Running header: THE SHANG DYNASTY

The Shang Dynasty: Agriculture, Bronze & Oracle Bones

Sheridan Davis
Salt Lake Community College
ANTH 1030
Tiffany Collins
April 23, 2015

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The Shang Dynasty: Agriculture, Bronze, & Oracle Bones

The Yellow River Valley has often been referred to as The Cradle of Chinese
Civilization. The Yellow River is known as the Mother River and also as Chinas Sorrow
due to its unpredictability and capacity to change its course. The agrarian groups of China arose
and developed with unique characteristics; however, it is thought that the foundations of distinct
classical Chinese culture and traditions began with the Three Dynasties. The Shang Dynasty
(c.1600-1045 BC) succeeded the Xia Dynasty and was followed by the Zhou Dynasty. From
Chinas early history the Shang Dynastys distinct traditions have remained an integral part of
Chinese customs and culture. They passed down their organized agricultural production, written
script, ancestral veneration, and their bronze works remain some of the most impressive
throughout the world.
In Chinese myth the first dynasty began with the Xia by one of the Three Sage Kings, Yu,
who controlled the Yellow River floods and established the principle of dynastic rule. The Xia
ruled for several generations until the last evil king, King Jie, was overthrown by the hero Cheng
Tang. Thus the Shang Dynasty was established and its descendants ruled until the cruel last king
and his nobles were overthrown by the Zhou. The Zhou was the last of the Three Dynasties and
founded by the hero Wen Wang and his son, Wu Wang. This narrative was accepted for
thousands of years, and the Chinese people at times still refer to themselves as the descendants of
this golden age of wisdom, benevolence, and moral behavior (Tanner, 2009). It was not until
the twentieth century, through the discovery of oracle bones with inscriptions from the Shang
period, that this archaeological evidence shed light on Chinas early history and its chronology.
Shang early territory spanned from eastern Henan, and western Anhui, to northern
Shandong, and was contemporaneous with the site at Erlitou that has been associated with the

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Xia. There is much debate by archaeologists as to whether this is actually a Xia site (Tanner,
2009). The Shang Dynastic succession was from a long line of male sovereigns with descent
from a common ancestor. In Chinese myth, the first ruler of the Shang, Cheng Tang overthrew
the repressive King of Xia, captured the neighboring states, attacked and defeated the Xia, and
formed the Shang kingdom. To date, there has not been archaeological evidence found of King
Tangs descendants, who are thought to have ruled for 183 years, King Tangs capital city, nor
any other early Shang capitals. The archaeological evidence of the Shang comes from the middle
to the late era in the form of fifty cities along the Yellow River and north Central Plain, writing,
tombs, bronzes, and two major urban centers, the capital Erlingang in Zhengzhou, and the last
capital Anyang or Great Shang (Morton & Lewis, 2005).
The Erlingang city corresponds to the early to middle Shang period, between 1500-1300
BC. There is much debate among archaeologists as to the meaning of the Erlingang culture. One
theory is the indication that at the time of the cultures existence, the Shang had already been a
powerful, wealthy urbanized state. The broad southward expanse was possibly obtained suddenly
and aggressively. The remains of Panlongcheng, a rammed-earth walled city on a Yangzi River
tributary to the south, is patterned after Erlingang, on a smaller scale. There is evidence of
bronzes that resemble Shang artistic styles; on the other hand, the Panlongcheng pottery style is
different. As stated by Harold M. Tanner, this implies that the ruling Shang elites came from the
Yellow River Valley and took over this smaller, weaker local community and incorporated them
into the Shang kingdom. Territorial expansion waned, coming to an end by 1300 BC as the
Shang Kingdom retreated from the south and Panlongcheng was abandoned. The Shang shifted
north to Anyang, with it becoming the capital and ceremonial center from the time of King Wu

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Ding (c. r. 1198?-1189 BC?) until the dynastys end. The territory was a much smaller state
among many others, with cultural ideas and practices flowing between them (Tanner, 2009).
The most significant archaeological evidence found at Anyang are the 100,000 oracle
bones inscribed with characters or buci. The earliest date from c.1300 BC, and there are nearly
5,000 characters. However, only about half have been deciphered; due to the Chinese writing
reform in the second century BC, many of the meanings of the older characters were lost
(Morton & Lewis, 2005). In 1899, scholars became aware of dragon bones with magic symbols
inscribed on them appearing in apothecary shops. The bones were being ground into a powder to
be used in traditional medicines. The inscriptions were recognized as similar to characters found
on Shang bronzes, thus beginning the hunt for the source of these finds. By 1903, the search had
led archaeologists to Anyang. Extensive excavations began in the late 1920s, continued in the
1930s, 1950s and into the 1970s. The Shang site of Anyang was proved to be a ceremonial cultcenter with more than fifty large buildings and the opulent tomb of Lady Hao, one of King Wu
Dins consorts (Keay, 2009). Although the origin of the writing system is unclear, it allowed for
the organization of a bureaucratic government and the keeping of records in the form of
divination.
The Oracle Bones were created by boring several pits into the scapula of cattle, tortoise
shells or other bones, and then heat was applied until the bone cracked. These cracks were
interpreted as answers to questions, usually asked by the king or a member of the elite. The bone
was then inscribed with the date of the divination, the question and answer, and the name of the
diviner who performed the ritual. Some of the questions pertained to political or military
decisions, acceptable sacrifices, good days for the hunt, weather prediction, health, or childbirth
and male heirs. The inscriptions are characters that originate from pictograms or ideograms.

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Other court records would have been transcribed on bamboo rolls; however, bamboo does not
preserve well and has long since deteriorated (Syon, 2014).
The people of East Asia, similar to many civilizations, settled around river basins, namely
the Yangtze River in the south and the Yellow River in the north. Both of these rivers have
annual floods and floodplains, with the Yellow River producing large amounts of fine silt or
leoss (Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2014a). China is surrounded by river systems, plateaus, and
mountain ranges, including the Himalayas and the Qinling range. This range extends east,
dividing the north from the south and producing differences in culture, weather and climate. The
climate in the north was colder and drier, and the south was warmer, where rice, bamboo, and
mulberry trees for silkworms were raised. During the Shang period agriculture did not advance
much from the previous Longshan period. Fields continued to be tended with stone hoes hafted
on wooden handles, then harvested with stone sickles. Irrigation was not used, because during
this time the Central Plains climate overall was much more moist. The staple crops were millet,
barley, wheat, and rice, and burned vegetation was used to prepare the land for planting or in
conjunction with the hunt to drive wild animals, such as deer, to a specific area to be killed.
Along with hunting continuing as an important part of their diet, the people raised herds of cattle,
pigs, horses and dogs (Tanner, 2009).
The high productivity of agriculture was due to organization by the king. He owned all
land and controlled larger farms directly with the use of royal labor to work the land. Income to
maintain the kingdom was derived from agriculture of these controlled farms and from tribute.
The capital cites contained storage pits, stone and bone workshops, bronze foundries, housing for
the elite, substantial palaces, and ceremonial buildings. The cities were surrounded by rammedearth walls and a network of villages. The farmers and artisans lived in these villages in small pit

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houses with wattle-daub walls and thatched roofs. The common people lived under the control of
the elite, to be mobilized at any time for construction or production purposes (Tanner, 2009).
Shang craftspeople were masters of bronze work. They excelled in the art of multicasting,
intricate detail work, and the creation of elaborate molds. The largest, most impressive molded
bronze piece weighs approximately 1,900 lbs. The bronze works were adapted to the needs of the
Shang. Their process involved the content of lead mixed with copper and tin, which allowed flow
into finer portions of the elaborate molds and the prevention of gas bubbles. The artistic style
differed from many of the surrounding states and other Bronze Age civilizations. An example is
the front facing representations of animals rather than a profile, reminiscent of a mask (Syon,
2014). Rams, elephants, tigers, horses, and dragons can be found decorating bronze tri-pods,
ewers, tureens, boxes, ladles and dippers for use in rituals. Other bronze items included shields,
battle and sacrificial axes, spear blades, halberds, and fittings for chariots and harnesses.
Religious practices were centered on divination and the consulting of a multitude of
deities and ancestors. The Shang believed in the balance between the natural and human world.
Nature spirits and fertility deities include Eastern Mother, Western Mother, Ruler of the Four
Quarters, The Dragon Woman, The Snake Spirit, and the supreme being Shang Di , the Lord on
High (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014a). Shang Di controlled the rain, thunder, wind, punishment,
blessings, and enemy invasions. To keep balance between nature and humans required rituals,
offerings, and animal or human sacrifice. This belief in balance has transcended Chinese history
and is best known as the Yin and Yang, the harmony of the feminine or darkness and the
masculine or light (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014b).
China has one of the richest, most mysterious histories in the world and a civilization that
has survived over many millennia. While many empires have risen and fallen, China has

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continued to survive and go on. The Shang Dynasty passed their cultural influences on to
subsequent dynasties through their bronze innovations and artistry, their religious ideology of
divination and ancestor reverence, and perhaps most importantly their written records.

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References
Britannica Inc., Encyclopedia. (2014a). China. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111803/China.
Britannica Inc., Encyclopedia. (2014b). Yinyang Eastern Philosophy. Retrieved from
Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.search.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/653297/yinyang.
Keay, J. (2011). China: A history.New York: Basic Books.
Morton, W., & Lewis, C. (2005). China: Its history and culture. 4th ed. New York: McGrawHill.
Syon, G. D. (2014). Shang Dynasty develops writing and bronze work. Salem Press
Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=744eb0f2-6e09-47dfbe7b-09bc175d3495%40sessionmgr112&vid=0&hid#db=ers&AN=89454407.
Tanner, H. (2009). China: A history. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub.