Shang dynasty

Yr 7/11

1. The Shang Dynasty

2. Shang Dynasty Took over China in 1600 BC R uled for ~700 years Took over 1800 smaller city-states Divided government into provinces controlled by loyal governors

3. Social Hierarchy

4. Buildings In the cities people lived in rectangular houses laid out in rows, built of wood and rammed earth. In the center of the city, there was a big palace or temple on a high earth platform. One building at An-yang was a big hall with pillars all the way around it.

5. There was a city wall of rammed earth around the Shang capital at An-yang. These were built by piling up dirt and pounding it until it was as hard as rock. Other people at that time were building rammed earth altars, in circular patterns like this one to worship Heaven, and square ones to worship Earth. In the summertime, people moved out of their dark sod houses and lived instead in a tree-house built on a wooden platform, with the roof made of poles and branches. Living high up in the air kept them safe from animals and snakes.

6. Bronzeworking They had accomplished metal workers & craftsmen Made bronze containers for cooking & religious ceremonies, axes, knives

7. Military Military developed bronze weapons, body armor, powerful bows and arrows, & war chariots

8. Other Advancements They farmed millet, wheat, barley, & rice They grew silkworms, dogs, pigs, & sheep Astrologers created a calendar based on the cycles of the moon to help predict births, deaths, harvest time etc.

9. The Legend of Silk A 14 year old queen of China supposedly saw a worm spin its cocoon. She then took the cocoon, dropped it in hot water and watched it break up to threads. The thread was the used to sew and create silk garments. What is silk? It is secreted from the silk worm’s mouth to make the cocoons. This “spit-up” hardens upon contact with the air.

10. Writing System More than 2,000 symbols to express words or ideas Today’s Chinese symbols are still based on the Shang Dynasty symbols Archeologist have found these symbols on cattle bones and turtle shells Priests carved questions about the future on the bones & shells, heated them up till they cracked, and then read the oracles or predictions from the cracks

11. The “Dragon Bones” Story Fu Hao was married to King Wu Ding. He was a great warrior king, but he made peace with the surrounding tribes by marrying one women from each tribe and he ended up with 60 wives. She was smart enough to earn his favour by working in his government and he trusted her to perform special rituals and offer sacrifices, which was very unusual for a woman at that time, anywhere in the world. It was also very unusual for a woman be so powerful and to lead military campaigns. She was in charge of up to 13 000 soldiers and was the boss of two generals Zhi and Hou Gao. The Shang had been fighting with the Tu -Fang for ages until Fu Hao defeated them once and for all. Then she won major battles against the Yi, Qiang and Ba tribes, and led the earliest recorded large-scale ambush in Chinese history .

12. King Ding must have been very proud of her because he built a magnificent tomb for her after she died. Her battle-axes and other weapons were buried with her, along with sacrificial bronze vessels and tortoise shells which are marked prepared by Fu Hao . This shows that she was a high priestess and could cast oracles (which means that they thought she could tell the future). Fu Hao died about 1200 BC

13. Religion Gods for different parts of life Top god was Shang Ti- the Founder of the Shang Dynasty Ancestor worship began in this period, as did the sacrifices to the gods When Kings died, thousands of slaves were executed to serve him in the afterlife. The kings tomb would be filled with objects and food that he would need in the afterlife