1. The Shang Dynasty
Chapter 20

2. Key Vocabulary for Chapter 20
Human sacrifices
Clan
Ancestor worship
Logographs
Economy

3. 20.1 Introduction
Scholars believed a clan called the Shang were (pronounced Shung) a
myth.
In 1899, a Chinese scholar found some bones with inscriptions on them.
These were studied and scholars learned the bones were “oracle bones” or bones used to tell the future.
In the 1920’s, ruins of a Shang city at Anyang were
discovered and many artifacts were uncovered.
Why are artifacts important to archeologist?
Oracle bone pit

4. 20.1 Introduction continued:
Ancient China was not one country, but was a number of clans that were led by a warrior king.
Rival clans often fought each other.
What are some reasons you think rival clans fought each other?
The Shang clan was one clan that eventually become more powerful than the rest and was able to control Ancient China.
The Shang Dynasty ruled Ancient China from 1700 B.C.E to 1122 B.C.E.

5. 20.2 A Shang Capital City Royal Tomb
What was learned about The Shang Dynasty from the ruins in Anyang are as follows:
City included a palace, a temple, and houses.
There were workshops for artisans.
Under the foundation of the king’s palace, human bones were found.
Why do you think human bones were found under the king’s palace?
Answer: Human Sacrifice.
Human Sacrifice: when a person is killed as a part of a religious ritual.
9 Royal tombs were found.
When a king was buried, slaves, servants, and animals were also
brought into the tomb alive and were sealed in with the dead king.
Why were the kings buried with slaves, servants, and animals who were
still alive?
Answer: The Shang believed in the afterlife.
Because of their belief in the afterlife, Kings were often buried with:
bronze weapons
bone carvings
stone sculptures
chariots
Royal Tomb

6. Summarize Please take 5 minutes and summarize 20.1 and 20.2.
3-5 sentences minimum

7. 20.3 Shang Government Shang government was led by a powerful king.
King set up smaller kingdoms to be run by younger brothers and nephews.
Why would the king set up smaller kingdoms to be run by family members?
Had strong armies to maintain rule.
Fought to keep other clans under control.
Kings armies were more powerful due to weapons being made out of bronze.
The Shang were among the first to learn how to make bronze.
Bronze is a mixture of copper and tin.
Shang army was made up off:
Large number of foot soldiers.
Calvary riding horses and elephants
Archers
Soldiers in chariots drawn by horses

8. 20.4 Shang Social Classes
Shang society can be divided up into six social classes:
Ruling family:
Made up of the king and his relatives
Nobles
Often fought in the kings army
Owned land
Enjoyed a large number of freedoms such as hunting, governing their own land without interference from the king, and enjoyed a life of luxury
Craftspeople
Group included bronze and jade workers
Potters
Stonemasons
Traders
Traded goods with neighboring regions
Used cowrie shells (type of seashell) as money

9. 20.4 Shang Social Classes continued:
Farmers
Largest social class
Worked small plots of land growing millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruit, vegetables, and nuts
Did not own land
Land they worked were under control by the king or the nobles
Would only keep the crops to feed themselves. The rest went to the king or nobles who owned the land
They also raised pics and chickens
Slaves
Bottom of the social class
Were often captured in wars
Spent most of their lives building tombs and palaces
When their masters died, they were often used as human sacrifices to serve their masters in the afterlife

10. 20.5 Religion Under the Shang
Religion under the Shang centered on ancestor worship.
Ancestor Worship: honoring ancestors through rituals, such as offering food and
wine to the dead.
Can you make a connection of ancestor worship to anything we have learned this year or in your own culture?
The Shang believed in life after death.
i.e. kings burial tombs.
The Shang believed that kings had the power to rule because they were descended from powerful ancestors.
Kings had the duty to follow the wishes of the ancestors.
Kings used oracle bones to as their ancestors advice on the following:
When to hunt
Where to build new cities
Whether to go to war
Who and how were the oracle bones used?

11. Oracle Bones
Who and how were the oracle bones used?

12. 20.6 Writing Under the Shang
Inscriptions on oracle bones were among the earliest known examples of Chinese writing.
Characters stand for words rather than sounds
The Shang used logographs
Logographs: a written character that represents a word
Ex. The character for “good” is a combination of the characters for “woman” and “ child.”
Written language helped unify the Chinese people.

13. 20.7 Art Under the Shang Shang artist showed great skill
Made beautiful vessels
Produced outstanding jade pieces
Bronze vessels had geometric designs

14. 20.8 Technology Under the Shang
Developing bronze was an important technological achievement.
Craftspeople used bronze to make
Tools of war: arrowheads, spearheads, ax heads, and helmets.
The development of bronze is one the chief reasons the Shang were able to remain in power for over 500 years.

15. 20.9 The End of the Shang Dynasty
The Shang exceled in war and built up tremendous wealth.
The wars eventually weakened the Shang.
The king and nobles spent enormous amounts of wealth on their
Palaces
Furnishings
Clothing
Tombs
This spending weakened the economy
Around 1045 B.C.E., a stated called Zhou (pronounced joh) rose up against the Shang dynasty.
Zhou armies under the King Wu caught the Shang unaware and were able to defeat and overthrow the Shang.
King Wu

16. 20.10 Chapter Summary
The Shang were one of China’s earliest dynasties.
Ruins and artifacts found at Anyang (The Shang capital) proved they were not a myth.
The Shang believed in the afterlife.
Kings were buried with goods, slaves, animals, and servants that would serve them in the afterlife.
Shang kings were powerful who kept their power through military might.
The invention of bronze allowed the Shang to build superior weapons that gave them a military advantage.
Bronze (mixture of tin and copper).
The Shang practiced ancestor worship.
The Shang used oracle bones to communicate with ancestors for advice for important decisions.
They practiced human sacrifice.
They ruled in the valley of the Huang He for some 500 years.
The writing was among some of the earliest Chinese writing and they used logographs for their writing.