By Marta, Ani, Jeramiah, and Sakib The Shang Dynasty

 Is one of the earliest Dynasty’s of China  Ruled around the area of the Huang He  Started in the 1700 – 1122 B.C.E.  Often fought against other Clans  Considered to be a myth to western foreigners  Might’ve been the 1 st Chinese to learn how to write.

Government  Led by a powerful king who controlled the the land.  The king set up smaller kingdoms under his younger brothers and nephews.  Sometimes a son or a younger brother inherited the kingdom.  Depended to strong armies.  Engaged in almost constant war to defend and expand their kingdoms.  Captured prisoners to use as laborers and human sacrifices.  Armies: foot soldiers, archers, cavalry riding horses, and elephants, and fighters in chariots.

Social Structure  There were six social classes in the Shang Dynasty  The first was the king and his relatives  The nobles: ~ Fought in the kings armies. ~ Provided weapons, foot soldiers, and chariots.  The craftspeople: ~ Small social class. ~ Bronze and Jade workers, Potters, and stonemasons. ~ Lower status than nobles but high status than farmers ~ Made weapons used by Shang warriors. ~ Made containers and ornaments for religious ceremonies.  The traders ~ Ranked below nobles but above farmers – just like the craftsmen. ~ Mostly traded goods. ~ But used cowrie shells, a type of seashell as money. ~ Traded with neighboring regions.

Social Structure  The traders ~ Ranked below nobles but above farmers – just like the craftsmen. ~ Mostly traded goods. ~ But used cowrie shells, a type of seashell as money. ~ Traded with neighboring regions.  The Farmers ~ Largest social class. ~ Worked on small plots of land, grew millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. ~ Did not own the land they farmed. ~ The land was under control of either the king or the nobles. ~ Kept only enough crops to feed themselves and their families, and they gave the rest to the nobles who sent some to the king. ~ The farmers used simple tools such as: wooden sticks, stone-tipped hoes, and stone knives and scythes.  And last the slaves ~ Very bottom of the Shang society. ~ Had often been captured in wars. ~ Spent their lives building tombs and palaces. ~ When their masters died they got sacrificed.

Religion  Shang believed that dead ancestors had a life after death  It was important to honor ancestors and give them food and wine  A king’s relationship to the ancient spirit was very important  Kings used oracle bones to ask their ancestors for advice and when to hunt

Writing  The Shang used a type of writing called logograph  Logographs are characters that stand for words  They had inscription on oracle bones (that kings used)  Before the Shang invented logographs, they only used pictograph which were pictures representing something they wanted to say  Although the Shang people spoke different languages in different places, the people from the upper class all used the same form of writing  Because of the written language, the Shang had a better way of communicating

The Arts  The Shang artists were very good when working with bronze  Craftspeople made beautiful vessels  The vessels had either geometry or mythical creatures  They made many animal masks. The most common one was a taotie  The Shang also made very beautiful jade pieces  They believed the quality of jade represented a superior person and the hardness of jade stood for good wisdom

Technology  Working with bronze.  Used bronze to make many tools of war.  Arrowheads, spearheads, ax heads, and helmets.  ^ One of the reasons why they were able to remain in power for more than 500 years.

The Fall of the Shang Dynasty  Fighting many wars weakened the military power.  The king and nobles spent so much money on palaces, furnishings, clothing and tombs, and spending weakened the economy.  The last king did pleasurable activities instead of looking after his people.  1045 B.C.E: A frontier state called Zhou (joh) rose up against the dynasty.  Zhou armies caught the Shang unaware, defeating and overthrowing them.

And now A Trivia!  Approximately how long did the Shang dynasty rule?  Who inherited the kingdom?  What were the 6 social classes of the Shang dynasty?  How did the kings ask their ancestors for advice?  What was the type of writing they used?  Name one of their tools that they used as weapons.  Who took over the Shang Dynasty?

THE END! Hope you learned something interesting!

Bibliography For Pictures…  gdynasty.jpg gdynasty.jpg  asia/history/images/maps/china-shang.gif asia/history/images/maps/china-shang.gif  od1.jpg od1.jpg