Shang Dynasty

商朝
Shang Dynasty
Kingdom
←
1600 BC–1046 BC →
Remnants of advanced, stratified societies dating back to the Shang period have been found in the Yellow River Valley.
Capital Yinxu, Zhaoge
Language(s) Chinese
Religion Chinese folk religion
Government Monarchy, Feudalism
Historical era 1600-1046 BC
 - Established 1600 BC
 - Battle of Muye 1046 BC
Population
 -  est. 13.7 million 
Currency Cowries[1]
History of China
History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC
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304–439
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420–589
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907–1125
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960–1279
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MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic
of China
1949–present
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of China
(Taiwan)
1945–present

The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley. According to the chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled between 1766 BC and 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, they ruled between 1556 BC and 1046 BC. The results of the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project place them between 1600 BC and 1046 BC. According to historical tradition, the Shang Dynasty followed the (possibly mythical) Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty.

While some direct information about the Shang Dynasty comes from Shang-era inscriptions on bronze artifacts, most comes from oracle bones — turtle shells, cattle scapulae, or other bones, which bear glyphs that form the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters. Other sources on the Shang come from historical records of the later Zhou Dynasty and the Han Dynasty Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian. The inscriptions on the oracle bones are divinations, and because they can be gleaned for information on many topics from the politics and economy to the art and medicine of the period,[2] they provide critical insight into the early stages of Chinese civilization.

One site of the Shang capitals, later historically called the Ruins of Yin (殷墟), is near modern day Anyang. Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and remains from both animal and human sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, and ceramic artifacts have been obtained. The workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization. In terms of inscribed oracle bones alone, more than 20,000 were discovered in the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s, and over four times as many have been found since.

Contents

Archaeological discovery

During the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), scholar-bureaucrats and the Chinese gentry became avid antiquarians and collectors of ancient artwork, some claiming to have found Shang Dynasty era bronze vessels with written inscriptions.[3] Despite this, archeologists of the 19th century knew of written records and historical documentations spanning only as far back as the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC).[3] In 1899, it was found that Chinese pharmacists were selling "dragon bones" marked with curious and archaic characters.[3] These were finally traced back in 1928 to a site near Anyang in the Yellow River valley, modern Henan province, where the National Government's Academia Sinica began an archeological excavation.[3] Work at the site was halted by the Japanese invasion in 1937, but by 1950, a Shang capital had been discovered near Zhengzhou.[3]

At the excavated royal palace of Yinxu, large stone pillar bases were found along with rammed earth foundations and platforms, which according to Fairbank, were "as hard as cement."[3] These foundations in turn originally supported 53 buildings of wooden post-and-beam construction.[3] In close proximity to the main palatial complex, there were underground pits used for storage, servants' quarters, and housing quarters.[3] It has been determined that the remnants of the earth walls at Zhengzhou would have risen 27 feet (8.2 m) in height and formed a roughly rectangular wall 4 miles (6.4 km) around the ancient city.[4] Construction of these walls was actually a tradition inherited by the Shang civilization, since much older rammed earth fortifications have been found at Chinese Neolithic sites of the Longshan culture (c. 3000 BC–2000 BC).[4]

A late Shang, ritual bronze wine vessel (zun) in the unusual shape of an owl with a domed head for its lid

In 1959, the site of the Erlitou culture was found in Yanshi, south of the Yellow River near Luoyang. Their culture is often associated with the legendary Xia Dynasty, and they built large palaces, which also suggests the existence of a dynastic kingdom preceding the Shang.[5] Radiocarbon dating suggests that the Erlitou culture flourished ca. 2100 BC to 1800 BC.[6]

Cowry shells, obtained from the seacoast, were also excavated at Anyang, suggesting that the Shang were somewhat a maritime people.[6] Neolithic sites on the island of Taiwan, one hundred miles off of mainland China's southern coasts of Fujian, have been dated as far back as 4000 BC.[6] However, there was very limited sea trade in ancient China since China was isolated from other large civilizations during the Shang period.[6] Trade relations and diplomatic ties with other formidable powers via the Silk Road and Chinese voyages to the Indian Ocean did not exist until the reign of Emperor Wu during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD).[7][8]

Many Shang royal tombs had been tunneled into and ravaged by grave robbers in ancient times,[9] but in the spring of 1976, the discovery of Tomb 5 at Yinxu revealed a tomb that was not only undisturbed, but one of the most richly lavished Shang tombs that archaeologists had yet come across.[10] With over 200 bronze ritual vessels and 109 inscriptions of Lady Fu Hao's name, archaeologists realized they had stumbled across the tomb of the militant consort to King Wu Ding, as described in 170 to 180 Shang oracle bones.[11] Along with bronze vessels, stoneware and pottery vessels, bronze weapons, jade figures and hair combs, and bone hairpins were found.[12][13][14] Historian Robert L. Thorp states that the large assortment of weapons and ritual vessels in her tomb correlate with the oracle bone accounts of her military career and involvement in Wu Ding's ritual ancestral sacrifices.[15]

Rise of Shang

A late Shang dynasty bronze ding vessel with taotie motif

According to Chinese tradition, the Shang dynasty was founded by a rebel king, Tang of Shang, who overthrew the last Xia ruler in the Battle of Mingtiao. According to the Shiji, the Shang had a long history, and there are different theories about their origin.[16] An analysis of bones from the remains of Shang people showed a Huaxia (Chinese) ethnic origin.[17] Their civilization was based on agriculture and augmented by hunting and animal husbandry,[18] and in addition to war, the Shang also practiced human sacrifice.[19]

The Shiji states that the Shang people moved their capital six times, with the final and most important move to Yin, in 1350 BC, initiating the golden age of the dynasty. In fact, the name "Yin dynasty" has been synonymous with the Shang throughout history and was actually the more popular term. However, it is now often used specifically to describe the later half of the Shang dynasty. In Japan and Korea, the Shang are still referred to exclusively as the Yin (In) dynasty.

The capitals, particularly the city of Yin, were centers of glittering court life. Over time, court rituals to appease spirits developed, and in addition to his secular duties, the king would serve as the head of the ancestor and spirit-worship cult. Oftentimes, the king would even perform oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from excavations of the royal tombs indicates that royalty were buried with articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse.

Pottery with a carved geometric pattern, Shang Dynasty, 1600-1100 BC

The Shang had a fully developed system of writing as attested on bronze inscriptions, oracle bones, and a small number of other writings on pottery, jade and other stones, horn, etc.[20] Their writing system's complexity and sophistication indicates an earlier period of development, but direct evidence of that development is still lacking. Bronze casting and pottery also advanced in Shang culture, with the bronze being commonly used for art rather than weapons. Other advances included the invention of many musical instruments and observations of Mars and various comets by Shang astronomers.

A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The Shang king, in his oracular divinations, repeatedly shows concern about the fang groups, the barbarians living outside of the civilized tu regions, which made up the center of Shang territory. In particular, the tufang group of the Yan Shan region is regularly mentioned as hostile to the Shang.[21]

Shang influence, though not political control, extended as far northeast as the area of modern Beijing, where early pre-Yan material culture shows evidence of Shang influence.[21] At least one burial in this region during the Early Shang period contained both Shang-style bronzes and local-style gold jewelry.[21] This Shang influence likely made possible the integration of Yan into the later Zhou Dynasty.[21] The discovery of a Chenggu-style ge dagger-axe at Xiaohenan demonstrates that even at this early stage of Chinese history, there were some ties between the distant areas of north China.[21]

The Fall of Shang

This bronze ritual wine vessel, dating from the Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC, is housed at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.

Shang Zhou, the last Shang king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou people. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in a decisive battle that took place. But according to the lost books of Zhou (逸周書) and Mencius the battle was very bloody. The classical novel Fengshen Yanyi is about the war, in which each was favored and supported by one group of gods. The Zhou king let Zhou's son Wugeng Lufu (武庚祿父) to rule the Shang people but he sent three brothers, with an army, to watch him.[22][23] Shang joined these three governors rebellion (三監之亂) against the Duke of Zhou, and collapsed after 3 years.

After Yin's collapse, Zhou's rulers migrated out the "Yin diehards" (殷頑) and divided among them.[24] Some surviving Yin ruling family collectively changed their surname from their royal Zi (子) (pinyin: zi; Wade-Giles: tzu) to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin (殷). The family remained aristocratic and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou Dynasty. The King Cheng of Zhou, through the Regent, his uncle the Duke of Zhou, enfeoffed the former Shang King Zhou's brother Ziqi (子啟) as the ruler of Wei (微), in the former Shang capital at Shang (商), with the territory becoming the state of Song later in history. The State of Song and the royal Shang descendants maintained rites to the dead Shang kings which lasted until 286 BC. (Source: Records of the Grand Historian.)

Another remnants of Shang, Guzhu (孤竹國) located in what is now Tangshan was destroyed by Duke Huan of Qi.[25][26][27]

Many Shang clans migrated northeast were integrated into Yan culture during the Western Zhou period. These clans maintained an elite status, continuing their sacrificial and burial traditions.[21]

Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Yin prince named Jizi (箕子), who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with his garrison and founded Gija Joseon, and it would become one of the early Korean states (Go-, Gija-, and Wiman-Joseon).

Early and Late Shang

The site of Yin, the capital (1350 - 1046 BC) of the Shang Dynasty, also called Yin Dynasty.
Oracle bones pit at Yin

Written records found at Anyang confirm the existence of the Shang dynasty. However, Western scholars are hesitant to associate some settlements contemporaneous with the Anyang settlement with the Shang dynasty.[28] For example, archaeological findings at Sanxingdui suggest a technologically advanced civilization culturally unlike Anyang but lacking writing. The extent of Shang control is difficult to determine, given the lack of archaeological exploration. It is accepted among historians that Yin, ruled by the same Shang of official history, coexisted and traded with other culturally diverse settlements in North China. Yin and the Later Shang in general are the first civilization in Chinese history.[29] Chinese historians living in later periods were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding another, but the actual political situation in early China may have been more complicated. The Xia and the Shang can possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou (successor state of the Shang), is known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.[21]

At the Shang Dynasty site of Ao, large walls were erected in the 15th century BC that had dimensions of 20 meters / 65 feet in width at the base and enclosed an area of some 2100 yards (1920 meters).[30] In similar dimensions, the ancient Chinese capital for the State of Zhao, Handan (founded in 386 BC), had walls that were again 20 meters / 65 feet wide at the base, a height of 15 meters / 50 feet tall, with two separate sides of its rectangular enclosure measured at a length of 1530 yards (1400 meters).[30]

Capitals

The Shang dynasty had a sequence of seven capitals across its history with the last one being the largest.[29] In chronological order,[31] they are: Fan, Bo and Shen (pre-dynastic). Dynastic capitals include Xibo (also Bo of Tang), located in Xitazhuang township of Yanshi county near Erlitou, founded by Shang Tang in 1557 BC; Ao (also Xiao), located in Zhengzhou prefecture, Henan province, founded in 1399 BC by Zhong Ding; Xiang (location unknown), founded in 1380 BC; Geng (location unknown), founded in 1371 BC, destroyed by a flood; Bi (location unknown), founded in 1369 BC; Bo, located in Qufu, Shandong province, founded in 1321 BC; Yin (also Yinxu, pinyin: Yīn, Chinese: 殷), located in Anyang prefecture, Henan province, founded in 1299 BC by Pan Geng. Post-dynastic capitals include Zhou Ge, Bo Gu and Yidu.

Economy

A Shang Dynasty bronze-ware pot with lid and handle

As far back as c. 1500 BC, the early Shang Dynasty engaged in large-scale production of bronze-ware vessels, and weapons.[32] This production necessitated large labor force that would handle the mining, refining, and transportation of copper, tin, and lead ores.[32] The Shang Dynasty royal court and aristocrats required a vast amount of different bronze vessels for various ceremonial purposes and events of religious divination, hence the need for official managers that could provide oversight and employment of hard-laborers and skilled artisans and craftsmen.[32] With the increased amount of bronze available, the army could become better equipped with an assortment of bronze weaponry, and bronze was also able to furnish the fittings of spoke-wheeled chariots that came into widespread use by 1200 BC.[33] Ceremonial rules decreed how many bronze containers of each type a member of nobility of a certain rank could own.

Apart from their role as the head military commanders, Shang kings also asserted their social supremacy by acting as the high priest of society and leader of divination ceremonies.[33] As the oracle bone texts reveal, the Shang kings were viewed as the best qualified members of society to offer sacrifices to their royal ancestors, to the high god Di, who in their beliefs was responsible for the rain, wind, and thunder.[33]

Shang Military

A bronze axe of the Shang dynasty

Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone or bronze weaponry, including máo spears, yuè pole-axes, ge pole-based dagger-axes, the composite bow, and bronze or leather helmets (Wang Hongyuan 1993).[34] Their western military frontier was at the Taihang Mountains, where they fought the ma or "horse" barbarians, who might have used chariots. The Shang themselves likely only used chariots as mobile command vehicles or elite symbols.[35] They reportedly amassed over a thousand chariots to overthrow the Xia Dynasty. Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, the masses of town dwelling and rural commoners provided the Shang rulers with conscript labor as well as military obligation when mobilized for ventures of defense or conquest.[36] The subservient lords of noble lineage and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their locally kept forces with all the necessary equipment, armor, and armaments, while the Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital, and personally led this force into battle.[37] A rudimentary military bureaucracy was needed in order to muster troops of three to five thousand troops in border campaigns, while it was recorded that up to thirteen thousand troops were mustered in order to suppress uprisings of insolent states to Shang authority. However, even after the Shang integrated the chariot into their military forces, the nobility were still largely amassed in infantry form, as the chariot was mostly associated with transportation, ceremonies, and large-scale royal hunting expeditions.[38] Chariots in the Shang period generally carried three men, the driver placed at the center, an archer on the left, and a warrior armed with a dagger-axe on the right.[38] It had a rectangular frame, with two large spoked wheels, and was driven by two horses,[38] although some of the chariots had teams of four horses.[33]

Mythology

In Book 5 of Mozi, Mozi gives a legendary account of the end of the Xia dynasty and the rise of the new Shang dynasty. He states that during the reign of the last Xia ruler, King Jie, the climate experienced extreme changes, the paths of the sun and moon were altered, crops withered away, and other supernatural events occurred. Mozi then claims that the Xia dynasty had lost the mandate of Heaven due to its moral failings, and Shang Tang, the legendary founder of the Shang dynasty, was chosen by Heaven to overthrow the Xia. In the dark, Heaven destroyed the fortress' pool, and Shang Tang then gained victory easily.

Mozi also recounts stories of the last Shang king, King Zhou. According to Mozi, King Zhou was corrupt and had neglected his obligations to offer ritual sacrifices. As a result, he lost the mandate of Heaven, and many supernatural omens began to occur. Among other wonders, Mozi describes mud raining down for ten days and nights, the Nine Tripod Cauldrons (legendary treasures of the royal family) spontaneously moving, women transforming into men, and brambles covering the roads of the country. A red bird brought a message "Heaven decrees King Wen of Zhou to punish Yin and possess its empire." The Yellow River formed charts and the earth brought forth mythical horses. The legend continues with King Wu, after succeeding his father King Wen, being visited by three gods in a dream. They tell King Wu that they have drowned King Zhou in wine and that King Wu should attack Shang. On the way back from victory, the heavens gave him the emblem of a yellow bird.[39]

Gallery

A jade-carved deer ornament

A bronze gong ritual vessel

A bronze gefuding gui vessel

A bronze yuefu you vessel

A bronze zun ritual vessel

A jade ring in the shape of a dragon

A jade carved fish

A Shang Dynasty bronze pou vessel with four ram heads

A bronze yue, late Shang era.

Bronzewares from the excavated tomb of Fu Hao, c. 1250 BC.

A jade carved tiger

Shang/Zhou sculpture, 14-10th century BC.

Shang dynasty kings

Posthumous names
Convention: posthumous name or King + posthumous name
Order Reign Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Notes
01 29 天乙 (太乙) Tiān Yǐ (Tài Yǐ) a Sage king; overthrew tyrant Jié (桀) of Xià (夏)
02 02 太丁 Tài Dīng
03 32 外丙 Wài Bǐng
04 04 仲壬 Zhòng Rén
05 12 太甲 Tài Jiǎ
06 29 沃丁 Wò Dǐng
07 25 太庚 Tài Gēng
08 17 小甲 Xiǎo Jiǎ
09 12 雍己 Yōng Jǐ
10 75 太戊 Tài Wù
11 11 仲丁 Zhòng Dīng
12 15 外壬 Wai Ren
13 09 河亶甲 Hé Dǎn Jiǎ
14 19 祖乙 Zǔ Yǐ
15 16 祖辛 Zǔ Xīn
16 20 沃甲 Wò Jiǎ
17 32 祖丁 Zǔ Dīng
18 29 南庚 Nán Gēng
19 07 陽甲 Yáng Jiǎ
20 28 盤庚 Pán Gēng Shang finally settled down at Yīn (殷). The period starting from Pán Gēng is also called the Yīn Dynasty, beginning the golden age of the Shāng dynasty. Oracle bone inscriptions are thought to date at least to Pán Gēng's era.
21 29 小辛 Xiǎo Xīn
22 21 小乙 Xiǎo Yǐ
23 59 武丁 Wǔ Dīng married to consort Fu Hao, who was a renowned warrior. Most of the oracle bones studied are believed to have came from his reign.
24 12 祖庚 Zǔ Gēng
25 20 祖甲 Zǔ Jiǎ
26 06 廩辛 Lǐn Xīn
27 06 庚丁 Gēng Dīng or Kang Ding (康丁 Kāng Dīng)
28 35 武乙 Wǔ Yǐ
29 11 文丁 Wén Dīng
30 26 帝乙 Dì Yǐ
31 30 帝辛 Dì Xīn aka Zhòu (紂), Zhòu Xīn (紂辛) or Zhòu Wáng (紂王). Also referred to by adding "Shāng" (商) in front of any of these names.
Note:
  1. All dates are approximate up to 841 BC.[40] Refer to Zhou dynasty for more info.
  2. Personal names of most of the Shang sovereigns were recorded in Bamboo Annals. The following names were most likely posthumous owing to worse appearances of the Heavenly Stems.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Cowries were used as currency in shang dynasty china
  2. ↑ See, for instance, Keightley (2000)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Fairbank 33.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fairbank, 34.
  5. ↑ Fairbank, 34–35.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Fairbank, 35.
  7. ↑ Sun 1989, 161-167.
  8. ↑ Chen 2002, 67-71.
  9. ↑ Thorp, 239.
  10. ↑ Thorp, 240.
  11. ↑ Thorp, 240 & 245.
  12. ↑ Thorp, 242 & 245.
  13. ↑ Li (1980), 393–394.
  14. ↑ Valenstein & Hearn, 77.
  15. ↑ Thorp, 245.
  16. ↑ A Summary of Studies in the Origins of the Shang Clan
  17. ↑ 大辛庄遗址明显地显示了商代人的特征
  18. ↑ Beck, Roger B.; Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, Dahia Ibo Shabaka, (1999). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X. 
  19. ↑ Flad, Dr. Rowan (28 Feb. 2010). "Shang Dynasty Human Sacrifice". NGC Presents (National Geographic). http://www.slashcontrol.com/free-tv-shows/ngc-presents/4006945677-shang-dynasty-human-sacrifice. Retrieved 3 Mar. 2010. 
  20. ↑ Qiu 2000, p.60
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 Sun, Yan (June 2006). "Colonizing China's Northern Frontier: Yan and Her Neighbors During the Early Western Zhou Period". International Journal of Historical Archaeology 10 (2): 159–177(19). doi:10.1007/s10761-006-0005-3. 
  22. ↑ 邶、鄘二國考
  23. ↑ 周初“三监”与邶、鄘、卫地望研究
  24. ↑ 一 被剥削者的存在类型
  25. ↑ 中国孤竹文化网
  26. ↑ 解开神秘古国 ——孤竹之谜
  27. ↑ 孤竹析辨
  28. ↑ The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press. 1999. pp. 124–125. ISBN 0521470307. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lin, 2007
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 43.
  31. ↑ Schinz, 1994
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Ebrey, 17.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Ebrey, 14.
  34. ↑ Sawyer, 35.
  35. ↑ Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1988). "Historical Perspectives on The Introduction of The Chariot Into China". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies (Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1) 48 (1): 189–237. doi:10.2307/2719276. http://jstor.org/stable/2719276 
  36. ↑ Sawyer, 33.
  37. ↑ Sawyer, 34.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Sawyer, 36.
  39. ↑ http://chinese.dsturgeon.net/text.pl?node=566&if=en
  40. ↑ 殷代积年与各王在位年数

References

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
Xia Dynasty		 Dynasties in Chinese history
ca. 1600 BC - ca. 1047 BC		 Succeeded by
Zhou Dynasty