The Shang Dynasty1650-1027 B.C.E.

Textbook pages 77-80

Chinese Civilization Begins

• People had been living on the North China Plain for hundreds of years

• 1650 B.C.E.- communities merged into a small kingdom ruled by Shang leaders

*Here in northern China, with the Shang kingdom, Chinese civilization begins to take shape

Shang Rule

• Controlled from walled city at Anyang• Territory was divided into regions• Nobles were appointed to rule each region• Nobles were friends of the king, heads of

clans, or previous rulers• Positions became hereditary

Anyang

Upper Class

• Shang Kings and Nobles• Lived in large timber or stone houses• Could afford to buy art, so artisans gathered

around the capital at Anyang

Common Population• Most people were farmers• Grew millet and other crops in the Huang He valley• Huang He valley loess was very fertile surplus in

food growth in population

• These peasants lived in small farming communities• Homes=pits dug into the ground with thatched

roofs • Worked very hard on farm & in public projects like

building dikes and as soldiers during war

Art and Culture

• Developed an early form of writing• Fine pottery• Skilled metal workers particularly using

valuable bronze (religious ceremonies and weapons)

• Silk making advanced technology

Burial Practices

• Believed in an afterlife• Rulers were buried in deep pits, with

bronze, stone, jade, potty, and bone• Sometimes tombs were 10 metres deep• Servants were sacrificed and buried with kings

Shang Beliefs

• Believed in many gods• Di, Lord on High good harvests, successful

battles, weather

• Believed in a connection between live and dead family members• Gave offerings to dead family members for

protection

Shang Beliefs

• King acted as priest• Thought to be able to better communicate

with important ancestors and gods• Consulted ancestors before making important

decisions

Duality

• Dual: having two parts• Duality: yin & yang= opposites• Yin earth, darkness, cold, femininity • Yang heaven, light, heat, masculinity• Yin & Yang= harmonious whole• Yin yang symbol everything contains the

opposite of itself within, making them interedependent

Five Elements

• Shang believed the earth was made-up of five elements:• Wood• Metal• Fire• Water• Earth

• Everything on earth was a combination of these forces

Qi

• Qi: an essential life force governing the universe• Travelling beneath earth’s surface in currents• Did not want to disturb this life force• Fengshui- before building anything, a fengshui

expert would need to be consulted so that there would be no negative influences

End of the Shang Dynasty

• Shang kings constantly at war with surrounding kingdoms

• Zhou kingdom defeated Shang