The Shang Dynasty:
Characteristics: |
Important Facts, Evidence, and Explanations: |
Government: kings
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The royal members of Shang Dynasty is an important characteristic of civilization because they ruled the Shang Empire from 1556 to 1046 BC.
-It was the king's responsibility to keep the other clans under control and defend/expand kingdoms. -They considered themselves as descendants of an unknown and mysterious god (according to oracle bones (texts) and ancient legends). During the rule of the Shang Dynasty, the king displayed immense power; he was able to cross towards the supernatural, therefore people treated him like the link between heaven and living beings. Shang Dynasty was a monarchy ruled by a series of 30 kings, over almost 6 centuries. |
Religion: ancestor worship
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Ancestor worship was a characteristic of civilization because the people believed their dead ancestors would help or harm them.
-They believed that they should honor their ancestors, like giving them offerings (wine/food) or human sacrifices. Human sacrifices were made because they believed that when a slave's master died, slaves also needed to die to serve their masters in his/her afterlife. -People believed they needed to offer gifts to their ancestors in heaven to show respect. They could be placed in nature, (bottom of a mountain/near a river) not giving gifts would result in a natural disaster (floods/famine). -In villages, temples were built for their ancestors so villagers could worship their ancestors. |
Social Structure: farmers (5th in the social pyramid)
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Farmers were an important characteristic of civilization because they were the largest social class. The six social classes (from the most important to the least important) were the king and his relatives, nobles, craftspeople, traders, farmers, and slaves.
-Farmers worked in small areas of land, which they did not own, to grow millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Dogs, pigs, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and horses were domesticated, used for meat, and in ritual sacrifices. Many different kinds of fowl were raised, as were fish for food, and turtles for shells used in divination. Hunting of wild animals were for entertainment/food.Several kinds of fermented alcoholic beverages were drunk in rituals and feasting; they were made from millet. Archaeologists have found a site that was possibly used for manufacturing alcohol. -Farmers used spades, sickles, and stone ploughs were used, mostly for millet and wheat. There were usually well-watered fields, but there was no evidence of irrigation until the Chou Dynasty. The oracle bones (texts) states there might have been rice cultivation (to prepare for the growth of crops). |
Technology: bronze tools for war
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The reign of the Shang Dynasty occurred during the Bronze Age in China which began around 2000 BC.
Bronze tools for war were an important characteristic for civilization because the bronze-making skill of the Shang is one of the reason why they were able to keep their power for such a longtime. In fact, it was like the symbol of the Shang civilization. -The craftsmen working during the Shang Dynasty, learned from the people of West Asia to make artificial bronze by mixing tin and copper. -With the development of bronze technology, more bronze were produced to make tools. Including the drinking cups and pots, agricultural tools and transportation tools and so on. |
Stable food supply: millet
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Millet was an important characteristic in civilization because a majority of the crops that the farmers grew were millet. The oracle bones (texts) state that millet was the primary stable food supply in the Shang Dynasty.
-Two characters (logographs) used were: shu and he, which today it means the two different types of millet.Another use for millet were to make millet ale (wine) according the oracle bones (texts) -Pestilence (a contagious temporary disease which spreads quickly and its effects are fatal) was a problem towards the farmers who worked during the Shang Dynasty. The oracle bones' inscriptions display that a god/ancestor was "harming the harvest". |
Art: bronze figure
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Bronze figures were an important characteristic in civilization because they were efficient and beneficent for decorations and religious rituals.
-People began to make many jars and plaques (flat pieces) out of bronze to give to their gods, these jars were of very high quality. -The largest use of bronze was to make ritual vessels used in sacrifices to gods and ancestors. Vessels in a complex form are often decorated with geometrical patterns and animal masks and weighed 1,500 pounds. Short inscriptions were also on many bronze vessels that states the name of a personal clan or owner. |
Writing: logographs
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Logogaraphs are important characteristics in civilization because they are characters which stand for words. People of the upper classes (kings and their relatives, nobles) spoke the same language and wrote the same logographs.
-The Shang Dynasty were the civilization that introduced logographs after pictographs. -With the written language, it helped unify the Chinese people. -Logographs are commonly found on oracle bones (made of turtle shells or the shoulder blade of a cow). Also they may be carved on animals, bronze wares, or utensils. - The logographs used in the Shang Dynasty are still used today in China as modern Chinese characters. |