There have been many ancient civilization and dynasties to develop over the past five thousand years. One of the dynasties was the Shang dynasty. The Shang dynasty developed in the Yellow River Valley from 1700 B.C. to 1100 B.C.
The Shang civilization was based on agriculture, hunting, and raising animals. They grew wheat, barley, and millet. They also raised pigs, dogs, sheep, oxen, and silk worms. The Shang people lived in tiny houses that were built partially underground. The ground provided insulation for the houses. The people had to pay part of each harvest to the king. They were sometimes drafted into the military or to build palaces. Nobles usually had more than one wife, but the first wife was the most important. The common people, however, had only one wife. Their wife would usually work beside the men in the field.
The Shang dynasty developed a system of writing consisting of over 3,000 symbols. This writing system has remained in use for over 3,500 years. Each of these characters is made of two parts. One part tells its meaning and the other tells its pronunciation. Scribes usually wrote on bamboo strips that are very thin. For this reason, the characters are written vertically rather than horizontally.
The Shang people practiced ancestor worship. They make sacrifices to their ancestors and thought their ancestors would be go-betweens to the gods and bring them good fortune. The priests would also try to predict the future by using oracle bones. They would write a question in an oracle bone and then drill a hole in it. They then heated the bone until it cracked. The priests then read the cracks to answer the question. From these bones, we learn about their rulers, eclipses, and many other things about the ancient Chinese.
The Shang dynasty was headed by a king which ruled over his capital city and the surrounding area. Because their kingdoms were so large, nobles ruled other parts of the land. Nobles were usually the king's relatives. They were required to pay tribute or give military service to the king. The priests kept records of the government and were also in charge of religion. They worshipped their ancestors and also believed in many gods. Shang Ti was the main god and ruled over heaven and the other gods. The Shang people believed their gods were very powerful and could cause droughts, floods, and locust plagues.
Shang people also had many technological advances. One of their special skills was bronzemaking. Artists would make a model in clay and then make a mold of the model. The bronze was poured into the mold. To get the bronze piece out, the mold had to be broken. Because of this, the object could not be duplicated. They make bronze weapons, daggers, spears, and armor. The Shang people also invented the yoke, harness, and spoked wheel. These led to the two-horse war chariot. They made a forerunner of porcelain by working with white clay. They also make ivory carvings, jade ornaments, and silk textiles. This civilization also made many advancements in math and science. They developed the decimal system and a 12 month calender with 365 and a quarter days.
The Shang dynasty began to decline after a few bad kings. Wu Wang, the future leader of the Chou dynasty, believed that once a dynasty began ruling badly and not thinking of the people, they lost the mandate of heaven. Wu Wang believed that after a dynasty had lost the mandate of heaven, it was not a crime to overthrow that government. This is the reason he gave for rebelling and taking over the Shang people.
The Shang dynasty left a lasting impact on the area surrounding the Yellow River valley. Their achievements in bronzemaking, math, and science have affected the entire world. Also, from their writing, we learn about the lives of people in one of the world's oldest civilizations.