2010+Ancient+China+5

==== The Shang Dynasty  Project by: Brett Robinson, Lizzy Leclaire, Tyler Drisko, and Rebecca Rapp ====

A ncient China (5)!
//(This is a map of the where the Shang Dynasty was in China)//   GOVERNMENT: Brett Robinson Government in ancient China was a monarchy. The kings were called the Shangs Kings. The kings had aristocrats. The aristocrats were related to the crown through marriage. The aristocrats were governors in the states of China in times of peace. In times of war, the aristocrats would become military generals. The religion in ancient China was tied with government. Religion influenced a lot of political decisions made in ancient China. The kings and aristocrats are the two highest classes you could be in ancient China. They had control over all of the regions political aspects. //(Walled palace where kings would live. This is a modern interpretation of a government building. Now tourists are allowed to visit and enter the palace)//
 * [[image:http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/images/shangmap.gif width="380" height="249"]] ||

RELIGION: Lizzy Leclaire  Religion in ancient China was also tightly linked with its government. The king was not only the ruler of the civilization, he was also the High Priest. Because he was the High Priest, only the king could interpret what the Gods had to say. To interpret what the Gods had said, turtle bones would be heated until they cracked. The way that the bones cracked depended on what the Gods were trying to say, and only the King could no what they meant. Another ritual in ancient China's religion were sacrifices. There were not only animal sacrifices but also human. When a King died, a lot of people sacrificed themselves to die with him. They thought this was a way to honor the Gods and the king. The King could also eat with past Kings and the God Di. As for places to worship, people congregated in temples. Common people may have had afterlife beliefs, but they are unknown now. However, royalty believed that they would live on the left and right of the God Ti, who was the God of the Heavens. The mother goddess was the god who delivered plants and animals to earth. They also believed in the yin and yang which was the balance between the two forces in the universe. Yin was the earth, darkness, and women forces, and yang was heaven, light, and males forces. Ancient China's religion had many aspects, but its main belief was to respect animal spirits and past ancestors. //(Bronze vessels were placed in graves for dead ancestors to place gifts in. This is an example of a bronze vessel that has been dug up in an archealogical dig.)//

//( A statue of a man from ancient China. He was an aristocrat.)//

ECONOMY: Rebecca Rapp The Shang Dynasty's economy ﻿consisted of mostly trade. Artisans made goods for nobles such as bronze weapons, robes made of silk, and jade jewlery. Merchants organized trade among the people. They exchanged food and crafts made by artisans, for salt, cowrie shells and other goods that weren't found in northeastern China. Peasants farmed to grow food to support their families.

//(Cowrie Shells that would have been traded during the Shang Dynasty time period)//



//(This might have been something that they would have used to trade with.)//

ARTS: Rebecca Rapp There were many artistic aspects of the Shang Dynasty's culture. During the Shang dynasty in ancient china, a system of writing was invented. This writing system was the foundation of the written Chinese language. People used ink and a brush to write calligraphy which is fine handwriting. This is a form of art because you need artistic talent and a steady hand to paint the many chinese characters. Many other forms of art were engravings in everyday items such as the elephant shaped wine vessel below.
 * [[image:http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/assets/mediaserver/WorldHistoryAncient/1215/1215761w.jpg caption="Shang dynasty bronze vessel"]] ||
 * //(Shang dynasty bronze vessel)// ||

A lot of small sculptures were also popular such as the picture of the jade work of art above which was found in Ting Wu Bing's consort's tomb. //(This is an example of writing from the ancient china civilization during the Shang dynasty.)//
 * [[image:http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/assets/mediaserver/WorldHistoryAncient/9784/978480w.jpg caption="Jade carving discovered in Shang dynasty tomb"]] ||
 * //(Jade carving discovered in Shang dynasty tomb)// ||

TECHNOLOGY: Lizzy Leclaire Ancient China had very advanced technology. For example, when kings died, they were sometimes buried in wooden tombs that were forty-feet deep. In order for people to build something so large that would not collapse, they must have had advanced tools and methods to build these tombs. Also, not only did they have one horse chariots, they had two horse chariots which were helpful because if you have two horses, you could move faster and there would be less strain on each horse to pull you. Some houses were also partly underground, not completely, like the tombs, but there had to be advanced enough technology in order to keep the house from caving in on families. Ancient China also had intricate bronze vessels, which illustrate China's technology because in order to shape these vessels, craftsmen had to shape the bronze and use tools to carve the beautiful patterns and pictures in the vessels. Another example of how ancient Chinese used technology was that they could make bowls and cups out of Kaolin, which is like porcelain. Astronomers would observe planets and solar eclipses, which would allow them to make a calendar that was 365 and a quarter days long. They could also make silk thread from silkworms. Because of ancient China's advanced technology, the civilization prospered. //(This is a picture of an excavated site. These were ancient Chinese houses)//

SOCIETY: Tyler Drisco
The Shang Dynasty had several social classes, but the most powerful social class was the noble family. The king had several huge responsibilities in the Shang Dynasty which were political matters, religious rights, and he commanded large armies which consisted of Shang warriors. Shang warriors fought wars and they were usually commanded by either the king or commoners who are conscripted by the king to fight wars. Commoners had big responsibilities that included fighting wars and working on large-scale construction projects on city walls. On some occasions commoners were called on human sacrafice. Middle class people included craftsmen and merchants. Examples of craftsmen were bronze workers, stone carvers, and potters. The silk clothes were made by women and then either sold to royalty or traded by merchants. Merchants sold many items such as food which was grown by farmers. The farmers grew their crops on government land because they weren't wealthy enough to own their own land. The land that was farmed on was controlled by commoners. In the Shang Dynasty slavery didn't exist because every person that wasn't in the noble classes or craftsmen or merchants were farmers that worked for the government. All the social classes had big responsibilities that contributed to society.  //(This is a statue of a King. He would have been at the top of the social class.)//

Summary: Whole group
Ancient China had many reasons that it became a thriving civilization. For government, it had a system that worked. Whomever became king told all the common people that he could understand the Gods. Whether or not this was true, people believed him and followed the kings orders. They had highly advanced technology that allowed them to build large tombs, construct sturdy houses, make silk clothes, and more. China's economy was also strong. They had people trading and farming. Everybody had a job so the economy did not crash. Last but not least, China's art was extremely intricate and beautiful. Their characters are still used today and are just as beautiful as now as they were then.