerhappy124421
    @triggerhappy124421 5 років тому +104

    Unless that crossbow is actually a gunpowder based weapon, i would say that is not the first trigger operates FIREarm. Calling it the first trigger operated projectile weapon would probably be more accurate.

    • @frenchguitarguy1091
      @frenchguitarguy1091 5 років тому +6

      trigger happy124 can we agree it’s the first trigger operated thing then?

    • @triggerhappy124421
      @triggerhappy124421 5 років тому +5

      @@frenchguitarguy1091 not super familiar with the history, but i would assume that would be accurate.

    • @RomRonin
      @RomRonin 5 років тому +3

      @@triggerhappy124421 damn man i was looking for a comment like this so i won't have to be "THAT" guy lol

    • @sergelengerelmaa2450
      @sergelengerelmaa2450 5 років тому +1

      Instead of basing on conclusion. I recommend you to do research by yourself

    • @triggerhappy124421
      @triggerhappy124421 5 років тому +9

      @@sergelengerelmaa2450 i was just pointing to some unclear and possibly inaccurate language that could cause a misunderstanding. Not trying to be a jerk, just pointing to it so it could possibly be corrected or to improve the quality of future works. Im from an engineering background, not a history one, but in engineering, writing should not be interpretable in any other way than the intended meaning of the author. I would assume that would also go well with historians and teachers alike. Im not looking to research this topic or to police grammer, just trying to be helpful

  • @kt1pl2
    @kt1pl2 3 роки тому +4

    One of the best historical videos I've seen. I like how you show things that have been found from the dynasties.

  • @perfectstudents8361
    @perfectstudents8361 4 роки тому +13

    The "Art of War" by Sun Tzu remains relevant for 2000+ years from the ancient time to the present time.

    • @johnpaulabocad6941
      @johnpaulabocad6941 2 роки тому +1

      It's just cool enough for people o be making memes about it

    • @CorePathway
      @CorePathway 3 місяці тому

      So do rice balls.

  • @thomasking1490
    @thomasking1490 5 років тому +10

    I just thought I'd mention, if you want to understand (some of) China's borders, fly there from Europe. The northerly route (Finnair, and I think KLM) takes you over Siberia, then over Mongolia and through the Gobi desert. If you get it at the right time you can look out the window and see mountain range after mountain range, vast expanses of desert... Then suddenly the scenery kind of drops, and there's an endless patchwork of fields and flooded rivers. It's... impressive and expressive.

  • @GnarledStaff
    @GnarledStaff 5 років тому +1

    I was subscribed within the first minute. Glad you all did this collaborative playlist because this video is exactly what I needed for world building a whole section of my fantasy world.

  • @nakenmil
    @nakenmil 5 років тому +109

    "Dan, the Duke o' Joe."

  • @shimmyshimmykokopopithinki6403
    @shimmyshimmykokopopithinki6403 4 роки тому +2

    This helps with history. I’ve been watching your vids last week for my history research and it really help

  • @UpcycleElectronics
    @UpcycleElectronics 5 років тому +10

    Nice job. I like your into music.
    BTW I noticed OSP's playlist link is wrong for YT mob users. It's an external link. I mentioned it in his comments section, but I don't know if my comments get filtered on his posts. I know they work here. ...anyways... you should probably contact him to update it. YT mob is what, 40-45% of your total metrics? The first guy on the playlist needs the right links :-)
    He also needs the list in a pinned comment, especially because he has so many links in the vid description.
    Thanks for the upload.
    -Jake

  • @Jacob-yg7lz
    @Jacob-yg7lz 5 років тому +45

    6:12 Slight correction, crossbows aren't firearms, since they don't use burning propellant to fire a projectile out the barrel.

    • @notdreamie1046
      @notdreamie1046 4 роки тому +1

      still wanna say that we invented gunpowder in the 9th century~ just saying bc im bored.

    • @enzovaldovinos3164
      @enzovaldovinos3164 3 роки тому +2

      what if the arrow their using is on fire then its a fire arm

    • @nos8141
      @nos8141 3 роки тому

      @@notdreamie1046 lol

    • @nos8141
      @nos8141 3 роки тому

      @@enzovaldovinos3164 ooooOOOoooo.....

  • @LaloMartins
    @LaloMartins 4 роки тому +22

    7:07 The Middle Kingdom… ‘China being the modern name’. China is a western corruption of a misheard word… in Chinese (and other East-Asian languages) they're *still* called The Middle Kingdom (or Middle Country to be more precise). 中国 Standard Chinese: Zhōngguó; Cantonese: Zung1gwok3; Japanese: Chuugoku; 中國 (Traditional Chinese)
    (It's not the official name though… since the end of the Empire the official names transitioned to using variations of 中華 / 中华 Republic, which however still begins with the ‘middle’ character and incidentally ends with the ‘country’ 國/国 character as part of the word ‘republic’)

    • @darealpoopster
      @darealpoopster 4 роки тому

      I thought they were named after the Qin dynasty! Did not know that

    • @apalahartisebuahnama7684
      @apalahartisebuahnama7684 4 роки тому +2

      In Malay/Indonesian, words for "Zhongguo" is "Tiongkok" which was localization + Hakka dialect, but due to recent political events, we back again to start calling it "Cina" often to demonizing them

    • @apalahartisebuahnama7684
      @apalahartisebuahnama7684 4 роки тому +5

      @@darealpoopster "China" was after Qin, refer to their first imperial dinasty, but it's unofficial for Chinese themselves.

    • @tcxnt5442
      @tcxnt5442 2 роки тому

      We don’t use Qin or worlds derives from it to refer to ourselves

  • @robertcallaghan4029
    @robertcallaghan4029 4 роки тому +1

    great work wielding speed and detail

  • @miellefilms
    @miellefilms 5 років тому +2

    This really helped! Tysm for this!

  • @art_deanoism
    @art_deanoism 5 років тому +1

    Brilliant video about this exciting period. Thanks lad!

  • @yaqubleis6311
    @yaqubleis6311 5 років тому +3

    Nice video as always

  • @davidrosner6267
    @davidrosner6267 5 років тому +6

    Thanks for a fascinating overview of China's early history! These videos keep getting better!

  • @dann_playsow5811
    @dann_playsow5811 5 років тому +1

    I love these collaborations!

  • @vazak11
    @vazak11 5 років тому +1

    Fascinating stuff, thanks for sharing!

  • @burntimeUK
    @burntimeUK 5 років тому +1

    This is a brilliant collaboration. everyone involved should be proud of themselves.

  • @Cnicxxx
    @Cnicxxx 5 років тому +2

    no better feeling than going home after school and finding out you posted a new video

  • @NoisqueVoaProduction
    @NoisqueVoaProduction 8 місяців тому +1

    I admire your work, Stephan Milo. Nice to see you here.

  • @nemoincognito4179
    @nemoincognito4179 5 років тому +1

    Thank you for these morsels of knowledge. :)
    Keep up the good work.
    All the best.

  • @brokenbridge6316
    @brokenbridge6316 4 роки тому +1

    This was a pretty interesting video to watch. And nicely informative.

  • @thomassaldana2465
    @thomassaldana2465 5 років тому +19

    6:15 Minor point of pedantry:
    A crossbow isn't a firearm. Firearms were classified as such because the gunpowder burns (that's the 'fire' bit), and crossbows don't use gunpowder.
    Other than that, pretty good.

    • @Haijwsyz51846
      @Haijwsyz51846 2 роки тому

      You fire the arrow of acrossbow.

    • @thomassaldana2465
      @thomassaldana2465 2 роки тому

      @@Haijwsyz51846 No, you actually don't. You loose the arrow.
      The verb "fire", as a command for using a ranged weapon, didn't come into use until firearms were invented.
      The reason for this is simple; crossbows don't use fire.

  • @tyronechillifoot5573
    @tyronechillifoot5573 5 років тому +33

    Could you done the African sahel? Apparently they established the oldest urban centers in west Africa the mande peoples also independently developed agriculture

  • @Survivethejive
    @Survivethejive 4 роки тому +5

    While Bronze working in China may date as far back as 28th c BC - it seems it became more widespread after contact with steppe people who had more advanced techniques in metallurgy, It was the sane Bronze-age steppe peoples, who were actually Europeans, who introduced the spoked wheel chariot and the horse to the Chinese. Jixu Zhou 2005 "Old Chinese “*tees” and Proto-Indo-European “*deus”: Similarity in Religious Ideas and a Common Source in Linguistics" argues this material culture borrowing by China from steppe people was accompanied by linguistic and cultural borrowings that influenced Chinese religion and spirituality in the Bronze age.

  • @TaxPayingContributor
    @TaxPayingContributor 5 років тому +4

    Like music, visuals are great for learning association and retention.

  • @EurasiaOnYT
    @EurasiaOnYT 5 років тому +2

    Great Video! You are a huge inspiration for me and my channel! Thanks for the great video!

  • @Gigastorz
    @Gigastorz 3 роки тому +2

    The trigger mechanism described at 6:20 has also been standardized as the parts are inter exchangeable.

  • @bensondavido4525
    @bensondavido4525 5 років тому +2

    Fantastic video sir

  • @9365fall
    @9365fall 5 років тому +2

    EpimetheBEST

  • @Spotyaner
    @Spotyaner 5 років тому +1

    Really nice video!

  • @allanhunnicutt8887
    @allanhunnicutt8887 4 роки тому +1

    Brilliant! Lot's of interesting detail.

  • @KeithGreenshields
    @KeithGreenshields 2 роки тому

    Wish you had organised playlists

  • @Scipionyxsam
    @Scipionyxsam 4 роки тому +1

    Where is the music from 0:15 from? Does anybody know?

  • @ashesoflaughter774
    @ashesoflaughter774 4 роки тому +1

    Great video thank you

  • @iamlivin6186
    @iamlivin6186 Рік тому

    thank you for listing sources!!

  • @chaosspork
    @chaosspork 5 років тому +15

    This is going to bug me. Xia isn't actually pronounced how it looks. In pinyin, 'X' is prounounced like "sh" so Xia sounds more like "Shia," not "Zia"
    Likewise, Zhou also isn't pronounced how it looks. "Zh" in pinyin doesn't really stress the 'Z' sound. It's pronounced more like a 'J.' So Zhou sounds more like "Joe."

    • @Fyre0
      @Fyre0 3 роки тому +1

      To clarify, X is not Sh and Zh is not J. Sh and J are already their own distinct sounds in Pinyin. X and Zh sound similar to those, yes, but they have no equivalents in standard English. Where X approaches a fusion of the S+Sh+Y sounds of standard English; Zh is lighter-sounding than J (which is pronounced with wide lips akin to "Jeep" in English).

    • @giannis_toupolemou
      @giannis_toupolemou 2 роки тому

      Not in Singapore

  • @maddie9602
    @maddie9602 5 років тому +20

    I suppose that Mohism and its doctrine of universal love had a fairly minor role in the development of later Chinese culture, which is probably why it was excluded from the roll call of major classical Chinese philosophers, but I'm still a little disappointed that he was left out.

    • @wenliu9571
      @wenliu9571 5 місяців тому

      Mohist doctrine is too small to be systematically promoted and applied. Especially after the unification of China, the huge country needed a more efficient management system and cultural beliefs, so they chose law and Confucianism.

    • @wenliu9571
      @wenliu9571 5 місяців тому

      Mohist doctrine is too small to be systematically promoted and applied. Especially after the unification of China, the huge country needed a more efficient management system and cultural beliefs, so they chose law and Confucianism.

  • @JohnSmith-xq6cv
    @JohnSmith-xq6cv 4 роки тому +1

    Most underrated history vid maker

  • @philRminiatures
    @philRminiatures 5 років тому +10

    Another informative and very nicely illustrated vid on this wonderful subject, China...Enjoyed! 恭喜!

  • @Leotique
    @Leotique 4 роки тому +5

    if only this world would be full of philosophers, mathematicians, biologists, scientists, artists and engineers. What a world we would live in.

  • @quick4130
    @quick4130 3 роки тому +5

    There was a Xia dynasty before the Zhou dynasty,2100BC-1600BC. Luoyang as the capital.

  • @ajones3038
    @ajones3038 2 роки тому

    @2:09 what is that banner?

  • @dennythedavinchi3832
    @dennythedavinchi3832 5 років тому +5

    Shang dynasty never reached sea coast but after Jiang ZIya fought Lai they finally reaches in short coast on Bohai bay.

  • @wlschmit
    @wlschmit 4 роки тому +1

    Can you point out to good books and papers on history and or Philosophy of China in English (or Portuguese, or Spanish)?

  • @menaseven9093
    @menaseven9093 5 років тому +4

    Wonderful video about Bronze age China. the Shang and Zhou dynasties was one of the greatest period in Chinese history. Epimetheus you are right China is the only bronze age civilization that has survive to the present day. Bronze age Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Near East didn't make it. It is amazing that the greatest Chinese philosophers like Lao tzu, Confucius, Hen Fe and Sun Tzu emerged in the Bronze age warring period. China is the only ancient empire that has survived foreign invasion and occupation like the mongol invasion. the Western Roman empire didn't survived the invasion of the Goths, the Eastern Roman didn't survived the invasion of the Ottoman Turks and Ancient Egypt didn't survived the invasion of the Arabs.

    • @muhamedmahmutovic6639
      @muhamedmahmutovic6639 4 роки тому +1

      Ancient Egypt didn't exist during Arab invasion because before that it was already conquered by Assyrians, then by Persians, Macedonia and it's culture was mixed with helenic, persian and mesopotamian culture, then had helenistic dynasty after Macedonia was separated in three parts by Alexanders generals, that dynasty was conquered by Roman Empire, they destroyed library in Alexandria and Egypt become periphery of that empire, after that Egypt become Christian, then Roman Empire split and Egypt became part od the Eastern Roman Empire and only then Arab invasion happened which means that Egypt that Arabs conquered didn't had much in common with ancient Egypt.

  • @filipselakovic5054
    @filipselakovic5054 2 роки тому +5

    Chinese civilisation (a literate society) most likely began at least with the Xia, for the simple reason that the Shang dynasty acknowledged them as their predecessors in this capacity. The mythic age of the five emperors which preceded the Xia, and lasted for several centuries in the third millenium before Christ, probably reflects five dynasties, and may indeed be the origin of literate states in China.

  • @Asterlibra
    @Asterlibra 4 роки тому

    Amazing, intereseting excellent video! I'm so glad to see the pre-Qin history of Chinese states! Thank you!

  • @mebisanimationsandotherstu8977
    @mebisanimationsandotherstu8977 12 днів тому

    7:02 "looked at itself not as the greatest civilization, but as the only civilization"
    I know the video is old and you may no longer have the script at hand, but what's the exact source of this?
    I would prefer not having to look through all the listed sources just for this line, if possible

  • @brendonzhan6633
    @brendonzhan6633 5 років тому +10

    @Epimetheus I am afraid that The map in 6:36 is inaccurate, since Taiwan was not controlled by China until the great Yuan, when they set up a outpost there..

    • @sgcl10658
      @sgcl10658 3 роки тому +2

      @@anpingzhu5518 No the original Taiwainese ppl are not Han Chinese. These indegous ppl are now minorities in Taiwain. Their looks and culture are similar to Polynesians.

  • @kuku8846
    @kuku8846 5 років тому +1

    Love seeing videos about China! Fascinatingly complex history that really doesn’t get enough focus.

    • @silverchairsg
      @silverchairsg Рік тому

      Nah most Westerners ultimately only care about European and American history. There's no demand for it.

  • @Craptainfalcon100
    @Craptainfalcon100 5 років тому

    I love your videos! Could you please do a video on Maghreb?

  • @ekmalsukarno2302
    @ekmalsukarno2302 5 років тому

    Hi, Epimetheus. Can you please make a video on the history of Cambodia. In that same video, please don't forget to mention Prey Nokor.

  • @zachfox7771
    @zachfox7771 5 років тому +13

    zhou: joe
    shang:sh-ah-ng
    xia: shia/sia (either a mix of the two or either separately)
    lao tzu (lao zi): lah-ow tz-ih(like the zz in pizza)
    luoyang: loo-o y-ah-ng

  • @landocallrissian4706
    @landocallrissian4706 4 роки тому

    Very helpful.

  • @atlanteanproductions5330
    @atlanteanproductions5330 4 роки тому

    What was that music in the intro?

  • @robertschlesinger1342
    @robertschlesinger1342 5 років тому +3

    Very good summary of early bronze age China. The mythical early dynasty is the Yao. Your pronunciation of Chinese names is a bit off, but that's almost universal between Chinese and Western languages.

  • @-haclong2366
    @-haclong2366 5 років тому +27

    The only bronze age civilisation that didn't fell, it's a shame really what happened to the Western World and India, but China persisted.

    • @qus.9617
      @qus.9617 5 років тому

      Nordic bronze age

    • @justsomenerd8925
      @justsomenerd8925 5 років тому +5

      And now look at it. It's a festering shithole of out of control government.

    • @peiranzhang4283
      @peiranzhang4283 5 років тому

      @@qus.9617 Nordic bronze age? Ok, how about the Mongolians too?

    • @peiranzhang4283
      @peiranzhang4283 5 років тому +14

      @@justsomenerd8925 Yes, according to your dreams, it's still the second largest economy, and still growing.

    • @qus.9617
      @qus.9617 5 років тому

      @@peiranzhang4283 i'm not sure actually, i don't know much about mongolian history prior to Genghis Khan. Were they making their own bronze weapons instead of still importing weapons which for the case of Northern Europe initially occurred with Mesopotamia trade routes until they learnt to make their own metal weapons, craft etc. that is unique to the world after the bronze age collapse in the middle east.

  • @terencewinters2154
    @terencewinters2154 4 роки тому

    Excellent job

  • @8ahau279
    @8ahau279 2 роки тому

    Are there any historical sources from the Shang dynasty itself? I know there are huge amounts of divinatory texts, but are there also different genres? That would really interest me.

    • @alesto3202
      @alesto3202 2 роки тому

      ua-cam.com/video/zBtHgHy2iyM/v-deo.html

  • @MehdiProductions
    @MehdiProductions 5 років тому +1

    I was surprised to see 4 consecutive videos about bronze age pop up on my subscription list but now i realise the youtube historians have formed an alliance

  • @mayasamms9044
    @mayasamms9044 6 місяців тому +1

    Thanks for this video I was sick and have to catch up on my history class for ancient China.😅

  • @zhubajie6940
    @zhubajie6940 5 років тому +4

    Overall very good quick overview. A small criticism on pronunciation often made the mythical Xia sounds more like sshyah and the shang more like shahng with a like father. X in pinyin is pronounced as a s+sh. Anyang (ahn-yahng), Xi'an (sshee-ahn), the Chengdu (chung-doo), and Luoyang (looah-yahng) areas are wonderful cities to visit the various archeological sites which I highly recommend. Xi'an usually visited just for it Terra Cotta Warriors of the first Qin emperor but has many earlier sites such as the Ba site in Neolithic times. The others I rarely visited by westerners, unfortunately, but are none the less great places to visit for the history lover.

    • @jasongclj6945
      @jasongclj6945 3 місяці тому

      Is the Luoyang kind of like
      looahr-yahng ?
      And i forgot what tones it has .
      i was told uo has like a waar sound .
      Or was it ou ? Its been awhile.

  • @NoferTrunions
    @NoferTrunions 2 роки тому +5

    Love your map at the very end. Would be nice to show some geographical landmarks like the passes and the Silk Road corridore. Also, did you make a video of the Warring States Period? Netflix really has turned a lot of attention onto that history with their Qin Empire: Alliances. It is interesting that the series Gotham also employs continuously shifting alliances and wars to maintain balance.

  • @harvestn9841
    @harvestn9841 5 років тому +5

    6:11 "The world's first ever trigger operated firearm, the crossbow, was invented around 650 B.C..."
    Well, the crossbow certainly is an arm of war, but it's got nothing to do with fire.

  • @wisdomleader85
    @wisdomleader85 5 років тому +5

    Mohism also deserves to be mentioned, since Mo Tzu was the first and probably the only true scientist throughout Chinese history.

    • @rickr9435
      @rickr9435 5 років тому +7

      there were lots of scientists and inventions during the Han and Song dynasty. And Mo's good friend, Lu Ban was a kind of scientist/engineer as well.

    • @wisdomleader85
      @wisdomleader85 5 років тому

      @@rickr9435
      Lu Ban was an engineer. He was a master of crafting and inventing but he didn't develop any scientific theory or discover any scientific law. Mo Tzu on the other hand, did.

    • @juanlu3958
      @juanlu3958 3 роки тому

      MOTZU is more like a pro-democratic political philosopher,he uses logic, he is an engineer, it doesn't make him a scientist

  • @sclabhailordofnoplot2430
    @sclabhailordofnoplot2430 4 роки тому

    1:57 What is that item. I see something similar to it carved on Mayan temples.

    • @johnyricco1220
      @johnyricco1220 4 роки тому +1

      It’s a tiger shaped wine container. Check out Sanxindui bronzes, those look even more Mayan.

  • @famli360
    @famli360 2 роки тому

    great video

  • @12braunsonsummers
    @12braunsonsummers 2 роки тому

    great job

  • @Rorschachqp
    @Rorschachqp 4 роки тому +2

    Since you mentioned Zhou Gong, I’d love to see a vid specifically about him and the two other dukes who maintained the Zhou when the situation was dire...especially Jiang Ziya.

    • @wenliu9571
      @wenliu9571 5 місяців тому

      These two people are completely different, the achievements of the zhougong in the system and culture as well .And the philosophical level.
      And jiangziya's achievements and expertise lie in military strategy and political strategy.

    • @Rorschachqp
      @Rorschachqp 5 місяців тому

      @@wenliu9571 Maybe your English isn’t that great but I said “Zhou Gong AND the two OTHER dukes…”. No one said they are the same person.

    • @wenliu9571
      @wenliu9571 5 місяців тому

      @@Rorschachqp Duke is not an accurate translation, and Zhougong is only an honorific title for his descendants.

    • @Rorschachqp
      @Rorschachqp 5 місяців тому

      @@wenliu9571 Yes I know. I'm Chinese by the way. Like Liu Bang vs. Han Gaozu.

  • @Hugehugebighuge
    @Hugehugebighuge 5 років тому +2

    Anyone know what the song is

  • @willou8661
    @willou8661 5 років тому

    You should have mentionned Mohism ! (great vid tho)

  • @jesusisjerryallahistom
    @jesusisjerryallahistom 4 роки тому +9

    every civilization starts along the river.

    • @quyenluong3705
      @quyenluong3705 4 роки тому

      Importance of water

    • @tapist3482
      @tapist3482 4 роки тому +1

      @Lite-Wing Gift The area they once built their civilization used to have rivers or lakes.

  • @ElGringoCastellano
    @ElGringoCastellano 5 років тому +15

    You should have mentioned Mozi and the Mohists

    • @rickr9435
      @rickr9435 5 років тому +2

      they are...a group secret philosophers/ scientists/ mechanics. cool people

    • @majortom4922
      @majortom4922 3 роки тому

      墨子

  • @aleenashafaat2295
    @aleenashafaat2295 Рік тому

    Thanks for this video.. All inclusive ♥

  • @danyelnicholas
    @danyelnicholas 5 місяців тому

    5:45 Why is 孔子 Kongzi superscribed with the character 水 shui (water)?

  • @KTChamberlain
    @KTChamberlain 5 років тому +7

    If I had heard someone say the name "Dan, Duke of Zhou" in talking about Chinese history before seeing this video, I would've thought that was a made-up name. Tell me I'm not the only one.

    • @dr.zoidberg8666
      @dr.zoidberg8666 5 років тому

      To be fair, that's not how it's really pronounced... the proper pronunciation sounds a lot closer to the English word "dawn".

    • @lilithshopping7904
      @lilithshopping7904 5 років тому +1

      Dahn, Duke of zhou, not dawn, duke of zhou

  • @plushtuber6460
    @plushtuber6460 Рік тому

    this video was played in my social studies class how did I find it? the links for the school

  • @mantis2048
    @mantis2048 5 років тому

    Kind of found the rock music distracting tbh. Love your videos

  • @augustsonseventy42
    @augustsonseventy42 4 роки тому +3

    The origin of the Mandate of Heaven makes sense but what governing doctrine did it replace? Any indication as to what it might have been before the Zhou rebellion? Did the priest-king claim to rule in his own person by divine right (and in virtue of succession to this presumably as heir)?

  • @John77Doe
    @John77Doe 4 роки тому +7

    The crossbow was invented in 650 BC in China. 😮😮😮😮😮😮