Download Ra`Shaka Bryant-Williams October 29, 2012 WISE History Professor

Ra’Shaka Bryant-Williams
October 29, 2012
WISE History
Professor O
9:00 AM
The Cultural Rise of the Shang Dynasty
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The Shang dynasty in China came after the Chou dynasty1. Out of the Three Dynastic
Period’s: Xia (Hsia), Shang, and Chou the Shang was the second dynasty. This dynasty was the
first literate dynasty of China, and the capital was located in Henan. The Shang dynasty is the
first Chinese dynasty to leave behind any written records. Founded sometime around 1600
B.C.E. by a man named Cheng Tang, it is clear that the Shang Dynasty was a dynasty that made
great contributions to the Chinese Civilization.
Over the course of almost six hundred years, the Shang dynasty was a monarchy
governed by a series of twenty-nine or thirty kings in total2. Officials who held specialized
position of authority served each king. Officials are usually related to the king, and belonged to a
hereditary class of aristocrats. The king lived in and ruled from the capital city, but some kings
changed the capital cities from time to time. Kings were a major part of the Shang dynasty seeing
as it was them who came up with the name Shang. “The Shang political system was organized
into a hierarchy, meaning that it had many levels of rank and many specialized functions and
jobs, all passed down within a noble family. Shang society was also hierarchical with many
different levels of social rank.” (Lai 2006).
Though the Shang dynasty’s capital cities continuously changed, the last permanent
capital city came to be known as Yin. The last twelve kings ruled from Yin near Anyang for two
hundred and forty three years. The core of the Shang dynasty was located in northern Henan
within a triangular shape, and is between the cities of Anyang, Luoyang, and Zehengzhou3. The
1
James Menzies, The Culture of the Shang Dynasty, (Washington, Dc: Smithsonian Institution, 1931)
http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=moore (accessed September 30,
2012), 549-558.
2
Selena Lai, and Waka Brown, "The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 907 CE," Spice Digest (2007),
http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/117 (accessed September 30, 2012).
3
Sarah Allan, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China, (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1991) http://amazon.com/gp/reader/0791404609.
1
city had large palaces, residents, and pits that were used for human sacrifices. The majority of
the Shang’s archaeological evidence is founded in this area.
The Shang dynasty’s’ supreme god was named Shang Di. Shang Di ruled over the lesser
gods of the sun, moon, wind, rain, and other natural forces and places. The people worshipped
Shang Di, but they also worshiped their ancestors. They did this because they believed that their
ancestors lived in heaven and that after their death they were, still actively involved with the
living family and descendents. Through frequent sacrifices and the usage of oracle bones, the
kings were able to communicate with their ancestors4. They believed that if they did not worship
their ancestors properly, their kingdom and family would experience many disasters.
Many people of nobility spent much of their time in warfare or hunting5. They treated
games and captives equal, seeing as how they would both be used for sacrificial reasons. Warfare
during these times was seen more as raids. Metals, food, livestock, and people were taken out of
the way of warfare. The majority of the core army was filled by the noble, the rest were slaves.
Family was a major aspect of life during the Shang dynasty times. If one member of the
family was to do something wrong, disgrace would fall upon the entire family. The oldest male
of the home was always assigned the role of the head of the household; in most cases this was
the husband or father6. Wives were to obey their husbands; it was one of their prime duties.
Younger members of the family were to do anything their parents said whether it be a household
4
Theobald, Ulrich, "Chinese History-Shang Dynasty", Last modified 2000, Accessed September 30, 2012,
http://www.chinaknowledge.de.
5
Kuang, Chen. Dept. of Chemistry, Wright Lab, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, "The Shang Dynasty",
Accessed November 18, 2012, http://chem.rutgers.edu/~kyc/Shang Dynasty.html.
6
Williams, Yona, "Shang and Chou Dynasties: Family Life and Ancestor Worship", Last modified 2007,
http://www.unexplainable.net/ancients/shang_and_chou_dynasties_family_life_ancestor, (accessed September
30, 2012).
2
matter or something relating to the arrangement of a marriage. For the nobles, marriages were
arranged for political reasons to strengthen or create a union between two clans or families.
During this time sacrificial animals were an important source. These animals such as
oxen, sheep, dogs, cattle, and water buffalo were not only used for sacrificial purposes but for
food and clothing purposes also7. Craftsmen made clothes out of leather, silk, and as said before
animal skins such as oxen, sheep, dog, cattle, and water buffalo. There is not much written
information on the type of food that the Shang culture consumed. The information that was able
to be gathered came from the Shang’s oracle bone inscriptions.
Peasants lived outside the city of Henan. They also operated a “well field” system8. A
well field system was a Chinese land distribution method that only lasted between the late
nineteenth century and the ending of the Warring States Period. The land was divided into nine
squares. The peasants would keep the products of eight squares, while the lord would take the
products of the ninth square. Wooden tools were made in order to work the land, and they
harvested millet, barely, and rice.
Writing was not the Shang’s only major accomplishment. They also came up with usage
of two chariot horses, created the calendar system, created the first decimal system, and came up
with the understanding of silk. At the beginning of this dynasty, the Shang’s were already able to
use thirteen words. The Chinese often referred to math as suan chu. Chinese or in other words
7
Jacqueline Newman, “Shang Dynasty Food”, Flavor or Fortune, spring, n o . 1 3 ( 2 0 0 6 ) : 7 n o .
Kuang, Chen. Dept. of Chemistry, Wright Lab, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, "The Shang Dynasty",
Accessed November 18, 2012, http://chem.rutgers.edu/~kyc/
8
3
Shang numbers looked much like bars and hour glass symbols along with the following symbols:
^, ), (, +, also to include a slanted number five9.
Slaves were an integral part in the Shang economy and most slaves were state owned,
making them have to work for the state10. The most important part of China’s economy was the
agriculture. Royal workshops were staffed with laborers and many inventions were not made
until the second millennium. Shang buildings and palaces discovered in Anyang and Eriligang
were huge buildings that were entirely made of perishable materials such as mud and wooden
beams. Royal tombs that were constructed in the last period of the Shang dynasty had huge
complexes with deep shafts and long ramps leading down into the burial chamber created for that
tomb.
The oldest known form of Chinese writing is oracle bone inscription. Three writing styles
that developed during the Shang Dynasty were: pictographs, ideographs, and logographs11.
Chinese writing is unlike any other type of writing styles; it evolved from script writing. Since
Shang documents were originally recorded on strips of bamboo and silk that have long since
decomposed, the oracle bones and bronze inscriptions bear the only written history from the
Shang Era12. Writing did begin to become inscribed on bronze objects towards the end of the
Shang Dynasty.
The Shang dynasty did exist during China’s Bronze Age. This was a time where bronze
represented power, wealth, and luxury. The Shang bronzers fell into two categories. These
9
James, Mural, "Math in Ancient China ", Accessed November 18, 2012,
http://jimrodslz.org/cultural_math/ancientchina.htm.
10
Eberhard, Wolfram, “A History of China”, Berkley: University of California Press, 1969.
11
Jiu-Hwa Upshur, Janice Terry, James Hooka, Richard Goff, and George Cassar, “Cengage Advantage Books “
World History, Vol. 5, ed. Upsher, Terry, Holoka, Goff, and Cassar (Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 2005), p86.
12
Selena Lai, and Waka Brown, "The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 907 CE", Spice Digest (2007),
http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/117 (accessed September 30, 2012).
4
categories were weapons, or ceremonial vessels, which were used for food and wine13. Most
ceremonial vessels represent or speak of a society and culture that valued rituals such as burial
celebration, and the worshipping of gods and ancestors. The Shang and the Chou dynasties are
known for their jade, bronze, chariots drawn by horses, ancestral worship, very organized armies,
and human sacrifices. Protective walls surrounded most of their city. In one city there stands a
wall about thirty feet tall, sixty-five feet wide, and close to four and a half miles long. Insides
these protected cities lived the rulers, priests, and warriors. Farmers lived in nearby villages
while merchants and craftsmen lived in mud houses built against walls outside of the city Henan.
The first excavations of the Shang dynasty were taken outside Anyang, at Huixin,
Zhengzhou, and Henan between 1950 and 195214. The Shang Civilization had three stages: early,
middle, and late, but none were correctly dated. Early Shang remains are in the east, north, and
south, but are dispersed. Through the identification of the Erlitou Culture, the city was identified
as the founding of the Shang dynasty.
Around about 1050 B.C.E. the Shang Dynasty ended. Zhou conquerors invaded
the Shang’s capital, and conquered them successfully. According to the Zhou’s they wanted to
usurp and overthrow the Shang’s for moral reasons. The king encouraged excessive drinking, an
indulgent life styles, and immortal behavior. The Zhou’s came to believe that the Shang’s King
was evil and that heaven did not want him to rule any longer15. After this invasion, the Shang’s
had no choice but to acquiesce to the Zhou’s. Despite the many contributions such as writing,
13
Thorp, Robert, “The Growth of Early Shang Civilization: New Data from Ritual Vessels”, Harvard-Yenching
Institute, 1985. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2718958 (accessed September 30, 2012).
14
Ibid.
15
Selena Lai, and Waka Brown, "The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 907 CE", Spice Digest (2007),
http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/117 (accessed September 30, 2012).
5
two chariot horses for example the Zhou’s still defeated the Shang’s. This made the end of the
Shang Dynasty.
6
Reference Page
Eberhard, Wolfram. A History of China, Berkley: University of California Press, 1969.
Jacqueline Newman, “Shang Dynasty Food,” Flavor or Fortune, spring, no.13 (2006): 7.
James Menzies, The Culture of the Shang Dynasty, (Washington, Dc: Smithstonian Institution,
1931)
http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=moore
(accessed September 30, 2012), 549-558.
James, Mural, "Math in Ancient China ", Accessed November 18, 2012.
http://jimrodslz.org/cultural_math/ancientchina.htm
Jiu-Hwa Upshur, Janice Terry, James Holoka, Richard Goff, and George Casssas, “Cengage
Advantage Books”, “World History”, Vol. 5 ed. Upsher, Terry, Holoka, Goff, and Cassar
(Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 2005), p86.
Kuang, Chen. Dept. of Chemistry, Wright Lab, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey,
"The Shang Dynasty" Accessed November 18, 2012. http://chem.rutgers.edu/~kyc/
Sarah Allan, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China, (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1991) http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0791404609
Selena Lai, and Waka Brown, "The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 907 CE," Spice Digest (2007),
http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/117 (accessed September 30, 2012).
Theobald, Ulrich, "Chinese History-Shang Dynasty", Last modified 2000, (Accessed September
30, 2012), http://www.chinaknowledge.de.
7
Thorp, Robert. The Growth of Early Shang Civilization: New Data from Ritual Vessels. HarvardYenching Institute, 1985. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2718958 (accessed September 30,
2012).
Williams, Yona, "Shang and Chou Dynasties: Family Life and Ancestor Worship.", Last
modified 2007, (accessed September 30, 2012).
.
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