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China The Dawn of History
Thousands of archaeological finds in the Huang He Valley--the
apparent cradle of Chinese civilization--provide evidence about the
Shang dynasty, which endured roughly from 1700 to 1027 B.C. The
Shang dynasty (also called the Yin dynasty in its later stages) is
believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the
last Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture,
augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of
the period were the development of a writing system, as revealed in
archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat
cattle bones (commonly called oracle bones), and the use of bronze
metallurgy. A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions
date from the Shang period; the workmanship on the bronzes attests
to a high level of civilization.
A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern
China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring
settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The
capitals, one of which was at the site of the modern city of
Anyang, were centers of glittering court life. Court rituals to
propitiate spirits and to honor sacred ancestors were highly
developed. In addition to his secular position, the king was the
head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. Evidence from the
royal tombs indicates that royal personages were buried with
articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for
the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves,
were buried alive with the royal corpse.
Data as of July 1987
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