TYRANT KING FORCED TO HIDE (front page news article)

The tyrant King Li was forced into hiding the other day after an unexpected mob of peasants and soldiers. King Li was quite a forceful king who raised taxes to pay for his pleasures, this made his subjects very unhappy. Li was extremely selfish and cruel, no wonder all the citizens despised of him and were so afraid. He also made a law that allowed him to kill anyone who spoke against him, he was so cruel that no one dared to speak. Now happenings like these are what made the peasants and soldiers attack three years later, and for his own sake Li fled and ran for his life, he hid and was then captured and expelled of his reign. His son fled and hid with one of the king's ministers and the mob was unable to find the prince. Around this time the Western Zhou dynasty started declining, it was towards the end of the period and it was also King Li's last year in reign (841 B.C.). The hiding spot of King Li and his son is still unknown but officals are looking into it. Li is fully responsible after all he's done no one else caused the problems and no one else was ever that cruel. After King Li the Western Zhou started to plummet and about a hundred years later the Eastern Zhou began. King Li will always be remembered as the tyrant of the Zhou and the most cruelest as well.

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Persuasive Essay: The Duke of Zhou-The Best Emperor of The Zhou Dynasty

The Duke of Zhou was definitely the best emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. He was an amazing writer and was very intelligent. But he gained his reign when his brother, King Wu who defeated the Song Dynasty sparing the royal families, he then continued ruling until he died six years later. King Wu had a son but he was an infant so Wu's brother The Duke, was appointed rule. He wasn't exactly an emperor but did have control over the dynasty. The Duke was very unselfish, when his brother fell ill he asked the spirits to take his own life and save his brother, because of things like this the Duke was very beloved by his people. The Duke of Zhou went on creating The Feudal System, The Mandate of Heaven wrote many poems in The Book of Songs. Because of this he was the greatest emperor of The Zhou Period. The Feudal System was basically a way of of governing, a mutual bond between the king and his nobleman. This proves that The Duke was quite smart and he new what he was doing, which means that he was trusting and he did have an organized way of doing business. The Mandate showed that he also had a religious way as well. The Mandate of Heaven was a gift or authority given to the reign of the throne or "Son of Heaven" from his ancestors, showing that they approve his role. The Duke was very clever and intelligent to come up with these things, he was also a very good writer and poet he even contributed to The Book of Songs which was the earliest collection of Chinese poetry. He had many poems and they were quite deep, these were very important poems since they were put in this book that was read by the royalties of China. This shows that The Duke of Zhou was "right and left brain" which means he was very smart and great in writing, documents and government but also had the creative style and mind. This is what is needed in an emperor and he was the greatest there was in The Zhou.

Religon-Taoism (Daoism)

The Zhou Dynasty was the Golden Age of Philosophy, it is also the Dynasty where Confucianism and Taoism were created. The founder of Taoism was a philosopher named Lao Tzu (or Lao Zi). He lived during the Zhou period but his birth and death sates are unknown. He believed that people should forget trying to acquire truth and that thinking about things will only lead to confusion and discomfort, he once said "Banish sageliness, discard wisdom, and the people will benefit a hundredfold." In the beginnings of Taoism they rejected the idea of Confucianism and its striving for virtue and its whole government idea. Taoism also brought many economic and social changes and ideas because of this there were changes in agriculture, more and more space turned into farmland and fields once Taoism became one of the main religions. The Tao has no English translation but the closest meaning to it is "way or "path" and in the 4th century Lao Tzu wrote a book called Tao Te Jing which is a collection of short poems talking about the Tao and a lot of philosophy behind it. Some of this Philosophy is that "there is no beautiful with no ugly and no wealthy with no poor" and " Taoism is based on the idea that behind all material things and all the change in the world lies one fundamental, universal principle: the Way or Tao. This principle gives rise to all existence and governs everything, all change and all life."

Clothing in the Zhou Dynasty

In the Zhou Dynasty, the color of the clothing was very specific and important. In Ancient Zhou, the color yellow was only worn by the emperor, and green, red, white and black represented north south east and west. Everything about the clothing showed how the person fit in society, like the color symbols and fabric or material. The wealthiest wore only silk, and lower classes wore long shirt-like garments made of hemp fiber material. The reason silk was worn by the wealthy because it was very expensive and very hard to make, because of this only the wealthy could afford silk clothing. Peasants wore cheaper material like hemp.

The Invention of Cast Iron

For the longest time casting and smelting bronze was the metal to use and construct with, this was the Bronze Age (1600-771 B.C.) then by the 6th century they found out how to cast a new kind of ore, cast iron also known as steel. This was a big improvement since this new metal is a lot stronger then copper or bronze, it also lasts longer and stays intact. During the Zhou dynasty they started using this metal for swords and weapons as well as vessels and other kinds of art. Cast iron is a very constructive metal and its flexible when melted but hard as a rock once cooled down. This was a great invention which started so many creations and changed the world in many ways, steel is extremely useful and thanks to the Zhou Dynasty we have it today.

Sweet Green Rice Ball Dish

This sweet dish made from green rice originated in The Zhou Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. It is also a must for ancestral offerings, ceremonies and rituals. They are made from rice powder and green mugworts or bromegrass juice depending on the way you prefer. This snack is great with green tea and has been for centuries.