Shang Dynasty

(noun)

Also called the Yin Dynasty, succeeded the Xia Dynasty and followed the Zhou Dynasty. It existed in the second millennium BCE.

Related Terms

Examples of Shang Dynasty in the following topics:

  • Introduction to the Shang Dynasty

    • The Shang Dynasty existed in the Yellow River Valley during the second millennium BCE.
    • The Shang Dynasty (also called the Yin Dynasty) succeeded the Xia Dynasty, and was followed by the Zhou Dynasty.
    • The Shang Dynasty is, therefore, generally considered China's first historical dynasty.
    • Under the Shang Dynasty, a unified sense of Chinese culture emerged.
    • The Shang Dynasty is the oldest Chinese dynasty supported by archaeological finds.

  • Advancements Under the Shang

    • During the Shang Dynasty, bronze casting became more sophisticated.
    • Bronze objects were also buried in the tombs of Shang elite.
    • Under the Shang, the Chinese domesticated the horse.
    • A chariot burial site at Anyang (modern-day Henan) dates to the rule of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1200 BCE).
    • Describe some of the technical advancements made under the Shang Dynasty

  • Society Under the Shang Dynasty

    • The Shang Dynasty was located in the Yellow River valley in China during the second millennium BCE.
    • The Shang Dynasty (also called the Yin Dynasty) succeeded the Xia Dynasty, and was followed by the Zhou Dynasty.
    • The Shang military were next in social status, and who were respected and honored for their skill.
    • Archaeological evidence has supported the use of horses and other cavalry during the late Shang period, c. 1250 BCE.
    • Artisans and craftsmen comprised the middle class of Shang society.

  • The Mandate of Heaven

    • The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty, and used the Mandate of Heaven as justification.
    • In 1046 BCE, the Zhou, a subject people living in the western part of the kingdom, overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye.
    • This was a battle between Shang and Zhou clans, over the Shang's expansion.
    • They largely had the support of the Chinese people: Di Xin (the final king of the Shang Dynasty) had become cruel, spent state money on drinking and gambling, and ignored the state.
    • In other words, the Zhou believed that the Shang kings had become immoral with their excessive drinking, luxuriant living, and cruelty, and so had lost their mandate.

  • Shang Religion

    • The bones reveal a great deal about what was important to Shang society.
    • It appears that there was belief in the afterlife during the Shang Dynasty.
    • Archaeologists have found Shang tombs surrounded by the skulls and bodies of human sacrifices.
    • This oracle bone from the Shang Dynasty dates to the reign of King Wu Ding.
    • This tomb is located in the ruins of the ancient Shang Dynasty capital, Yin.

  • The Xia Dynasty

    • After the final ruler became corrupt, he was overthrown by Cheng Tang, who founded the Shang Dynasty.
    • According to this history, the last of the great Five Emperors, Emperor Shun, left his throne to Yu the Great, who founded China's First Dynasty, the Xia Dynasty.
    • Yu supposedly began the practice of inherited rule (passing power from father to son), a model that was perpetuated in the later Shang and Zhou dynasties.
    • This led to his overthrow in c. 1760 BCE by Cheng Tang, who founded a new dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, in the Huang River Valley.
    • (For a long time it was believed that the later Shang Dynasty may also have been purely mythological, until archaeology proved that it was real.)

  • Art Under the Zhou Dynasty

    • Chinese script cast onto bronzeware such as bells and cauldrons carried over from the Shang dynasty into the Zhou, with continuing changes in style over time and by region.
    • Ceramic and Jade art continued from the Shang dynasty and was improved and refined especially during the Warring States Period.
    • The Zhou continued and developed lacquer work done in the Shang dynasty.
    • This example of lacquerware dates to the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BCE.
    • Identify some of the art forms prevelant under the Zhou Dynasty.

  • Society Under the Zhou Dynasty

    • China created a substantial amount of literature during the Zhou Dynasty.
    • Like other river valley civilizations of the time, the people under the Zhou Dynasty followed patriarchal roles.
    • Slavery had been common during the Shang Dynasty, but this decreased and finally disappeared under the Zhou Dynasty, as social status became more fluid and transitory.
    • Over time, the central power of the Zhou Dynasty slowly weakened, and the lords of the fiefs originally bestowed by the Zhou came to equal the kings in wealth and influence.
    • Portrait of the Duke of Zhou in Sancai Tuhui, a Chinese encyclopedia published in 1609 during the Ming Dynasty.

  • Invention of Paper

    • Paper was invented in ancient China by Cai Lun during the Han Dynasty.
    • During the Shang (1600 - 1050 BCE) and Zhou (1050 - 250 BCE) dynasties, bone, bamboo and sometimes silk were used as writing tablets.
    • Cai Lun (202 BCE - 220 CE), a Chinese official working in the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty, is attributed with the invention of paper, although earlier examples have been found, and he may have simply improved upon a known process.
    • During the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 CE), paper was folded and sewn into tea bags, and used to make paper cups and napkins.
    • During the Song dynasty (960 - 1279 CE), the world's first known paper money was produced, and often presented in special paper envelopes.

  • Chinese Philosophy

    • Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and Mohism all began during the Zhou Dynasty in the 6th century BCE, and had very strong influences on Chinese civilization.
    • Confucianism remained prevalent in China from the Han Dynasty in 202 BCE to the end of dynastic rule in 1911.
    • It was reformulated during the Tang dynasty (618-907) as Neo-Confucianism, and became the basis of imperial exams.