3. General Information
• Marked the middle of China’s Bronze Age
• The first dynasty to have left written
records and solid archaeological evidence
of its existence
• Birthplace or cradle of Chinese civilization
4. General Information
• Its founder is Cheng Tang
• Monarchy
• Has different capital
cities
• Shang (first and an
ancestral capital)
• Yin (last and a
political capital)
5. Rise and Population
• Originally a tribe living in the lower regions
of yellow river under Xia Dynasty
• Established by King Tang in 1675 BC
• 13.5 million people
6.
7. Emperors
Names -----------
Years
In
Power
(1) Tang
- Abolished Persecution and Oppression
- Society was stable and the people lived happy
lives during his reign.
30
(9) Tai Wu
-The dynasty was most prosperous in his reign
- Great crop harvests 75
(19) Pan Geng
- Moved capital of Shang Dynasty to Yin
- Oracle bones unearthed alternatively record
that he was the 18th
king
28
(22) Wu Ding
- Enlarged domain through war
- Social productivity developed (textile,
medicine, astronomy)
59
(30) Zhou
- Acted atrociously toward his people
- Doted on his imperial concubine, Daji.
- Defeated by the tribe of Zhou.
33
8. Religion and culture
• Practiced polytheism (Shang Di = High
God)
• Civilization was based on agriculture,
hunting and animal husbandry
• Enjoyed the most advanced bronze
civilization in the world
9. The End of the Shang
• 1050 BCE
• Conquerors from the state of Zhou
10. Contributions
• The Invention of Writing
-Oracle bone inscriptions
-Bronze objects
• A Stratified Government and Society
-Hierarchy
11. Oracle Bones
• Marked the beginning of written Chinese
history
• Used to make predictions about the future
-It is also called the Yin Dynasty (or Shang-Yin)
-It was centered on the North China Plain northward to modern Shangdong and Hebei provinces and westward through the modern Henan province.
-capital: Yin (Anyang, Henan)
Capital changes up to 7 times
-Established by King Tang in 1675 BC after overthrowing the tyrannical rule of Jie (Xia’s Last emperor)
-Tang the Great defeated the last, evil king of the Xia Dynasty, sending him into exile. The Shang changed their capital numerous times because of environmental problems, hostile neighbors, or because they were a semi-nomadic people used to moving.
-The Shang probably had about 13.5 million people
-Drawing from the 'lessons' of Jie, Tang implemented a series of innovative measures with the help of his two ministers.
-During the rule of the tenth emperor however, conditions began to deteriorate and there were multiple attempts by the emperor's own family to overthrow him and take command of the kingdom. Social problems began to emerge and the emperor's power gradually declined.
- (7th) Xiao Jia: uncle of tai wu and (8th) Yong Ji: brother of Xiao Jia
-Shang religion consisted of a mixture of shamanism, divination and sacrifice.
-The Shang also seem to have believed in an afterlife, as evidenced by the elaborate burial tombs built for deceased rulers. Often “several hundreds of humans and horses,carriages, utensils, sacrificial vessels, [and] weapons" would be included in the tomb.
-
-Only those with any degree of power in
the kingdom had access to using bronze
objects.
-By analyzing oracle bones inscriptions, scholars have confirmed the dynasty’s names of its kings, its style of government, its military history, its religious beliefs and rituals, and its society.
