Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty, first recorded imperial dynasty of China. Chinese calendars and historical records first appear during the Shang dynasty, but its actual dates remain a matter for dispute. There is definite archaeological and documentary evidence of a dynasty of 28 or 29 kings who ruled for 17 generations between c. 1480 and 1050 bc, but one Han dynasty chronology refers to the dates of 1766-1122 bc.

The dynasty ruled what is now north and central China: the Yellow River plain and the area of the modern provinces of Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. From roughly 1384 bc the capital was at Anyang, near the northern border of Henan. The state and its culture evolved from Stone Age antecedents. The authority of the warrior king (wang) rested on force, dynastic alliances, and the aura of wisdom based upon divination. Between the aristocratic class and the ordinary people was a priestly class which kept the records of government and was responsible for divination. They applied a hot rod to the shoulder bones of cattle or turtle plastrons to reveal from the resulting cracks which of a pair of opposite predictions of the future were true. Since 1899 over 100,000 inscribed oracle bones have been uncovered near Anyang. They contain about 4,500 written characters, less than half of which have been deciphered.

Following the Chinese religion of the time, the Shang people worshipped their ancestors and a multitude of gods. The principal among the latter was Shang Di, the Lord on High, but he was not worshipped directly. Instead he was approached through the mediation of Shang ancestors, and the kings claimed ancestry from his son. The Shang believed in a life after death, and tombs were furnished with weapons and artefacts to maintain the status and goodwill of those buried there. Sometimes slaves were buried with them. Ancestors were believed to have power over the present, and the king relied upon the goodwill of his ancestors to retain the legitimizing mandate of heaven (Tian).

The economy was based upon agriculture and a pliant peasantry. Millet, wheat, barley, and possibly rice were grown. Pigs, dogs, sheep, and oxen were raised, and silkworms were cultivated. Hunting was also an important food source. The Shang had powerful armies and could smelt iron weapons, although they did not apparently produce iron agricultural implements. They also had a highly developed bronze metallurgy and began to develop handicrafts: linen and silk textiles, black and red pottery, and primitive white stoneware. Shang technology was a combination of Bronze Age and Iron Age elements.

Traditional Chinese histories describe the last Shang monarch as a cruel and debauched tyrant, who was overthrown by a vigorous king of Zhou from the Wei river valley. The succeeding Zhou dynasty did abandon the human sacrifices characteristic of the Shang, but the tyrannical reputation of the last Shang kings may be a later myth. In any case, Shang rule laid the basis for Chinese civilization.