This mandate was said to be taken when rulers became unworthy of their position and provided a shrewd justification for Zhou rule.

Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by Wu of Zhou.

Zhou said that he declined the marriage because he feared that his financial prospects would not be promising, and that Yan would, as his father-in-law, later dominate his life.

In a letter to his cousin in 30 January 1921, Zhou said that his goals in Europe were to discover the social conditions in foreign countries and their methods of resolving social issues, for the purpose of later applying these lessons to China after his return.

For example, in the Story of Zhou Chu, about the life of a Jin Dynasty warrior, he is said to have killed a " dragon " that infested the waters of his home village, which appears to have been a crocodile.

However, they met Zhou Enlai, who spoke of how President Kennedy had wanted to restore ties with China and said " We're willing to wait.

" Mencius said, Shun " was an Eastern barbarian " and King Wen of Zhou " was a Western barbarian.

The first person named posthumously was said to be Ji Chang, named by his son Ji Fa of Zhou, as the " Civil King ", though earlier and perhaps mythological rulers such as Emperor Yao are considered to have posthumous names.

His associates were also said to be praising each other and comparing each other to such great historical figures as Yi Yin, the Duke of Zhou, Guan Zhong, and Zhuge Liang.

After the conference, Peng said privately to Zhou Enlai regarding his self-criticism: " For the first time in my life, I have spoken out against my very heart!

In chapter 44, in a conversation between Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, Zhuge said that he had a plan to cause Cao Cao's forces to retreat, by sending Cao the Two Qiaos.

Zhou Chang said, " I'm not good in arguing, but I know that this is not right.

** Zhou Ren, noted as official companion to the emperor in the Book of Han by Ban Gu, and said by Ban Gu to have been showered with honors, passed on to heirs, thanks to " secret games " shared with the emperor in the imperial bedroom

In Chinese political philosophy, since the historical period of the Zhou Dynasty ( 1046 – 256 BC ), the political legitimacy of a ruler and government was derived from the Mandate of Heaven, and that unjust rulers who lose said mandate, therefore lose the right to rule the people.

When a member of a British Council delegation to China not long before his death, Spencer is said to have introduced himself to Premier Zhou Enlai with the words, " Hello, I'm Stanley from Cookham.

It is said that Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty ( r. 502-549 ) commissioned 周興嗣 ( pinyin: Zhou Xingsi, jyutping: Zau1 Hing3 Zi6 ) to compose this poem for his prince to practice calligraphy.

There was not even the slightest reason or incentive for me to take any performance-enhancing substance ," said Zhou.

Wang Xiangzhai, who had a great knowledge about the theory and history of his art, used the name " Yiquan " ( 意拳 ) as it had already been used in historical texts, such as " liuhequan xu " ( foreword to the six harmonies boxing, said to be written by Dai Longbang himself: " When Yue Fei was a child, he received special instructions from Zhou Tong.

The temple is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai.

Zhou Enlai spoke and apologised to the foreigners, but also said: " There are also some foreigners who during the Cultural Revolution participated in a certain organisation, who participated in destructive activities of bad elements.

Other cables said it was " well-known " that Zhou Yongkang controlled the state monopoly of the oil sector.

By following these ideas, King Wen is said to have made the Zhou state prosper very rapidly.

The late Tang dynasty art critic Zhu Jing Xuan said: " Zhou Fang's Buddha, celestial beings, figures, and paintings of beautiful women are all incredible masterpieces.

Zhou Dunyi is also known to have said that the best quality of life is that of a pure Lotus growing out of dirty waters, where the Lotus is the natural equivalent of the noble person ( junzi ).

With few clear records matching the Shang oracle bones or the Zhou bronze vessel writings, the Xia era remains poorly understood.

Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.

According to the Han Shu 21a, 973, for the moment of unification the Middle kingdoms had 6 different calendars: those of the mythological progenitors Yellow Emperor ( 黄帝曆 ) and Zhuanxu ( 顓頊曆 ); of the dynasties Xia ( 夏曆 ), Yin ( 殷曆 ), and Zhou ( 周曆 ), and of the Zhou Dynasty state of Lu ( 鲁曆 ).

*** The Classic of History is a collection of documents and speeches of the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou and period before.

* King Cheng Tang of Shang of China, first ruler of Shang Dynasty, ruled China for 29 years since 1600 BC according to the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project.

* Jie, The last ruler of Xia Dynasty, ruled China for 52 years until 1600 BC according to the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project.

Below dates are those published by the Xia – Shang – Zhou Chronology Project ( dates in Chinese history before the first year of the Gonghe Regency in 841 BC are contentious ).

The Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商朝 ; pinyin: shāng cháo ) or Yin Dynasty ( 殷代 ; pinyin: yīn dài ), according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty.

The results of the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project place them between 1600 BC and 1046 BC.

The actual political situation in early China may have been more complicated, with the Xia and Shang being political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou, who established the successor state of the Shang, are known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.

The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC.

The tradition of tracing Chinese political history from heroic early emperors to the Xia to succeeding dynasties comes from the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which only one legitimate dynasty can exist at any given time, and was promoted by the Confucian school in the Eastern Zhou period, later becoming the basic position of imperial historiography and ideology.

The development of this mythical Xia, Allan argues, is a necessary act on the part of the Zhou Dynasty, who justify their conquest of the Shang by noting that the Shang had supplanted the Xia.

In the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Tuoba brought troops to suppress the Huang Chao Rebellion on behalf of the Tang court and took control of the Xia State, or Xia Zhou, in northern Shaanxi in 881.

In the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Tuoba brought troops to suppress the Huangchao Rebellion on behalf of the Tang court and took control of the Xia State, or Xia Zhou, in northern Shaanxi in 881.

Founded in 1958, the Luoyang Museum features ancient relics dating back to the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.

It is not known when the game of Liubo originated, although according to legend it was invented by Wu Cao ( 烏曹, called Wu Zhou 烏胄 in the early 2nd century CE Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ), a minister to King Jie, the last king of the Xia Dynasty, who according to traditional chronology reigned 1728 BCE – 1675 BCE.

# 12 volumes of Benji ( 本紀 ), " Basic Annals " or " Imperial Biographies ", contain the biographies of all prominent rulers from the Yellow Emperor to Qin Shi Huang and the kings of Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.