Shang dynasty

The Shāng Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yīn Dynasty (殷代) (ca. 1766 BC - ca. 1050 BC) is the first confirmed historic Chinese Dynasty and ruled in the northeastern region of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley. The Shāng dynasty followed the quasi-legendary Xià Dynasty and preceded the Zhōu Dynasty. Information about the Shang Dynasty comes from inscriptions on bronze artifacts and oracle bones—turtle shells, cattle scapula or other bones on which were written the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters. The oracle bone inscriptions, which date to the latter half of the dynasty, typically recorded the date in the Sexagenary cycle of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, followed by the name of the diviner and the topic being divined about. An interpretation of the answer (prognostication) and whether the divination later proved correct (verification) were sometimes also added.

These divinations can be gleaned for information on the politics, economy, culture, religion, geography, astronomy, calendar, art and medicine of the period, and as such provide critical insight into the early stages of the Chinese civilization. One site of the Shang capitals, later historically called the Ruins of Yin (殷墟), is near modern day Anyang (安陽). Archaeological work there uncovered 11 major Yin royal tombs and the foundations of palace and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and human as well as animal 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 in the 1920s to 1930s, and many more have since been found.

History

Shang civilization

The Shang dynasty is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last (still legendary) Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. The Records of the Grand Historian states that the Shang Dynasty moved its capital six times. The final and most important move to Yin in 1350 BC led to the golden age of the dynasty. The term Yin Dynasty has been synonymous with the Shang dynasty in history, although lately it has been used specifically in reference to the latter half of the Shang Dynasty.

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 capitals, particularly that in Yin, were centers of glittering court life. Court rituals to propitiate spirits developed. In addition to his secular position, the king was the head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. The king often performed oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from the royal tombs indicates that royal personages 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.

The Shang dynasty had a fully developed system of writing; its complexity and state of development indicates an earlier period of development, which is still unattested. Bronze casting and pottery also advanced in Shang culture. In astronomy, the Shang astronomers discovered Mars and various comets. Many musical instruments were also invented at that time.

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 Yin king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou people. Legends say that his army betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in a decisive battle. A classical novel Fengshen Yanyi is about the war between the Yin and Zhou, in which each was supported by one group of gods.

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

After the Yin's collapse, the 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 (周成王) through the Regent, his uncle the Duke Dan of Zhou (周公旦), enfeoffed the former Shang King Zhou's brother the ruler of Wei, WeiZi (微子) in the former Shang capital at Shang (商) with the territory becoming the state of Song (宋). 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.)

Both Korean and Chinese legends state that a disgruntled Yin prince named Ji Zi (箕子), who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with his garrison and founded Gija Joseon near modern day Pyongyang to what would become one of the early Korean states (Go-, Gija-, and Wiman-Joseon). Though Jizi is mentioned only a few times in Shiji, it is thought that the story of his going to Joseon is but a myth.

Sovereigns of the Shang Dynasty

Posthumous names
Convention: posthumous name or King + posthumous name
Order	Reign	Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Notes
01	29	湯	Tāng	a Sage king; overthrew tyrant Jié (桀) of Xià (夏)
02	02	外丙	Wài Bǐng
03	04	仲壬	Zhòng Rén
04	33	太甲	Tài Jiǎ
05	29	沃丁	Wò Dǐng
06	25	太庚	Tài Gēng
07	36	小甲	Xiǎo Jiǎ
08	12	雍己	Yōng Jǐ
09	75	太戊	Tài Wù
10	11	仲丁	Zhòng Dīng
11	15	外壬	[Wai Ren]
12	09	河亶甲	Hé Dǎn Jiǎ
13	19	祖乙	Zǔ Yǐ
14	16	祖辛	Zǔ Xīn
15	20	沃甲	Wò Jiǎ
16	32	祖丁	Zǔ Dīng
17	29	南庚	Nán Gēng
18	07	陽甲	Yáng Jiǎ
19	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.
20	21	小辛	Xiǎo Xīn
21	21	小乙	Xiǎo Yǐ
22	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.
23	07	祖庚	Zǔ Gēng
24	33	祖甲	Zǔ Jiǎ
25	06	廩辛	Lǐn Xīn
26	06	庚丁	Gēng Dīng	or Kang Ding (康丁 Kāng Dīng)
27	04	武乙	Wǔ Yǐ
28	03	太丁	Tài Dīng	or Wen Ding (文丁 Wén Dīng)
29	37	帝乙	Dì Yǐ
30	33	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: All dates are approximate up to 841 BC. Refer to Zhou dynasty for more info. Personal names of most of the Shang sovereigns were unknown. The following names were most likely posthumous owing to frequent appearances of the Heavenly Stems.

See also

• Chinese historiography
• Chinese sovereign
• Chinese mythology
• Erligang culture
• Tribes in Chinese history

External links

• Map of Shang

References

Keightley, David N. (1978). Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China. University of California Press, Berkeley. Large format hardcover, ISBN 0-520-02969 (out of print); A 1985 ppbk 2nd edition is still in print, ISBN 0-520-05455-5.

Keightley, David N. (2000). The Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China (ca. 1200 – 1045 B.C.). China Research Monograph 53, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California – Berkeley. ISBN 1-55729-070-9, ppbk.