Shang dynasty
Bronze Age China
The Shang dynasty was the earliest Chinese dynasty with written records, ruling from roughly 1600 to 1046 BCE.
Based in the Yellow River valley, the Shang developed bronze casting, oracle bone divination, and an early form of Chinese writing.
The dynasty ended when overthrown by the Zhou.
Shang dynasty bronzes remain among China's greatest artistic achievements.
Shang dynasty writing system
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- pictographsSymbols depicting concepts visually
- logographsSymbols representing words
- charactersPersons in a narrative
Forming objects from melted alloy
- metallurgyScience of extracting metals
- weaponsTools for fighting
- halberdsAxe-topped infantry spears
- chariotsAncient wheeled battle platforms
craftsmanship · foundries · decorative motifs · bells · jade carvings
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- tombsChambers for the dead
- bronze workArt cast in alloy
- jadeCarved ornamental mineral
oracle bones · ceramics · stratigraphy · radiocarbon dating · antiquities · relics · earthenware · burial sites
Religious honoring of forebears
- sacrificesThings willingly given up
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- shamansSpiritual healers and intermediaries
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
temples · offerings · human sacrifice · cosmology · priests · afterlife · spirits · royal tombs
Inscribed Shang divination remains
- plastronVentral shell portion
- tortoiseshellMottled brown-yellow shell material
- pyromancyDivination by interpreting flames
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
Measuring straightedges; sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- reignSovereign's time in power
- royal lineageHereditary line of sovereigns
- capitalWealth used for investment
palace · court · nobility · vassals · conquest · territory · Mandate of Heaven · aristocracy
oracle bone script
Shang dynasty writing system
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- pictographsSymbols depicting concepts visually
- logographsSymbols representing words
bronze casting
Forming objects from melted alloy
- metallurgyScience of extracting metals
- weaponsTools for fighting
- halberdsAxe-topped infantry spears
chariots · craftsmanship · foundries · decorative motifs · bells · jade carvings
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- tombsChambers for the dead
- bronze workArt cast in alloy
jade · oracle bones · ceramics · stratigraphy · radiocarbon dating · antiquities · relics · earthenware · burial sites · archaeological site
ancestor worship
Religious honoring of forebears
- sacrificesThings willingly given up
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- shamansSpiritual healers and intermediaries
rituals · temples · offerings · human sacrifice · cosmology · priests · afterlife · spirits · royal tombs · burial goods
oracle bones
Inscribed Shang divination remains
- plastronVentral shell portion
- tortoiseshellMottled brown-yellow shell material
- pyromancyDivination by interpreting flames
inscriptions · prophecy · omens · ancestors · diviners · harvests
rulers
Measuring straightedges; sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- reignSovereign's time in power
- royal lineageHereditary line of sovereigns
capital · palace · court · nobility · vassals · conquest · territory · Mandate of Heaven · aristocracy · clans
- ancient civilizationsAncient Egypt, Sumer, Ancient Greece, Aztecs, Egypt
- historical erasStone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Renaissance
- Ancient ChinaConfucius, Warring States period, oracle bones, Chinese characters, feudal lords
- Asian historyancient China, China, empresses, shoguns, Chinese civilization
- Bronze Agebronze swords, bronze, bronze tools, bronze jewelry, bronze dagger
- Imperial Chinaemperor, emperors, Three Kingdoms, Forbidden City, civil service exam
Shang dynastyQing dynasty
Last Chinese imperial regime
modern China · People's Republic of China · Han dynasty · Republic of China · Imperial China