Shang Dynasty

• The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) was the second dynasty of China, which succeeded the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE) after the overthrow of the Xia tyrant Jie by the Shang leader, Tang.
• The stability of the country during the Shang Dynasty led to numerous cultural advances such as industrialized bronze casting, the calendar, religious rituals, and writing.
• The first king, Tang, instantly began to work for the people of his country instead of for his own pleasure and luxury and provided a role model for his successors.
• These men created a stable government, which would continue for 600 years, but eventually, according to the records of the Chinese historians, they lost the Mandate of Heaven which allowed them to rule.
• There were over 200 gods and goddesses worshipped throughout ancient China.
• The Western Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang Dynasty in China from 1046 BCE to 771 BCE.
• The I-Ching, the Book of Changes, was written during the Shang Dynasty.
• During the Shang Dynasty, writing developed in China.
• The Battle of Muye saw the Shang Emperor Zhou defeated by King Wu of Zhou, marking the end of the Shang Dynasty.
• Oracle Bones in use in China during the Shang Dynasty.
• The Shang Dynasty was the first dynasty in ancient China, lasting from 1600 BCE to 1046 BCE.
• The Shang Dynasty moved its capital to Yin (modern Anyang) during the 13th century BCE.
• The Shang were overthrown by King Wu of Zhou in 1046 BCE who founded the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE)
• The Zhou would be the last before the Qin Dynasty (221-210 BCE) which unified China and gave it its name.
• By the time of the Zhou and Qin dynasties, Chinese culture was already formed, so if one discounts the Xia Dynasty as a politically motivated fabrication of later historians, one must conclude that the Shang Dynasty is responsible for the foundations of Chinese culture and civilization.
• If one accepts the Xia as historical reality, then it was still during the Shang Dynasty that the most important aspects of the culture were developed.
• Tang ruled the kingdom of Shang, a vassal state under the higher rule of the Xia Dynasty.
• His years of rule are disputed.
• Historian Joshua J. Mark notes how "The dates popularly assigned to him (1675-1646 BCE) do not in any way correspond to the known events in which he took part and must be considered erroneous."
• The last emperor of the Xia Dynasty, Jie, was a tyrant who lived for his own pleasure at the expense of his people.
• Tang endured this treatment as long as he could for the sake of harmony and peace and because, most of all, it was believed that the Xia ruled according to the mandate of heaven, the principle that the gods gave certain people the right to rule over others.
• After Wu Ding's reign, the dynasty began to decline until the last emperor, Zhou (also known as Xin) who forgot his duty to his people and concentrated on gratifying his own desires.
• Bells, chimes, and bone flutes have been discovered elsewhere.
• The two greatest emperors after Tang were Pan Geng, who moved the capital to Yin (so that the dynasty is sometimes referred to as Yin Shang), and Wu Ding.
• Archaeologists have come to this conclusion through a study of the trade at the time which indicates a rise in the economy of independent states but not, as before, of the whole region under Shang control.
• Decline & Fall The Shang Dynasty may have gone through a brief decline prior to the founding of Anyang, around 1300 BCE, when separate states under Shang rule seem to have broken away economically, if not politically.
• Zhou spent most of his time with his concubine Daji and not only neglected his duties but made his people pay for his luxuries and idleness.
• The Shang Dynasty was replaced by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) which began to dissolve in its final years into the phase known as the Warring States Period (c.481-221 BCE).
• The founding of the city of Anyang, which would become the capital of the Shang Dynasty, corresponds to the height of its power.
• The Shang Dynasty, which was responsible for so many important advancements in culture, was looked back upon as a golden age of prosperity and, in many ways, it was.
• During the Warring States Period, the seven states which had been under Zhou control fought each other for supreme rule of the country.
• Zhou became a worse tyrant than Jie of the Xia Dynasty had been and was finally overthrown by King Wu, of the province of Zhou, at the Battle of Muye in 1046 BCE.
• The state of Qin (pronounced 'chin') was victorious and China takes its name today from the Qin Dynasty.
• Unlike the Shang or the Zhou, the Qin began badly and only became worse over time until they were overthrown by the Han.
• Wu Ding is one of the only Shang emperors whose existence is corroborated by the physical evidence of archaeology.
• During Wu Ding's reign, the country developed many of the most important advances listed above as well as those in medicine, dentistry, and the fine arts.
• Tang abolished Jie's tyrannical policies and excessive taxes and instituted a new government, which worked for the people instead of against them.
• Although Tang, and his successors, kept a standing army of around 1,000 troops at the ready, he lowered the number of conscripts and the amount of time one needed to serve.
• Tang also began government-funded social programs for the poor.
• The use of hangtu, and the ornate tombs and public building projects of the Shang, point to political stability and a thriving economy which allowed people the freedom from subsistence farming to participate in such projects.