Shang dynasty

The Shang dynasty (Chinese: 商朝; pinyin: Shāngcháo), also known as the Yin dynasty (殷代; Yīn dài), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the 2nd millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals and Shiji.

The Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty within traditional Chinese history that is firmly supported by archaeological evidence. The archaeological site of Yinxu, near modern-day Anyang, corresponds to the final Shang capital of Yin. Excavations at Yinxu have revealed eleven major royal tombs, the foundations of former palace buildings, and the remains of both animals and humans that were sacrificed in official state rituals.

Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, and ceramic artefacts have been uncovered at Yinxu. Most prominently, the site has yielded the earliest known examples of Chinese writing—a corpus primarily consisting of divination texts inscribed on oracle bones, which were usually either turtle shells or ox scapulae. More than 20,000 oracle bones were discovered during the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s, with over four times as many having been found since. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, and religious practices to the art and medicine of the early stages of Chinese history.

Traditional accounts

Several important Chinese books talk about the history of the Shang dynasty. These include the Book of Documents, the Mencius, and the Zuo Zhuan. A famous historian named Sima Qian, who lived during the Han dynasty, used these sources to write a detailed history of the Shang in a book called the Shiji. He described some events from the Shang time in detail and mentioned others by the names of the kings when they happened.

The Shang are also called "Yin." Both the Shiji and the Bamboo Annals use this name when talking about the dynasty and its last capital city. The name "Yin" became common later, especially during the time of the Zhou dynasty. People in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam also use versions of this name to refer to the Shang.

The story of how the Shang began is told in the Annals of the Yin. It says that a woman named Jiandi swallowed an egg from a black bird and later had a son named Xie. Xie helped control a big flood and was given a place called Shang. The time before the Shang dynasty is called the "Predynastic Shang."

Sima Qian wrote that the Shang dynasty started when a man named Tang, who was a descendant of Xie, took over from the last ruler of the Xia dynasty. The Shang moved their capital city several times, and the move to Yin is considered the golden age of the dynasty.

After the Shang were defeated by the Zhou, some members of the Shang royal family were given new roles and places to live. They continued to honor their traditions and help the new Zhou rulers. Some Shang people moved to other places and kept their special ways of life.

Early Bronze Age archaeology

Main article: Shang archaeology

Further information: History of Chinese archaeology

Before the 20th century, people thought the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) was the earliest that could be proven from its own records. However, during the Song dynasty (960–1279), scholars collected bronze items that were said to be from the Shang era, some of which had special markings.

In 1899, some scholars noticed that Chinese medicine sellers were selling "dragon bones" with strange and old markings. In 1928, these were traced back to a place now called Yinxu, north of the Yellow River near Anyang. Archaeologists looked closely at the Yellow River valley in Henan as the most likely place for the early states described in old stories.

After 1950, the remains of an old walled settlement called Zhengzhou Shang City were found within the modern city of Zhengzhou. The walls at Zhengzhou, built in the 15th century BC, would have been very wide and tall, surrounding the ancient city. In 2022, digging inside the city walls found over 200 special items, including a gold face covering.

In 1959, the site of the Erlitou culture was found in Yanshi, south of the Yellow River near Luoyang. Tests suggest that the Erlitou culture lived around 2100 BC to 1800 BC. They built large buildings, showing there was an organized group of people. In 1983, Yanshi Shang City was found not far from the Erlitou site. This was a large walled city from 1600 BC.

The remains of another walled city were found in 1999 across the Huan River from the well-known Yinxu site. The city, now called Huanbei, was used for less than 100 years and then destroyed before the Yinxu complex was built. Between 1989 and 2000, an important Shang settlement was found near Xiaoshuangqiao, about 20 km northwest of Zhengzhou.

The Erligang culture, centered on the Zhengzhou site, spread across a wide area of China, even as far northeast as the area of modern Beijing. The Panlongcheng site in the middle Yangtze valley was an important center of the Erligang culture.

Accidental finds elsewhere in China have shown advanced groups living at the same time but in different ways from the settlement at Anyang, such as the walled city of Sanxingdui in Sichuan. Western scholars are careful about saying such places were part of the Shang. Unlike the Shang, there is no known proof that the Sanxingdui culture had a way of writing. The late Shang state at Anyang is generally considered the first proven civilization in Chinese history.

The earliest layers of the Wucheng culture before Anyang have shown pieces of pottery with short lines of symbols, suggesting they might be a form of writing very different from the Shang writing, but there is not enough to understand it.

Absolute chronology

The earliest date we know for sure in Chinese history is the start of the Gonghe Regency in 841 BC, during the early part of the Zhou dynasty. Figuring out earlier dates is tricky because we do not always know where traditional stories come from or how to understand them.

Many different end dates for the Shang dynasty have been suggested, ranging from 1130 BC to 1018 BC. Some people think the dynasty started around 1600 BC and ended around 1046 BC, based on clues from old writings and science. Others believe it ended around 1045 BC or 1041 BC, using different kinds of evidence.

Late Shang at Anyang

Main article: Late Shang

The oldest known records from around 1250 BC come from the Yinxu site near Anyang, covering the last nine Shang kings. The Shang had a well-developed writing system, mainly found on bronze inscriptions and oracle bones. This writing shows how advanced they were, though we don’t know much about earlier stages. They also made musical instruments and studied the stars.

Their society relied on farming, with some hunting and raising animals. Besides wars, the Shang sometimes took prisoners from nearby groups as part of their traditions. These prisoners were often from the Qiang people who lived northwest of the Shang. Some of these prisoners were found to have come from far away through studies of their bones. Shells from the ocean were found at Anyang, showing some trade with coastal areas, but sea trade was limited because China was far from other big civilizations at the time.

Court life

At the royal palace in Yinxu, archaeologists found large stone pillars and strong wooden buildings. Near the palace, there were pits for storing goods, homes for servants, and places for workers.

In 1976, Tomb 5 at Yinxu was found untouched and filled with treasures. It belonged to Fu Hao, a famous leader and warrior. The tomb had many bronze items, weapons, and beautiful objects made of stone and bone.

The king was important in daily life and religion. He led ceremonies to honor ancestors and sometimes asked questions through oracle bones to learn what the future might hold. Royals were buried with valuable items for the afterlife. Sometimes, many people were buried with the king to help them in the afterlife.

The Shang kings ruled much of northern China and often fought with nearby groups. The king was also the main religious leader, performing ceremonies and asking for help from their ancestors and the gods.

Kings appointed people to manage different jobs, like farming, caring for animals, and protecting the kingdom. These officials had their own teams and sometimes became quite powerful. More distant leaders sometimes helped the Shang kings in exchange for support, but these friendships were not always stable.

Religion

Main article: Religion of the Shang dynasty

Shang religion included special ceremonies and offerings. They believed in several important spirits, including a High God, natural forces, past leaders, and their own ancestors. They thought their ancestors could help them, so they performed ceremonies to ask for their support. These ceremonies involved heating bones to look for cracks, which they believed gave answers.

The Shang also believed in an afterlife. They built big tombs for their rulers, filling them with items like carriages, tools, and weapons. Sometimes, many people and animals were buried with the ruler to join them in the afterlife. The tombs also had beautiful jade objects, which they may have thought protected the ruler.

Bronze working

Main article: Chinese ritual bronzes

Bronze making and pottery improved during the Shang period. Bronze was mainly used for important ceremonies and religious events, not just everyday items. By around 1500 BC, the Shang were making large amounts of bronze vessels and weapons. This needed many workers to mine and shape the metals. The royal court and nobles needed many bronze items for their ceremonies, and even had rules about how many each could have. Bronze was also used to make weapons and parts for early chariots.

A _ding_ dating from the Shang

The Shang-era <a href="/wiki/Houmuwu_ding">Houmuwu _ding_</a>, the heaviest piece of bronze work found in China so far

A late Shang-era _ding_ with _<a href="/wiki/Taotie">taotie</a>_ motif

A _gu_ ritual bronze vessel used to hold wine

Military

Main article: Military of the Shang dynasty

The Shang had long battles with tribes from the north called the Guifang.

Bronze weapons were very important in Shang society. Soldiers used spears, axes, bows, and helmets made of bronze or leather.

The Shang kings could call on many people from towns and farms to fight in wars. Nobles had to supply their soldiers with weapons and armor. The Shang king had about a thousand soldiers in his capital and would lead them in battles. They needed organizers to gather forces of three to thirteen thousand troops for different kinds of wars.

A _yue_ bronze axe with head motif, dated to the Shang

Shang dynasty curved bronze knives with turquoise inlays and animal pommel. 12th–11th centuries BC. Such knives may be the result of contacts with northern people.

Kings

For a more comprehensive list, see List of monarchs of China § Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), and Family tree of ancient Chinese emperors § Shang dynasty.

The earliest records come from special bones with writing from the time of the Shang kings, starting with Wu Ding. These bones do not list all the kings, but they tell us about ceremonies done for past kings and family members. By studying these records, experts have figured out the order of the kings. According to these records, Wu Ding was the twenty-first Shang king.

The Shang kings were known by special names after they passed away. Each name ended with one of ten special signs that also showed which day of the ten-day week ceremonies would happen for that king. Because there were more kings than these special signs, the names had extra words to tell them apart, like da meaning 'greater', zhong meaning 'middle', xiao meaning 'lesser', bu meaning 'outer', and zu meaning 'ancestor'.