(http://www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/images/maps/china-shang-large.gif)Date of Power:
Period of Ruling: 1600-1046 BC
Reason of take-over:
Xia dynasty was the first hereditary dynasty of china, which was followed by the Shang dynasty. And have you ever wonder how did the Xia dynasty ended? This is why: Xia dynasty last ruler was Jie, and this dynasty ended during under his reign. Jie was a notorious tyrannical emperor. His life as an emperor was extravagant, while the life of his people was miserable and harsh. Jie never gave any attention in ruling the country; he further killed the ministry who gave good advice to him. The chief of the Shang tribe, Tang, then rose up and lastly overthrew Jie; which also overthrew the Xia dynasty.
- http://www.toureasy.net/html/aboutchina/ChineseHistory/Shang.htm
- http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/xia/
Leader of Civilization
During Shang Dynasty there were aproximately 31 emperors; which the followings are 5 of emperors:
Shang Tang: The first emperor of the Shang Dynasty. Tang was the chief of the Shang tribe during the Xia dynasty. He initiated 11 wars against the Xia dynasty, after seeing the dynasty had began to weaken. During the eleventh war, there was an internal rebellion in the Xia dynasty; resulting Tang to knock down Xia armies and gain victory in 1600 BC. Tang overthrew Xia dynasty and set Jie into exile until he died.
-http://www.chinatownconnection.com/images/shangdynasty.jpg
- http://www.yutopian.com/arts/shang/hfigure.html
Tai Jia: grandson of Tang ((1,753 1,720 B.C.) Tai Jia was an incapable, tyrant ruler at the beginning; he broke his own laws and treat people badly. Yi Ying, the prime minister during Tai Jia’s reign, had seen the king’s attitude was immoral; so he gave an advice to change the way of ruling, but the Tai Jia was headstrong and refuse to listen. Yi Ying then had no choice but to imprison Tai Jia in the Tong Palace for three years. In the end, Yi Ying invited emperor Tai Jia back to the government and taught him how to be a good king. Afterwards he ruled his kingdom peacefully and was obeyed by other states.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Jia
Zhong Ding: son of Tai Wu (1562-1550 BC). Under Zhong Ding’s reign, he had moved the capital from Hao to Xico. During this period, it was the starting of frequent conflict within the royal family, which caused a continuously external problem within the dynasty. This result cause Shang dynasty to move its capital for a few times. Furthermore, Zhong Ding also put the Deng Kingdom to an end which was built during the Xia dynasty.
- http://ajonard.com/Public/HTML/shang.htm
- Wu Yi: Son of Geng Ding (1147-1112 BC). Wu Yi was a cruel emperor, which demonstrates his power by playing called ‘Luibo’. He had his own idol which was called ‘heavenly spirit’. During the game of Luibo, who would let a person to move his idol as if it is a real human. Whenever his idol didn’t when in a game, he would kill the person who moved his Heavenly Spirit. After he killed the person, he would filled the person’s blood into a bag. Finally he would shoot the bag with his arrow until it burst, which he called this game ‘Shooting at Heaven’.
- http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:wZsTRMbLlCEJ:www.indiana.edu/~g380/Shang-Discov.pdf+tai+jia+shang+dynasty&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=th
http://www.wku.edu/~yuanh/China/clips/shangzhouwang.jpg- Zhou: Emperor Zhou was one of the cruelest rulers of China. He tortured his people and was very atrocious. Under Zhou’s reign, chopstick first appears in the history, so it is believed that chopstick was invented during this time. At late in Zhou’s life, he faced many rebellions and was forced to burned himself up; which this was the end of Shang dynasty
- http://ajonard.com/Public/HTML/shang.htm
Leader from another Civilization
http://members.aol.com/tonymorosc/harppage/KingDavidTripleHarp.jpgKing David: King David was the second king of Israel which he ruled approximately 40 years from 1010 and 970 BC. King David was well-known for his diverse skills as a warrior and for his poem writings. He also plays an important role in the bible fighting for the Jews. King David’s background was not clearly stated in the history, but it was told that he was a handsome man with red-haired.
- http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/David.html
Technology:
Shang dynasty was known as the Bronze Age, this was because bronze casting was invented and improved during this period of time. Many arts made from bronze were discovered; for examples: musical instruments, statues, weapons, and many more.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/shang.html)
Rather than bronze improvements, one of the first writing inventions was developed at this period of time too. However, most of the writing records of the Sang had disappeared – due to they were written in bamboo strips, the writings record written on bronze and oracle bones still survived. So this was the piece of evidence which proves us that the first writing inventions were developed during the Shang Dynasty. The writing system of Shang dynasty’s time was compared to a pictograph. For most of the words, its meanings can be told by looking from its shape; which now all these words were improved and revolutionized into more complicated words. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCCHINA/SHANG.HTM)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pou_with_four_ram_head.jpgThe economy of this dynasty was commonly based on agriculture. Farming was primary, people worked in demanding the silk growth and arts of weaving silk. This was because; silk became the China’s main export products. Bronze productions such as weapons and vessels were also numerous, they were used by the workers for they to perform in mining and refining works. http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Dynasty/dynasty-Shang.html
During the Shang Dynasties, the society was divided into two classes, which includes: the nobles and the commoners – whom the highest rank was a priest king, or an emperor.
http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/ancient_china/dynasties/shang/index.shtml
Shang lif
e was reinforced by the religious beliefs. It was believed that they worshipped the ancestor of the god which was the kings’ root. So this was why the king should pass on his power to his children or brothers in this dynasty. The lowest rank of this society was the peasants, which was considered a type of the commoners. Peasants were used for hard labor and working, which benefits the higher ranks. However, they were not considered slaves.http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_681500371/Shang_Dynasty.html
http://www.hartifacts.com/orient/hoods/images/jade.jpg
Government Changes
The government system of the Shang dynasty was primary ruled by the king, or emperor -- Which in the late of this dynasty, the weakness of this system appeared clearly that a king could not rule all alone. In addition a king’s system of controlling over the lords and chiefs was usually uncertain; this was because there were many shifting systems which required the military force, because of lacking the communications made it hard controlling the entire system for the king.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_681500371/Shang_Dynasty.html
http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/groot_jjm_de/fetes_emoui_pt1/illustrations/groot_emoui1_planche_02.jpg (picture above shows one of the Shang-ti statue)Current Religion
People during the Shang dynasty worshipped a figure called ‘Shan Ti’. They believed that the Shang-Ti was the dead god, which ruled the entire universe. It was also believed the ancestors and family members that past by became god-like when they die. So this was why the Shang worshipped their ancestors so much. Sacrificing was also a big issue during that time. People were being sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. One of the major events was when a king died or passed away, hundreds of slaves or prisoners were sacrificed and buried with the king.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/ancient_china/shang.html
http://www.art-virtue.com/introduction/GiaGuWen.gifPhilosophy and Literature:
There wasn’t any proof of the real literature at the time of Shang Dynasty, because the old documents and the written works was so old that no one could clearly understood what they were about. However, the written works on bronze art and oracle bones was evidence which proved that the written system was invented in this dynasty. Most of the history before and during this dynasty was written on these evidences.
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/shang-literature.html
Reason of fall:
King Zhou was the last emperor of the Shang dynasty; the dynasty fell under his reign. As I stated at the beginning, king Zhou was a very cruel king, he tortured everyone including his family members. He exiled his own elder brother Wei Zi; he further cut open Bi Gan, his own uncle; and imprisoned his kind uncle, Ji Zi. These three people were called ‘the three benevolent gentlemen’. After he got rid of these three siblings, he could now rule the entire Shang. However, everything got worsen. People started to rebel against him; even his own family ran away from him, leaving him alone. Lastly leaving him no other choice, he ended his life burning himself to death in about 1122 BC. http://ajonard.com/Public/HTML/shang.htm
Work Cited:
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