Transcript Shang Dynasty - University of Oklahoma

Shang Dynasty 17501050 BCE
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Chinese civilization
is one of oldest,
continuous on earth
5,000 years of
history
Outside China during
Shang period
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Hammurabi’s code
Mycenaean Civ. In Greece
Vedic period in India
Stonehenge
Moses led Israelites out of Egypt
Mayans processed rubber
King Tut
Homer’s Troy fell
Ramses III of Egypt
Neolithic settlements in
Yangtze & Yellow river
valleys
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Yangshao-painted
pottery
Longshan-black
pottery
Shang Dynasty c.17501050 BCE
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Impressive bronze
technology
Oracle bones—
beginning of writing
system
Important ideas from
Shang
Notion of supreme heavenly power—
Shangdi (god above)
Belief in power of spirits of ancestors to
affect events on earth
Importance of rituals venerating
ancestors & role of king in performing
rituals
Shang was agricultural
society
Therefore rituals
To facilitate ancestor reverence
Manifested in bronzes & oracle bones
Emergence of state
level society
Complex society
 Often called “civilization”
 Or “state-level” society
 In China shifts toward state-level
society began the dynastic phase of
Chinese history
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Shang culture
characterized by:
Centralized government
Urban communities
Stratified social classes
Palatial architecture
Distinctive writing system
Elaborate religious rituals
Sophisticated art forms
Shang culture
characterized by
Bronze metallurgy
Horse drawn chariot
Ability to mobilize human labor for huge
projects/corvee labor
Relatively accurate calendar
Money in form of cowrie shells
Pantheon of gods
Complex lineage structure
Shang musical
instruments
Music used as
“civilizing” influence
in state rituals
Drums
Bells
Chiming stones
ocarinas
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“Auspicious Bronzes of
the State”
9 ding representing 9 provinces
King Yu of the Xia cast after bringing floods
under control
Dings passed to Shang & later to Zhou
Possession was symbol of power & prestige
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/index.ht
m
Shang economic
features
Tamed water buffalo
Cultivated rice in
south
Grain grown in north
Leaders addicted to:
Warfare
Hunting
Wine
Human & animal sacrifice
Leaders engaged in
military expeditions
Plunder & tribute part of royal economy
New weapons part of passion for hunting
Hunting good practice for warfare
Ancestor reverence
Ultimate source of political power was
royal ancestors
Deceased ministers had some influence
Dead went to Heaven
Intercede on behalf of descendants
So ritual life of Shang court was
sequence of sacrifices to ancestors
Bronze metallurgy
Bronze vessels necessary for ritual
sacrifice
 Vessels for wine
 Vessels for food
 Vessels for water
 Musical instruments
 www.chinavoc.com/arts/handicraft/bro
nze.htm
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Divination/Oracle
Bones
Important actions required divination
Tortoise shell or animal shoulder blade
Questions about warfare, weather, life
decisions
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/or
acle/oracle.html