Shang dynasty

"Shang" redirects here. For other uses, see Shang (disambiguation).

"Yin dynasty" redirects here. For the dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, see Yin (Five Dynasties period).

The Shang dynasty (Chinese: 商朝; pinyin: Shāng Cháo), also known as the Yin dynasty (Chinese: 殷代; pinyin: Yīn Dài), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals and Records of the Grand Historian. According to the traditional chronology based on calculations made approximately 2,000 years ago by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled from 1766 to 1122 BC, but most recent scholarship has preferred the 16th to 11th centuries BC.

Shang 商
c. 1600 BC– c. 1045 BC
Approximate territory of the Shang dynasty within present-day China
Capital	Bo (亳) (either modern Yanshi or Zhengzhou) Ao (隞) (near modern Zhengzhou) Yan (奄) (near modern Qufu) Xiang (near modern Anyang) Yin (殷) (near modern Anyang) Zhaoge (朝歌) (near modern Qi county)
Common languages	Old Chinese
Religion	Chinese patriarchal religion, Divination
Government	Monarchy
King
• c. 1250 – 1191 BC	Wu Ding
• c. 1075 – 1046 BC	King Zhou
Legislature	Dynasty
Historical era	Bronze Age
• Established	c. 1600 BC
• Zhou conquest	c. 1045 BC
Area
1122 BC est^[1]	1,250,000 km^2 (480,000 sq mi)
Currency	Shell money Shell mussels Tong Bei
Preceded by Succeeded by Xia dynasty Zhou dynasty
Today part of	China

Shang
"Shang" in oracle bone script (top left), bronze script (top right), seal script (bottom left), and modern regular (bottom right) Chinese characters
Chinese	商
Hanyu Pinyin	Shāng
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shāng Bopomofo ㄕㄤ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Shang Wade–Giles Shang^1 Tongyong Pinyin Shang IPA [ʂáŋ] Wu Romanization Saon Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sēung Jyutping Soeng1 IPA [sœ́ːŋ] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Siong Tâi-lô Siong Old Chinese Baxter (1992) *hljang Baxter–Sagart (2014) *s-taŋ
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	殷
Hanyu Pinyin	Yīn
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yīn Bopomofo ㄧㄣ Gwoyeu Romatzyh In Wade–Giles Yin^1 Tongyong Pinyin Yin IPA [ín] Wu Romanization In Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yān Jyutping Jan1 IPA [jɐ́n] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ûn Tâi-lô Ûn Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *ʔər

Bronze water vessel with coiling dragon pattern, late Shang dynasty (c. 14th – mid 11th century BC).

The Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history firmly supported by archaeological evidence. Excavation at the Ruins of Yin (near modern-day Anyang), which has been identified as the last Shang capital, uncovered eleven major royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, containing weapons of war and remains from both animal and human sacrifices. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, and ceramic artifacts have been found.

The Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. More than 20,000 were discovered in the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s, and over four times as many have been found since. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, and religious practices to the art and medicine of this early stage of Chinese civilization.^[2]

Traditional accounts

Many events concerning the Shang dynasty are mentioned in various Chinese classics, including the Book of Documents, the Mencius and the Zuo Zhuan. Working from all the available documents, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian assembled a sequential account of the Shang dynasty as part of his Records of the Grand Historian. His history describes some events in detail, while in other cases only the name of a king is given.^[3] A closely related, but slightly different, account is given by the Bamboo Annals. The Annals were interred in 296 BC, but the text has a complex history, and the authenticity of the surviving versions is controversial.^[4]

The name Yīn (殷) is used by Sima Qian for the dynasty, and in the "current text" version of the Bamboo Annals for both the dynasty and its final capital. It has been a popular name for the Shang throughout history. Since the Records of Emperors and Kings by Huangfu Mi (3rd century AD), it has often been used specifically to describe the later half of the Shang dynasty. In Japan and Korea, the Shang are still referred to almost exclusively as the Yin (In and eun, respectively for Japan and Korea) dynasty. However, it seems to have been a Zhou name for the earlier dynasty. The word does not appear in the oracle bones, which refer to the state as Shāng (商), and the capital as Dàyì Shāng (大邑商 "Great Settlement Shang").^[5] It also does not appear in securely dated Western Zhou bronze inscriptions.^[6]

Founding myth

The founding myth of the Shang dynasty is described by Sima Qian in the Annals of the Yin. In the text, a woman named Jiandi (簡狄), who was the second wife of Emperor Ku, swallowed an egg dropped by a black bird (玄鳥) and subsequently gave birth miraculously to Xie (偰) – also appearing as Qi (契). Xie is said to have helped Yu the Great to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief.^[7]

Dynastic course

In the Annals of the Yin, Sima Qian writes that the dynasty was founded 13 generations after Xie, when Xie's descendant Tang overthrew the impious and cruel final Xia ruler in the Battle of Mingtiao. The Records of the Grand Historian recount events from the reigns of Tang, Tai Jia, Tai Wu, Pan Geng, Wu Ding, Wu Yi and the depraved final king Di Xin, but the rest of the Shang rulers are merely mentioned by name. In the last century, Wang Guowei demonstrated that the succession to the Shang throne matched the list of kings in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the Shang moved their capital five times, with the final move to Yin in the reign of Pan Geng inaugurating the golden age of the dynasty.^[8]

Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by Wu of Zhou. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in the decisive Battle of Muye. According to the Yi Zhou Shu and Mencius the battle was very bloody. The classic, Ming-era novel Fengshen Yanyi retells the story of the war between Shang and Zhou as a conflict with rival factions of gods supporting different sides in the war.

After the Shang were defeated, King Wu allowed Di Xin's son Wu Geng to rule the Shang as a vassal kingdom. However, Zhou Wu sent three of his brothers and an army to ensure that Wu Geng would not rebel.^[9][10][11] After Zhou Wu's death, the Shang joined the Rebellion of the Three Guards against the Duke of Zhou, but the rebellion collapsed after three years, leaving Zhou in control of Shang territory.

Descendants of the Shang royal family

After the collapse of the Shang dynasty, Zhou's rulers forcibly relocated "Yin diehards" (殷頑) and scattered them throughout Zhou territory.^[12] Some surviving members of the Shang royal family collectively changed their surname from the ancestral name Zi (子) to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin (i.e. Shang). The family retained an aristocratic standing and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou dynasty. King Wu of Zhou ennobled Lin Jian (林堅), the son of Prince Bigan, as the Duke of Bo'ling. The Records of the Grand Historian states that King Cheng of Zhou, with the support of his regent and uncle, the Duke of Zhou, enfeoffed Weiziqi (微子啟), a brother of Di Xin, as the Duke of Song, with its capital at Shangqiu. This practice was known as 二王三恪 ("enfeoffment of three generations for two kings"). The Dukes of Song would maintain rites honoring the Shang kings until Qi conquered Song in 286 BC. Confucius was possibly a descendant of the Shang Kings through the Dukes of Song.^[13][14][15]

The Eastern Han dynasty bestowed the title of Duke of Song and "Duke Who Continues and Honours the Yin" (殷紹嘉公) upon Kong An (孔安 (東漢)) because he was part of the Shang dynasty's legacy.^[16][17] This branch of the Confucius family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.

Another remnant of the Shang established the vassal state of Guzhu (located in present-day Tangshan), which Duke Huan of Qi destroyed.^[18][19][20] Many Shang clans that migrated northeast after the dynasty's collapse were integrated into Yan culture during the Western Zhou period. These clans maintained an élite status and continued practicing the sacrificial and burial traditions of the Shang.^[21]

Both Korean and Chinese legends, including reports in the Book of Documents and the Bamboo Annals, state that a disgruntled Shang prince named Jizi, who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with a small army. According to these legends, he founded a state known as Gija Joseon in northwest Korea during the Gojoseon period of ancient Korean history. However, scholars debate the historical accuracy of these legends.

Early Bronze Age archaeology

Main article: Shang archaeology

Further information: History of Chinese archaeology

 

 

Erlitou

 

Zhengzhou

 

Panlongcheng

 

Anyang

 

Sanxingdui

 

Wucheng

class=notpageimage|

Major archaeological sites of the second millennium BC in north and central China

Before the 20th century, the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) was the earliest Chinese dynasty that could be verified from its own records. However, during the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), antiquarians collected bronze ritual vessels attributed to the Shang era, some of which bore inscriptions.^[22]

Yellow River valley

In 1899, several scholars noticed that Chinese pharmacists were selling "dragon bones" marked with curious and archaic characters.^[22] These were finally traced back in 1928 to a site (now called Yinxu) near Anyang, north of the Yellow River in modern Henan province, where the Academia Sinica undertook archeological excavation until the Japanese invasion in 1937.^[22]

Archaeologists focused on the Yellow River valley in Henan as the most likely site of the states described in the traditional histories. After 1950, the remnants of the earlier walled settlement of Shang City were discovered near Zhengzhou.^[22] It has been determined that the earth walls at Zhengzhou, erected in the 15th century BC, would have been 20 m (66 ft) wide at the base, rising to a height of 8 m (26 ft), and formed a roughly rectangular wall 7 km (4 mi) around the ancient city.^[23][24] The rammed earth construction of these walls was an inherited tradition, since much older fortifications of this type have been found at Chinese Neolithic sites of the Longshan culture (c. 3000–2000 BC).^[23]

In 1959, the site of the Erlitou culture was found in Yanshi, south of the Yellow River near Luoyang.^[23] Radiocarbon dating suggests that the Erlitou culture flourished c. 2100 BC to 1800 BC. They built large palaces, suggesting the existence of an organized state.^[25] In 1983, Yanshi Shang City was discovered 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north-east of the Erlitou site in Yanshi's Shixianggou Township. This was a large walled city dating from 1600 BC. It had an area of nearly 200 hectares (490 acres) and featured pottery characteristic of the Erligang culture.

The remains of a walled city of about 470 hectares (1,200 acres) were discovered in 1999 across the Huan River from the well explored Yinxu site. The city, now known as Huanbei, was apparently occupied for less than a century and destroyed shortly before the construction of the Yinxu complex.^[26][27] Between 1989 and 2000, an important Shang settlement was excavated near Xiaoshuangqiao, about 20 km northwest of Zhengzhou. Covering an intermediary period between the Zhengzhou Site and the late capitals on the Huan River, it features most prominently sacrificial pits with articulated skeletons of cattle, a quintessential part of the late Shang ritual complex.

Chinese historians were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding another, and readily identified the Erligang and Erlitou sites with the early Shang and Xia dynasty of traditional histories. The actual political situation in early China may have been more complicated, with the Xia and Shang being political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou, who established the successor state of the Shang, are known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.^[21] It has also been suggested the Xia legend originated as a Shang myth of an earlier people who were their opposites.^[28]

Other sites

The Erligang culture centred on the Zhengzhou site is found across a wide area of China, even as far northeast as the area of modern Beijing, where at least one burial in this region during this period contained both Erligang-style bronze utensils and local-style gold jewelry.^[21] The discovery of a Chenggu-style ge dagger-axe at Xiaohenan demonstrates that even at this early stage of Chinese history, there were some ties between the distant areas of north China.^[21] The Panlongcheng site in the middle Yangtze valley was an important regional center of the Erligang culture.^[29]

Accidental finds elsewhere in China have revealed advanced civilizations contemporaneous with but culturally unlike the settlement at Anyang, such as the walled city of Sanxingdui in Sichuan. Western scholars are hesitant to designate such settlements as belonging to the Shang dynasty.^[30] Also unlike the Shang, there is no known evidence that the Sanxingdui culture had a system of writing. The late Shang state at Anyang is thus generally considered the first verifiable civilization in Chinese history.^[5]

In contrast, the earliest layers of the Wucheng site, pre-dating Anyang, have yielded pottery fragments containing short sequences of symbols, suggesting that they may be a form of writing quite different in form from oracle bone characters, but the sample is too small for decipherment.^[31][32][33]

In 2022, a 3,000-year-old gold burial mask was found in a royal tomb belonging to a high-level noble from the Shang dynasty. The mask predates a similar gold mask discovered at the Sanxingdui archaeological site in 2021, making it the oldest example of this burial practice in China and also illustrating a link between Sanxingdui and the Zhongyuan civilization. The mask fully covers the face, to ensure that the wearer’s spirits would remain whole. 200 other artifacts were discovered in the Shangcheng tombs, including gold leaves and plaques inlaid with turquoise, coins made from shell, and bronze and jade weapons.^[34]

Genetic studies

A study of mitochondrial DNA (inherited in the maternal line) from Yinxu graves showed similarity with modern northern Han Chinese, but significant differences from southern Han Chinese.^[35]

Absolute chronology

The earliest securely dated event in Chinese history is the start of the Gonghe Regency in 841 BC, early in the Zhou dynasty, a date first established by the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian. Attempts to establish earlier dates have been plagued by doubts about the origin and transmission of traditional texts and the difficulties in their interpretation. More recent attempts have compared the traditional histories with archaeological and astronomical data.^[36] At least 44 dates for the end of the dynasty have been proposed, ranging from 1130 BC to 1018 BC.^[37]

• The traditional dates of the dynasty, from 1766 BC to 1122 BC, were calculated by Liu Xin during the Han dynasty.^[38]
• A calculation based on the "old text" of the Bamboo Annals yields dates of 1523 BC to 1027 BC.^[38]
• David Pankenier, by attempting to identify astronomical events mentioned in Zhou texts, dated the beginning of the dynasty at 1554 BC and its overthrow at 1046 BC.^{[38][39][40][41]}
• The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project identified the establishment of the dynasty with the foundation of an Erligang culture walled city at Yanshi, dated at c. 1600 BC.^[42] The project also arrived at an end date of 1046 BC, based on a combination of the astronomical evidence considered by David Pankenier and radiocarbon dating of archaeological layers.^[43]
• David Nivison and Edward Shaughnessy argue for and end date of 1045 BC, based on their analysis of the Bamboo Annals.^[44][45]
• Radiocarbon dating of oracle bones has yielded an end date of 1041 BC, with an uncertainty of about 10 years.^[46]

Late Shang at Anyang

 

Oracle bones pit at Yin

The oldest extant direct records date from approximately 1250 BC at Anyang, covering the reigns of the last nine Shang kings. The Shang had a fully developed system of writing, preserved on bronze inscriptions and a small number of other writings on pottery, jade and other stones, horn, etc., but most prolifically on oracle bones.^[47] The complexity and sophistication of this writing system indicates an earlier period of development, but direct evidence of that development is still lacking. Other advances included the invention of many musical instruments and celestial observations of Mars and various comets by Shang astronomers.^[48]

Their civilization was based on agriculture and augmented by hunting and animal husbandry.^[49] In addition to war, the Shang also practiced human sacrifice.^[50] Crania of sacrificial victims have been found to be similar to modern Chinese ones (based on comparisons with remains from Hainan and Taiwan).^[51][52] Cowry shells were also excavated at Anyang, suggesting trade with coast-dwellers, but there was very limited sea trade since China was isolated from other large civilizations during the Shang period.^[53] Trade relations and diplomatic ties with other formidable powers via the Silk Road and Chinese voyages to the Indian Ocean did not exist until the reign of Emperor Wu during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 221 AD).^[54][55]

Court life

 

Oracle shell with inscriptions.

 

Bronzewares from the excavated tomb of Fu Hao

At the excavated royal palace of Yinxu, large stone pillar bases were found along with rammed earth foundations and platforms, which according to Fairbank, were "as hard as cement".^[22] These foundations in turn originally supported 53 buildings of wooden post-and-beam construction.^[22] In close proximity to the main palatial complex, there were underground pits used for storage, servants' quarters, and housing quarters.^[22]

Many Shang royal tombs had been tunneled into and ravaged by grave robbers in ancient times,^[56] but in the spring of 1976, the discovery of Tomb 5 at Yinxu revealed a tomb that was not only undisturbed, but one of the most richly furnished Shang tombs that archaeologists had yet come across.^[57] With over 200 bronze ritual vessels and 109 inscriptions of Lady Fu Hao's name, Zheng Zhenxiang and other archaeologists realized they had stumbled across the tomb of King Wu Ding's most famous consort, Fu Hao, who is mentioned in 170 to 180 Shang oracle bone inscriptions, and who was also renowned as a military general.^[58] Along with bronze vessels, stoneware and pottery vessels, bronze weapons, jade figures and hair combs, and bone hairpins were found.^[59][60][61] The archaeological team argue that the large assortment of weapons and ritual vessels in her tomb correlate with the oracle bone accounts of her military and ritual activities.^[62]

The capital was the center of court life. Over time, court rituals to appease spirits developed, and in addition to his secular duties, the king would serve as the head of the ancestor worship cult. Often, the king would even perform oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from excavations of the royal tombs indicates that royalty 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.

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 Shang king, in his oracular divinations, repeatedly showed concern about the fang, barbarians living outside of the civilized tu regions, which made up the center of Shang territory.^{[clarification needed]} In particular, the tufang group of the Yanshan region were regularly mentioned as hostile to the Shang.^[21]

Apart from their role as the head military commanders, Shang kings also asserted their social supremacy by acting as the high priests of society and leading the divination ceremonies.^[63] As the oracle bone texts reveal, the Shang kings were viewed as the best qualified members of society to offer sacrifices to their royal ancestors and to the high god Di, who in their beliefs was responsible for the rain, wind, and thunder.^[63]

The King appointed officials to manage certain activities, usually in a specified area. These included field (agricultural) officials 田, pastors 牧, dog officers 犬 (hunting), and guards 衛. These officers led their own retinues in the conduct of their duties, and some grew more independent and emerged as rulers of their own. There was a basic system of bureaucracy in place, with references to positions such as the "Many Dog officers", "Many horse officers", the "Many Artisans", the "Many Archers" or court titles like "Junior Servitor for Cultivation" or "Junior Servitor for labourers". More distant rulers were known as marquess 侯 or count 伯, who sometimes provided tribute and support to the Shang King in exchange for military aid and augury services. However these alliances were unstable, as indicated by the frequent royal divinations about the sustainability of such relations.^[64]

The existence of records regarding enemy kills, prisoners and booty taken point to the existence of a proto-bureaucracy of written documents.^[65]

Religion

 

Chinese Shang dynasty bronze face masks, 16th–14th century BC

Shang religious rituals featured divination and sacrifice. The degree to which shamanism was a central aspect of Shang religion is a subject of debate.^[66][67]

There were six main recipients of sacrifice: (1) Di (the High God), (2) nature powers like the sun and mountain powers, (3) former lords, deceased humans who had been added to the dynastic pantheon, (4) pre-dynastic ancestors, (5) dynastic ancestors, and (6) royal wives who were ancestors of the present king.^[68]

The Shang believed that their ancestors held power over them and performed divination rituals to secure their approval for planned actions.^[69] Divination involved cracking a turtle carapace or ox scapula to answer a question, and to then record the response to that question on the bone itself.^[66] It is unknown what criteria the diviners used to determine the response, but it is believed to be the sound or pattern of the cracks on the bone.^{[citation needed]}

The Shang also seem to have believed in an afterlife, as evidenced by the elaborate burial tombs built for deceased rulers. Often "carriages, utensils, sacrificial vessels, [and] weapons" would be included in the tomb.^[70] A king's burial involved the burial of up to a few hundred humans and horses as well to accompany the king into the afterlife, in some cases even numbering four hundred.^[70] Finally, tombs included ornaments such as jade, which the Shang may have believed to protect against decay or confer immortality.

The Shang religion was highly bureaucratic and meticulously ordered. Oracle bones contained descriptions of the date, ritual, person, ancestor, and questions associated with the divination.^[66] Tombs displayed highly ordered arrangements of bones, with groups of skeletons laid out facing the same direction.

Bronze working

Main article: Chinese ritual bronzes

 

Shang dynasty bronze vessel ding (sacrificial vessel)

Chinese bronze casting and pottery advanced during the Shang dynasty, with bronze typically being used for ritually significant, rather than primarily utilitarian, items. As early as c. 1500 BC, the early Shang dynasty engaged in large-scale production of bronze-ware vessels and weapons.^[71] This production required a large labor force that could handle the mining, refining, and transportation of the necessary copper, tin, and lead ores. This in turn created a need for official managers that could oversee both hard-laborers and skilled artisans and craftsmen.^[71] The Shang royal court and aristocrats required a vast number of different bronze vessels for various ceremonial purposes and events of religious divination.^[71] Ceremonial rules even decreed how many bronze containers of each type a nobleman or noblewoman of a certain rank could own. With the increased amount of bronze available, the army could also better equip itself with an assortment of bronze weaponry. Bronze was also used for the fittings of spoke-wheeled chariots, which appeared in China around 1200 BC.^[63]

•  

  A Shang dynasty bronze ding vessel

•  

  The Shang dynasty Houmuwu Ding is the heaviest piece of bronze work found in China so far.

•  

  A late Shang dynasty bronze ding vessel with taotie motif

•  

  Bronze gū ritual wine vessel

•  

  A Shang dynasty bronze vessel to preserve drink

Military

 

A bronze axe of the Shang dynasty

Bronze weapons were an integral part of Shang society.^[72] Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone and bronze weaponry, including máo (矛) spears, yuè (鉞) pole-axes, gē (戈) pole-based dagger-axes, composite bows, and bronze or leather helmets.^[73][74]

The chariot first appeared in China around 1200 BC, during the reign of Wu Ding. There is little doubt that the chariot entered China through Central Asia and the Northern Steppe, possibly indicating some form of contact with the Indo-Europeans.^[75] Recent archaeological finds have shown that the late Shang used horses, chariots, bows, and practiced horse burials that are similar to the steppe peoples to the west.^[76] Oracle bone inscriptions suggest that the Shang used chariots in royal hunts and in battle only as mobile command vehicles.^[77] In contrast, the western enemies of the Shang, such as the Zhou, began to use limited numbers of chariots in battle towards the end of the Shang period.^[78]

Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, Shang rulers could mobilize the masses of town-dwelling and rural commoners as conscript laborers and soldiers for both campaigns of defense and conquest.^[79] Aristocrats and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their local garrisons with all necessary equipment, armor, and armaments. The Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital and would personally lead this force into battle.^[80] A rudimentary military bureaucracy was also needed in order to muster forces ranging from three to five thousand troops for border campaigns to thirteen thousand troops for suppressing rebellions.

Kings

For a more comprehensive list, see List of rulers of China § Shang dynasty, and Family tree of ancient Chinese emperors § Shang dynasty.

 

Shang dynasty axe

The earliest records are the oracle bones inscribed during the reigns of the Shang kings from Wu Ding.^[81] The oracle bones do not contain king lists, but they do record the sacrifices to previous kings and the ancestors of the current king, which follow a standard schedule that scholars have reconstructed. From this evidence, scholars have assembled the implied king list and genealogy, finding that it is in substantial agreement with the later accounts, especially for later kings.^[82] According to this implied king list, Wu Ding was the twenty-first Shang king.^[82]

The Shang kings were referred to in the oracle bones by posthumous names. The last character of each name is one of the 10 celestial stems, which also denoted the day of the 10-day Shang week on which sacrifices would be offered to that ancestor within the ritual schedule. There were more kings than stems, so the names have distinguishing prefixes such as da (greater, 大), 中 zhong (middle, 中), 小 xiao (lesser, 小), bu (outer, 卜), zu (ancestor, 祖) and a few more obscure names.^[83]

The kings, in the order of succession derived from the oracle bones, are here grouped by generation. Later reigns were assigned to oracle bone diviner groups by Dong Zuobin.^[84]

The oracle bones have been radiocarbon dated and results are given below. The dates given are uncertainty ranges, not regnal years. That is to say, there is a 80 to 90 percent chance that the divinations recorded were performed within the given date range.^[46]

Generation	Older brothers			Main line of descent	Younger brothers	Divination phase
1				Da Yi (大乙)^[a]		^[b]
2				Da Ding (大丁)^[c]
3				Da Jia (大甲)	Bu Bing (卜丙)^[d]
4			^[e]	Da Geng (大庚)	Xiao Jia (小甲)^[f]
5				Da Wu (大戊)	Lü Ji (呂己)^[g]
6				Zhong Ding (中丁)^[h]	Bu Ren (卜壬)
7			Jian Jia (戔甲)	Zu Yi (祖乙)
8				Zu Xin (祖辛)	Qiang Jia (羌甲)^[i]
9				Zu Ding (祖丁)	Nan Geng (南庚)^[j]
10	Xiang Jia (象甲)	Pan Geng (盤庚)	Xiao Xin (小辛)	Xiao Yi (小乙)
11				Wu Ding (武丁)		1254-1197 BC (I)
12		^[k]	Zu Geng (祖庚)	Zu Jia (祖甲)		1206-1177 BC (II)
13			Lin Xin (廩辛)^[l]	Geng Ding (康丁)		1187-1135 BC (III)
14				Wu Yi (武乙)		1157–1110 BC (IV)
15				Wen Wu Ding (文武丁)
16				Di Yi (帝乙)^[m]		1121–1041 BC (V)
17				Di Xin (帝辛)^[n]

See also

• Chinese sovereign
• Historical capitals of China
• Women in ancient and imperial China

Notes

1. The first king is known as Tang in the Historical Records. The oracle bones also identify six pre-dynastic ancestors: 上甲 Shang Jia, 報乙 Bao Yi, 報丙 Bao Bing, 報丁 Bao Ding, 示壬 Shi Ren and 示癸 Shi Gui.
2. There is no firm evidence of oracle bone inscriptions before the reign of Wu Ding.
3. According to the Historical Records and the Mencius, Da Ding (there called Tai Ding) died before he could ascend to the throne. However in the oracle bones he receives rituals like any other king.
4. According to the Historical Records, Bu Bing (there called Wai Bing) and 仲壬 Zhong Ren (not mentioned in the oracle bones) were younger brothers of Dai Ting and preceded Da Jia (also known as Dai Jia). However the Mencius, the Commentary of Zuo and the Book of History state that he reigned after Da Jia, as also implied by the oracle bones.
5. The Historical Records include a king Wo Ding not mentioned in the oracle bones.
6. The Historical Records have Xiao Jia as the son of Da Geng (known as Tai Geng) in the "Annals of Yin", but as a younger brother (as implied by the oracle bones) in the "Genealogical Table of the Three Ages".
7. According to the Historical Records, Lü Ji (there called Yong Ji) reigned before Da Wu (there called Tai Wu).
8. The kings from Zhong Ding to Nan Geng are placed in the same order by the Historical Records and the oracle bones, but there are some differences in genealogy, as described in the articles on individual kings.
9. The status of Qiang Jia varies over the history of the oracle bones. During the reigns of Wu Ding, Di Yi and Di Xin, he was not included in the main line of descent, a position also held by the Historical Records, but in the intervening reigns he was included as a direct ancestor.
10. According to the Historical Records, Nan Geng was the son of Qiang Jia (there called Wo Jia).
11. The oracle bones and the Historical Records include an older brother Zǔ Jǐ (祖己) who did not reign.
12. Lin Xin is named as a king in the Historical Records and oracle bones of succeeding reigns, but not those of the last two kings.^[85]
13. There are no ancestral sacrifices to the last two kings on the oracles bones, due to the fall of Shang. Their names, including the character 帝 Dì "emperor", come from the much later Bamboo Annals and Historical Records.^[86]
14. also referred to as Zhòu (紂), Zhòu Xīn (紂辛) or Zhou Wang (紂王) or by adding "Shang" (商) in front of any of these names.

References

Citations

1. Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires and Modern States". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 219–229. doi:10.5195/JWSR.2006.369. ISSN 1076-156X.
2. Keightley (2000).
3. Keightley (1999), pp. 233–235.
4. Keightley (1978b).
5. Keightley (1999), p. 232.
6. Keightley (1978a), p. xiv.
7. Keightley (1999), p. 233, with additional details from the Historical Records.
8. Keightley (1999), p. 233.
9. 邶、鄘二國考 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (Bei, Yong two national test)
10. 周初"三监"与邶、鄘、卫地望研究 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine (Bei, Yong, Wei – looking at the research)
11. "三监"人物疆地及其地望辨析 ——兼论康叔的始封地问题 9 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine (breaking ground on Kangshu problem)
12. 一 被剥削者的存在类型 (Expoited by the presence of...)
13. Xinzhong Yao (2000). An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN 0521644305. Confucius is believed to have been a descendant of the royal house of the Shang Dynasty and his family lived in the state of Song until his grandfather was forced to move to the state of Lu.
14. Xinzhong Yao (1997). Confucianism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Jen and Agape. Sussex Academic Press. p. 29. ISBN 1898723761.
15. Lee Dian Rainey (2010). Confucius & Confucianism: The Essentials. John Wiley & Sons. p. 66. ISBN 978-1405188418.
16. Rafe de Crespigny (28 December 2006). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). BRILL. pp. 389–. ISBN 978-90-474-1184-0.
17. 《汉书·杨胡朱梅云传》：初，武帝时，始封周后姬嘉为周子南君，至元帝时，尊周子南君为周承休侯，位次诸侯王。使诸大夫博士求殷后，分散为十余姓，郡国往往得其大家，推求子孙，绝不能纪。时，匡衡议，以为"王者存二王后，所以尊其先王而通三统也。其犯诛绝之罪者绝，而更封他亲为始封君，上承其王者之始祖。《春秋》之义，诸侯不能守其社稷者绝。今宋国已不守其统而失国矣，则宜更立殷后为始封君，而上承汤统，非当继宋之绝侯也，宜明得殷后而已。今之故宋，推求其嫡，久远不可得；虽得其嫡，嫡之先已绝，不当得立。《礼记》孔子曰：'丘，殷人也。'先师所共传，宜以孔子世为汤后。"上以其语不经，遂见寝。
18. 中国孤竹文化网 1 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Chinese Guzhu Cultural Network)
19. 解开神秘古国 ——孤竹之谜 (unlocking the ancient mystery of Guzhu)
20. 孤竹析辨 (Guzhu analysis identified)
21. Sun (2006).
22. Fairbank & Goldman (2006), p. 33.
23. Fairbank & Goldman (2006), p. 34.
24. Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 43.
25. Fairbank & Goldman (2006), pp. 34–35.
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30. Bagley (1999), pp. 124–125.
31. Wilkinson (2013), p. 669.
32. Wagner (1993), p. 20.
33. Cheung (1983).
34. Dorian Batycka (24 September 2022). "A 3,000-Year-Old Gold Burial Mask Found in Shangcheng Dates to One of China's Earliest Recorded Dynasties". artnet.
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36. Lee (2002), pp. 16–17.
37. Lee (2002), p. 32.
38. Keightley (1999), p. 248.
39. Pankenier (1981–1982), p. 23.
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41. Nivison (2018), p. 165.
42. Lee (2002), p. 28.
43. Lee (2002), pp. 31–34.
44. Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1992). "The Date of the Zhou Conquest of Shang". Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels. University of California Press. pp. 217–236. ISBN 978-0520070288.
45. Nivison, David S. (1983). "The Dates of Western Chou". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Vol. 43. Harvard-Yenching Institute. pp. 481–580. doi:10.2307/2719108. JSTOR 2719108.
46. Liu et al. (2021), pp. 165, 169.
47. Qiu (2000), p. 60.
48. Kerr, Gordon (2013). A Short History of China. Oldcastle Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84243-969-2.
49. Beck, Roger B.; Linda Black; Larry S. Krieger; Phillip C. Naylor; Dahia Ibo Shabaka (1999). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X.
50. Flad, Dr. Rowan (28 February 2010). "Shang Dynasty Human Sacrifice". NGC Presents. National Geographic.
51. Pietrusewsky, Michael (2005). "The physical anthropology of the Pacific, East Asia and Southeast Asia: a multivariate craniometric analysis". In Sagart, Laurent; Blench, Roger; Sanchez-Mazas, Alicia (eds.). The Peopling of East Asia: Putting Together Archaeology, Linguistics and Genetics. RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 201–229. ISBN 978-0-415-32242-3. Page 203.
52. Howells, William (1983). "Origins of the Chinese People: Interpretations of recent evidence". In Keightley, David N. (ed.). The Origins of Chinese Civilization. University of California Press. pp. 297–319. ISBN 978-0-520-04229-2. Pages 312–313.
53. Fairbank & Goldman (2006), p. 35.
54. Sun (1989), pp. 161–167.
55. Chen (2002), pp. 67–71.
56. Thorp (1981), p. 239.
57. Thorp (1981), p. 240.
58. Thorp (1981), pp. 240, 245.
59. Thorp (1981), pp. 242, 245.
60. Li (1980), pp. 393–394.
61. Lerner et al. (1985), p. 77.
62. Thorp (1981), p. 245.
63. Ebrey, Walthall & Palais (2006), p. 14.
64. Keightley (1999), pp. 272–273, 286.
65. Keightley (1999), pp. 287.
66. Chang (1994).
67. Keightley (1998).
68. Keightley (1999), pp. 253–254.
69. Keightley (2004).
70. Smith (1961).
71. Ebrey, Walthall & Palais (2006), p. 17.
72. Sawyer & Sawyer (1994).
73. Wang (1993).
74. Sawyer & Sawyer (1994), p. 35.
75. Shaughnessy (1988), p. 190.
76. Mair (2011), p. 100.
77. Shaughnessy (1988), pp. 213–221.
78. Shaughnessy (1988), pp. 218–221.
79. Sawyer & Sawyer (1994), p. 33.
80. Sawyer & Sawyer (1994), p. 34.
81. Wilkinson (2013), p. 684.
82. Keightley (1999), p. 235.
83. Smith (2011), pp. 3–5.
84. Keightley (1999), pp. 234–235, 240–241.
85. Keightley (1978a), p. 187.
86. Keightley (1978a), pp. 187, 207, 209.

Works cited

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• Bagley, Robert (1999), "Shang archaeology", in Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (eds.), The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 124–231, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8.
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Further reading

• translated by Allen, Herbert J., "Ssŭma Ch'ien's Historical Records, Chapter III – The Yin Dynasty", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 27 (3): 601–615, 1895, doi:10.1017/S0035869X00145083.
• Chang, Kwang-Chih (1980), Shang Civilization, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-02885-7.
• Duan, Chang-Qun; Gan, Xue-Chun; Wang, Jeanny; Chien, Paul K. (1998), "Relocation of Civilization Centers in Ancient China: Environmental Factors", Ambio, 27 (7): 572–575, JSTOR 4314793.
• "The Annals of the Bamboo Books: The Dynasty of Shang", The Chinese Classics, volume 3, part 1, translated by Legge, James, 1865, pp. 128–141.
• Lee, Yuan-Yuan; Shen, Sin-yan (1999), Chinese Musical Instruments, Chinese Music Monograph Series, Chinese Music Society of North America Press, ISBN 1-880464-03-9.
• Needham, Joseph (1971), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-07060-7.
• Shen, Sinyan (1987), "Acoustics of Ancient Chinese Bells", Scientific American, 256 (4): 94, Bibcode:1987SciAm.256d.104S, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0487-104.
• Timperley, Harold J. (1936), The Awakening of China in Archaeology; Further Discoveries in Ho-Nan Province, Royal Tombs of the Shang Dynasty, Dated Traditionally from 1766 to 1122 B.C..

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shang Dynasty.

Preceded by Xia dynasty

Dynasties in Chinese history c. 1600–c. 1047 BC

Succeeded by Zhou dynasty