The Zhou lived west of the Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed " Western Protector " by 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 ).

In China, the right of rebellion against an unjust ruler had been a part of the political philosophy ever since the Zhou dynasty, whose rulers had used this philosophy to justify their overthrow of the previous Shang dynasty.

In addition to its oracular power, the I Ching has had a major influence on the philosophy, literature and statecraft of China from the time of the Zhou Dynasty ( 1122 BC – AD 256 ).

In 1956, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai stated that he had no claims over Indian controlled territory.

Zhou later argued that as the boundary was undemarcated and had never been defined by treaty between any Chinese or Indian government, the Indian government could not unilaterally define Aksai Chin's borders.

Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, in November 1956, again repeated Chinese assurances that the People's Republic had no claims on Indian territory, although official Chinese maps showed of territory claimed by India as Chinese.

CIA documents created at the time revealed that Nehru had ignored Burmese premier Ba Swe when he warned Nehru to be cautious when dealing with Zhou.

In a bloody purge, he had fifty-nine princes of the Zhou royal family eliminated yet nevertheless became known as the ' Cultured Emperor ' ( 581-604 CE ).

In contrast, during the Zhou Dynasty and the ensuing Warring States Period, the prevalent philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity ; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle.

However, none elevated himself to believe that he had the " Mandate of Heaven ," as the Zhou emperors had claimed, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices — they left this to the Zhou rulers.

Although chariots had been introduced to China during the Shang Dynasty from Central Asia, the Zhou period saw the first major use of chariots in battle.

Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Shang prince named Jizi, who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with a small army.

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.

By 1962, while Zhou, Liu and Deng managed affairs of state and the economy, Mao had effectively withdrawn from economic decision-making, and focused much of his time on further contemplating his contributions to Marxist-Leninist social theory, including the idea of " continuous revolution ".

On January 15 Deng Xiaoping delivered Zhou's official eulogy in a funeral attended by all of China's most senior leaders with the notable absence of Mao himself, who had grown increasingly critical of Zhou.

The Premier, Zhou Enlai, who had accepted the Cultural Revolution but never fully supported it, regained his authority, and used it to bring Deng Xiaoping back into the Party leadership at the 10th Party Congress in 1973.

In China, by the time of the Zhou Dynasty ship technologies such as stern mounted rudders were developed, and by the Han Dynasty, a well kept naval fleet was an integral part of the military.

The Chinese kept consistent and accurate court records after the year 841 BCE, with the beginning of the Gonghe Regency of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

New theories argued Zhang was indeed a CPC member, but his status was kept secret so only a few people, such as Zhou and Ye Jianying, knew.

Yuan Shu sent his cousin to replace Zhou Shang as Administer of Dangyang and kept him and Zhou Yu in Shouchun ( present-day Shou County, Anhui ).

As the gate was a national symbol, then-Premier Zhou Enlai ordered that the rebuilding was to be kept secret.

The Rites of Zhou notes that three copies of documents were kept in different places.

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.

In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split, Mao and Zhou Enlai met Richard Nixon in Beijing to establish relations with the United States.

In around 500 BCE, after the Zhou state weakened and China moved into the Spring and Autumn Period, the classic period of Chinese philosophy began ( it is an interesting fact that this date nearly coincides with the emergence of the first Greek philosophers ).

Thus, texts like the Annals will often state whether the calendar they use ( the calendar of Lu ) is in phase with the Royal calendar ( used by the Zhou kings ).

Although tradition holds that in the Zhou, the year began on the new moon which preceded the winter solstice, the Spring and Autumn Annals seem to indicate that ( in Lu at least ) the Yin calendar ( the calendar used in Shang dynasty, with years beginning on the first new moon after the winter solstice ) was in use until the middle of the 7th century, and that the beginning of the year was shifted back one month around 650 BC.

Although divination with the I Ching is thought to have originated prior to the Shang Dynasty, it was not until King Wu of Zhou ( 1046 – 1043 BC ) that it took its present form.

They also allege that Zhou purposefully told Nehru that there were no border issues with India.

In 1964, Zhou Enlai, worried about the escalation of U. S. forces in South Vietnam, made an informal agreement with the North.

Consumption of wines fortified with herbs and / or roots is believed to have begun in China at least as early as the Shang and Western Zhou dynastiesin ( 1250-1000BC ).

* 1178: Chinese writer Zhou Qufei, a Guangzhou customs officer, writes of an island far west in the Indian Ocean ( possibly Madagascar ), from where people with skin " as black as lacquer " and with frizzy hair were captured and purchased as slaves by Arab merchants.

The Northern Zhou ( 557 – 581 ) divisional militia ( fubing ) was continued by the Tang government, along with farmer-soldiers serving in rotation from the capital or frontier in order to receive appropriated farmland.

The Sui Dynasty began when Emperor Wen's daughter became the Empress Dowager of Northern Zhou, with her stepson as the new emperor.

According to Chinese legend, the Zhou lineage began with Emperor Ku and proceeded from him to Qi, Buku, Ju, and then Gongliu, before Gugong Danfu moved the Zhou clan from Bin ( 豳 or 邠 ) to an area in the Wei River valley, where they founded a town that became central to the Zhou clan's growing prosperity.

Though King Wu died just a few years after the Battle of Muye, the Duke of Zhou assisted the young and inexperienced King Cheng in consolidating power for the Ji line: he managed a war against rebellious Zhou princes in the eastern lowlands ( allied with feudal rulers and Shang remnants ); formulated the Mandate of Heaven doctrine to counter Shang claims to a divine right of rule ; founded Chengzhou as an eastern capital ; and set up the fengjian " feudal " system designed to maintain Zhou authority as it expanded its rule over a larger amount of territory.

However, this decentralized system became strained as the familial relationship between Zhou Kings and regional rulers thinned over generations and peripheral territories developed local power and prestige on par with that of the Zhou.

From King Ping's reign onwards, the Zhou kings ruled in name only, with true power lying in the hands of regional nobles.

Western writers often describe the Zhou period as " feudal " because the Zhou's early rule invites comparison with medieval rule in Europe.

By the early 1960s, many of the Great Leap's economic policies were reversed by initiatives spearheaded by Liu, Deng, and Zhou Enlai.

Deng Xiaoping was himself sent away for a period of re-education three times, and was eventually sent to work in an engine factory until he was brought back years later by Zhou Enlai.

With a fragile economy and Zhou falling ill to cancer, Deng Xiaoping resumed his political career as Vice-Premier in April 1973, in the first of a series of promotions approved by Mao.

Deng's return set the scene for a protracted factional struggle between the radical Gang of Four and moderates led by Zhou and Deng.

At the time, Jiang Qing and associates held effective control of mass media and the party's propaganda network, while Zhou and Deng held control of most government organs.

Years of resentment over the Cultural Revolution, the public persecution of Deng Xiaoping ( who was seen as Zhou's ally ), and the prohibition against publicly mourning Zhou became associated with each other shortly after Zhou's death, leading to popular discontent against Mao and the Gang of Four.

Near the end of Mao's life, a power struggle occurred between the Gang of Four and the alliance of Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai, and Ye Jianying.

It was in this society that Zhou first met his future wife, Deng Yingchao.

Zhou and six other group members wound up going to Europe in the next two years, and Zhou eventually married the group's youngest member, Deng Yingchao.

It was in Zhou's capacity as general editor of this magazine that Zhou first met Deng Xiaoping, only seventeen years old, who Zhou hired to operate a mimeograph ( copy ) machine.

Following a major reshuffling of official roles, Mao became the chairman of the Military Commission, with Zhou and Deng Xiaoping as vice-chairmen.

Other participants in the March also went on to become prominent party leaders, including Zhu De, Lin Biao, Liu Shaoqi, Dong Biwu, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, Yang Shangkun, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.

In the early 1960s, President Liu Shaoqi, Party General Secretary Deng Xiaoping, and Premier Zhou Enlai took over direction of the party and adopted pragmatic economic policies at odds with Mao's communitarian vision, and disbanded communes, attempting to rework the system to pre-Leap standards.

Deng, Zhou, and Liu all seem to have concluded that Mao's policies were irrational and so they would run things while using him as an empty symbol for the people to rally around.

This move was suggested by Zhou Enlai, and Mao agreed, deciding that Deng was " 70 % correct, 30 % wrong ".

From their failed attempts at defaming popular Premier Zhou Enlai, the Gang launched a media campaign against the emerging Deng Xiaoping, who they deemed to be a serious political challenge.