shang dynasty 1750- 1050 bce chinese civilization is one of oldest, continuous on earth 5,000...
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Shang Dynasty 1750-1050 BCE
Chinese civilization is one of oldest, continuous on earth
5,000 years of history
Outside China during Shang period
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
Yangshao-painted pottery
Longshan-black pottery
Shang Dynasty c.1750-1050 BCE
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
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
“Auspicious Bronzes of the State”
9 ding representing 9 provincesKing Yu of the Xia cast after bringing floods
under controlDings passed to Shang & later to ZhouPossession was symbol of power & prestigehttp://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/index.htm
Shang economic featuresTamed 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
Divination/Oracle Bones
Important actions required divination
Tortoise shell or animal shoulder blade
Questions about warfare, weather, life decisions
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/oracle/oracle.html