By: Daniel Evans, Fred Balce, Mark Dimzon, Jordan Wolczyk, Matthew Rotor-Murphy and Michael Vieira

 The Emperor was in control but had nobles that were part of his family controlling towns and other areas that the emperor didn't have time for.  This is majorly a monarchy but has the essence of a oligarchy.  They would get control by either inheriting control or by over throwing the leader.  There is one leader who is talked of a lot from the Shang dynasty. That is Wu Ding Who spent his earlier years among the common people studying and learning of there problems. When he took over after his father he fixed those problems. He was a caring and understanding leader. He made allies of neighbouring tribes. He also conquered lots of land around his empire. He is regarded as one of the greatest emperors of the Shang dynasty and ruled for 59 years.

 The military consisted of nobles armed with stone or bronze weapons and sometimes had chariots. Also the common people were also sent to fight but they were from city garrisons that were equipped by the aristocrats and other state rulers.  A significant battle was the Battle of Muye which was against the Zhou people which ended the Shang dynasty and Brought upon the Zhou dynasty.  The Shang dynasty lasted for 554 years.

Class structure was divided into 2 classes:  Commoners  Nobility  All headed by priest king

 The commoners are controlled by local war chiefs  they help the war chiefs while they live off their land  The war chiefs pay taxes and such to own the land given by the king or wang  The king maintains power and religious leadership

 the upper class was made up of the king, the knights and scholars  As long as you had nobility, intelligence, and/or money, you were a part of the upper part of society

 The upper class essentially ran the shang dynasty  Since they had ties to the king and other powerful figures, they were a force to be reckoned with

 Oldest male was the head of the family  If someone messed up, the whole family is disgraced  Arranged marriages to strengthen and unite 2 clans

 Be gentle, calm, respectful, and obey husband

 Head of the family

 Nobles hired private tutors for their children, while commoners didn’t have formal schooling, but rather were apprenticed by craftsmen and learned applicable skills  Mainly the nobles’ children are the only ones educated  The education stays traditional and true to its roots

They valued the family unit, and the respect and dignity of the family. In the family the keeper of the culture was the father followed by the eldest son, the overall keeper of culture was the emperor and nobles. They worshiped the gods and their ancestors. The put a lot of effort into their gods and ancestors and they were very religious

During the Shang Dynasty bronze work was evolving and the production of bronze increased; they used bronze for their art and to record their culture The people of the Shang Dynasty believed that God dominates the world. Sacrifice ceremonies were typically grand events. They worshipped many different gods - weather gods, sky gods, and gods for almost everything - and also a supreme god, named Shan Di who ruled over the other gods. CHOPSTICKS WERE INVENTED

 What is their major economic activity? - Agriculture  How do they maintain their civilization? - Handicraft Industry - Silk Production - Hunting in autumn  Who does the labour? - Slaves, they worked for the state

 How did they profit? - they don’t  Who owns the means of production? - the government  How do they profit? - they sell what they make

 Formal education did not exist at the time of the Shang Dynasty.  Values,teachings and abilities had to be taught through writing and personal means.  Teaching happened from others such as parents, families and friends. Wealthy families most likely hired tutors.  They would be taught specific trades.  A strong education system would have been necessary to maintain the writing system which the Chinese still use today.

 The red squares in the map symbolize the sites of the Shang residents according to traditional historians. China`s eastern border: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Pacific Ocean. Gobi Desert to the north, Taklimakan Desert to the west. Pamir, Tian Shan, Himalaya mountains curve around western border.

 Due to where The Shang dynasty was located it was difficult to trade goods and spread ideas. China developed very distinctly.  The two major river systems were: Central Shang Jiang (Yangtze) and Northern Huang He (yellow river).  China is similar to U.S.  - dry in west  - seasonal in north  - warm in southeast  - rice grown in moist south; wheat and millet grown in drier north  Geography impacts china`s economy because of where it was located it was hard to trade with other countries. Geography impacts the culture of china because when the culture was at its highest the people extended the south of the Yangtese river.