The Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty• Took over China in 1600 BC• Ruled China for about 700 years• Took over 1800 city-states……America

has 50 states • They divided their government into

little bits controlled by loyal governors (Nobles appointed by the king to preform certain duties & land lords)

Shang Dynasty Social Hierarchy

• Head of political & religious life

King

• Advisors to King

• Government & religious officials

• Land Lords

Nobles

• From the far regions

Warriors leaders

• Pottery

• Clothes

• Tools

• weapons

Artisans

• Worked long hours

• Little pay

• Over taxed

Farmers

• Lowest rank

• Important labor resource

Slaves

Advancements• They farmed millet, wheat, barley, & rice• They grew silkworms, dogs, pigs, & sheep• They had accomplished metal metal workers &

craftsmen (bronze containers for cooking & religious ceremonies, axes, knives, jade ornaments

• Military developed bronze body armor, powerful bows, & war chariots

• Astrologers created a calendar based on the cycles of the moon

The Legend of Silk• A 14 year old queen of China supposedly saw a worm

spin its cocoon. She then took the cocoon, dropped it in hot water and watched it break up to threads. The thread was the used to sew and create silk garments.

• What is silk?– It is secreted from the silk

worm’s mouth to make the cocoons.

– This “spit-up” hardens upon contact with the air.

Chinese Writing System

• More than 2,000 symbols to express words or ideas

• Today’s Chinese symbols are still based on the Shang Dynasty symbols

• Archeologist have found these symbols on cattle bones and turtle shells

• Priests carved questions about the future on the bones & shells, heated them up till they cracked, and then read the oracles or predictions from the cracks

The “Dragon Bones” StoryFu Hao was married to King Wu Ding. He was a great warrior king, but he made peace with the surrounding tribes by marrying one women from each tribe and he ended up with 60 wives. She was smart enough to earn his favour by working in his government and he trusted her to perform special rituals and offer sacrifices, which was very unusual for a woman at that time, anywhere in the world.It was also very unusual for a woman be so powerful and to lead military campaigns. She was in charge of up to 13000 soldiers and was the boss of two generals Zhi and Hou Gao. The Shang had been fighting with the Tu-Fang for ages until Fu Hao defeated them once and for all. Then she won major battles against the Yi, Qiang and Ba tribes, and led the earliest recorded large-scale ambush in Chinese history.

King Ding must have been very proud of her because he built a magnificent tomb for her after she died. Her battle-axes and other weapons were buried with her, along with sacrificial bronze vessels and tortoise shells which are marked prepared by Fu Hao. This shows that she was a high priestess and could cast oracles (which means that they thought she could tell the future).Fu Hao died about 1200 BC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apAoBWAl2_4

Religion• Polytheistic • Top god was Shang Ti- the Founder of the Shang

Dynasty• Ancestor worship began in this period, as did the

sacrifices to the gods• When Kings died, thousands of slaves were

executed to serve him in the afterlife.• The kings tomb would be filled with objects and food that

he would need in the afterlife- like Egyptians.

Shang Dynastygovernment

religion

society

achievements

Kings ruled, nobles advisedKing at center of religion, priests used oracle bones to make predictions

Royal family/nobles at highest level. Artisans at middle level, farmers, slaves at lower levels

Writing system, use of bronze, calendar, ear chariots, and bows