Yellow River Valley: Chapter 21

This week, our history class will explore the Zhou dynasty’s rise to power in China and their idea of the Mandate of Heaven. Students will read about how the Zhou justified overthrowing the Shang by claiming the Shang rulers had lost their virtue. We’ll connect this to Yu the Great from last class and consider how Chinese thought linked kingship to moral character. Students will learn how Chinese history came to be seen as a repeating pattern of rise, decline, and renewal.