Download Student Work 5

October 29,2013
Mrs. Heather Winklevoss
Curator of Special Exhibits
Metropolitan Museum of Natural History
Dr. Mrs. Winklevoss,
The people of Ancient China, or the Shang Dynasty, are one of the most civilized
ancient civilizations, and they deserve to be the subject of a special exhibit. My first
example would be that they had very complex religions. It was called “Shang Di,” and
almost everyone that was a part of the civilization worshipped this religion. My second
example would be that they were one of the first early civilizations to have a
specialization of jobs. Several jobs, such as people who created tombs, required a very
special set of skills. Third of all, the Ancient Chinese civilization was one of the first to
have a social pyramid, which is a system in which the people of the civilization were
ranked. There were several parts of it, and it is slightly similar to some that civilizations
have today. Also, they had a very organized and intricate government. Finally, the
people of the Shang Dynasty often avoided conflict with other ancient
civilizations.Those are the reasons why Ancient China was civilized, and why it
deserves to be the subject of a special exhibit.
The first reason why Ancient China is the best example of civilized is because
they had very complex religions, which is mandatory for any civilization. The main
religion of Ancient China was “Shang DI,” which involves worshipping two things. The
first thing that they worship is a god. Instead of praising several gods like most ancient
civilizations, the people of the Shang Dynasty only praised one god, who was the ruler
of everyone and everything. But they also worshipped something that was very
uncommon for most civilizations, which would be their ancestors. They worshipped
them because they thought that if they were to gain favor in the eyes of their ancestors,
it would help them in their afterlife. The second reason that they were extremely civilized
would be that they had job specialization. Even though they were not the first civilization
to do this, they were one of the first to have a multitude of these jobs. One of the jobs
that was specialized was the men who created tombs. The Shang Dynasty had a great
deal of respect for those who have passed away, and they wanted to win favor with
them. So to do this, they would create elaborate and intricate tombs for their bodies to
be laid in. The only people who were allowed to make these tombs had to be
specialized in this task, and only a few number of people actually were. My third reason
that they were civilized would be that they had social classes. The people were ranked
in a “social pyramid,” which is common in present day civilizations. The leaders of
government leaders were at the top, and then priests and military leaders, then farmers
and merchants, and finally slaves. Having a “social pyramid” shows that the Ancient
Chinese people were advanced, because they have what civilizations have nowadays.
My fourth reason was that the Shang Dynasty had a very complex and intricate
government. The government was a hierarchy, which means that there were several
functions that helped to make it up, and each function had its own job. This is
impressive, because it shows that they were extremely organized and they understood
the idea of leadership. Also, the government ran extraordinarily smooth. This is
extremely impressive because they amount of people they had to rule was huge, and
they still ran well at such a large scale. If most ancient civilizations had to rule that many
people, they would most likely not be able to run as fluently as the Shang Dynasty. My
fifth and final reason why they were civilized would be that they avoided conflict within
their civilization and with the surrounding people. The citizens of Ancient China rarely
fought, and when they do, it never lead to violence. The only recordings of violence that
I have found has been in sacrifices, but the men being sacrificed give their consent.
Also, the Shang Dynasty never went to major wars with the other civilizations. There
were conflicts, but they were never taken to as extreme a level as war.
The Shang Dynasty was extremely civilized, and it deserves to be the focus of
the special exhibit. My first reason for this was that they had complex religions, which
was uncommon among ancient civilizations. Also, they had job specialization, and there
were a multitude of jobs that required a special skill set. Next, the people of the Shang
Dynasty were ranked in a “social pyramid,” which is another way of saying that there
were multiple social classes. Fourth of all, they had a fluent and intricate government,
which is mandatory for a civilization to be considered civilized. Finally, the people of
Ancient China rarely fought each other, and they never had major fights with the outside
people. Most ancient civilizations were fighting left and right, but no these people. That
is why Ancient China, or the Shang Dynasty, is the best example of a civilization.