<P> Although written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty, Western scholars are often hesitant to associate settlements that are contemporaneous with the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty . For example, archaeological findings at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang . The evidence is inconclusive in proving how far the Shang realm extended from Anyang . The leading hypothesis is that Anyang, ruled by the same Shang in the official history, coexisted and traded with numerous other culturally diverse settlements in the area that is now referred to as China proper . </P> <P> The Zhou dynasty (1046 BC to approximately 256 BC) was the longest - lasting dynasty in Chinese history . By the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Zhou dynasty began to emerge in the Yellow River valley, overrunning the territory of the Shang . The Zhou appeared to have begun their rule under a semi-feudal system . The Zhou lived west of the Shang, and the Zhou leader had been appointed Western Protector by the Shang . 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 . </P> <P> The king of Zhou at this time invoked the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to legitimize his rule, a concept that would be influential for almost every succeeding dynasty . Like Shangdi, Heaven (tian) ruled over all the other gods, and it decided who would rule China . It was believed that a ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people . In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of Heaven . </P> <P> The Zhou initially moved their capital west to an area near modern Xi'an, on the Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River, but they would preside over a series of expansions into the Yangtze River valley . This would be the first of many population migrations from north to south in Chinese history . </P>

Chinese civilization first arose in the valley of the ____ around 2200 b.c