SS.6.W.4.8
THE SHANG DYNASTY
INTRODUCTION



Ancient China was not one
country, but a number of
clans, or extended families,
led by warrior kings.
Rival clans often fought
each other, and
occasionally, one clan
became powerful enough to
control all of ancient China
and start a dynasty.
The Shang (pronounced
Shung) was one such clan
who ruled the area around
the Huang He from 1700 to
1122 B.C.E.
SHANG SOCIETY

Shang society was divided
into 6 classes:
1. The King and his
Relatives
2. Nobles- wealthy
landowners who fought in
the king’s army
3. Craftspeople- skilled
labor such as bronze
workers, potters, and
stonemasons
4. Traders- those who
made money by trading
with neighboring regions
5. Farmers- the largest
class in Shang society; did
not own the land they
farmed or control the
goods they produced
6. Slaves- mostly captured
in wars; spent their lives
building tombs and
palaces
ANYANG






Anyang was a Shang royal city.
While excavating it,
archeologists found at least 9
tombs.
Each tomb was a large pit with
ramps leading down from the
north and south.
When a king was buried,
slaves, servants, and animals
were led down the ramps into
the pit.
They were sacrificed so that
they could serve the needs of
the king in the afterlife.
Kings were also buried with
food, weapons, and jewelry.
RELIGION





The religion of the Shang
centered on ancestor worship.
They believed that dead ancestors
had the power to help or harm the
living.
For this reason, they believed it
was important to honor their
ancestors.
They did this through offerings of
wine, food, and sometimes even
human sacrifices!
In Shang belief, kings had the
power to rule because they were
descended from powerful
ancestors, but kings also had the
responsibility of following the
wishes of their ancestors.
ORACLE BONES




Kings used oracle bones to ask
their ancestors’ advice on such
important matters as when to
hunt, where to build new cities,
and whether to go to war.
The oracle bones were made from
turtle shells or the shoulder blade
of a cow.
To ask a question, a holy man
made a statement and then
pressed a hot needle against the
back of the bone.
The heat would make the bone
crack, and the pattern it left was
believed to be a message which
the holy man or king translated.
SHANG WARCRAFT





Shang kings depended on strong
armies to maintain their rule
since they were in almost
constant war with their enemies.
The king’s armies were especially
powerful because they had
weapons made of bronze.
The Shang were among the 1st
people in the world to discover
how to make bronze from a
mixture of copper and tin.
Craftspeople used bronze to
make many tools of war such as
arrowheads, spearheads, ax
heads, and helmets.
Their skill was one of the reasons
why the Shang remained in power
for over 500 years!
THE SHANG LEGACY






Fighting so many wars eventually
weakened the military power of the
Shang.
The Shang kings and nobles also
spent enormous sums of money
which may have bankrupted the
dynasty.
One legacy they left behind was their
writing which helped to unify the
Chinese people.
Although spoken language varied
from place to place, people of the
upper-classes used the same written
language.
Shang writing, like modern Chinese,
used characters which stood for
words, not sounds.
For this reason, it takes much longer
to learn Chinese than English!