2010+Ancient+China+3

GREATS Project Ancient China (Shang Dynasty)


 * Dates: (R.R)** 1766 BCE - 1122 BCE

This is a drawing of Zhou Wuwang, the first ruler of the Zhou dynasty. He succeeded in defeating the Shang armies. He used many Shang improvements for his own empire, and created a government for the dynasty, which became the longest in Chinese history.
 * Maps: (M.B)**[[image:http://www.chinahighlights.com/image/chinamap/ancient/shang-dynasty-map1.gif width="184" height="127"]][[image:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTR8rklJvUakyU5Cx9iA_XrNMQZi5SlTBMMPmn4ZEfqwong6xk&t=1&usg=__dSznAvYEo5aY55X4WhP7TdF7f_w= width="153" height="156"]] **Government: (R.R)**
 * The capital of the Shang dynasty was Anyang.
 * Divine right ("sent by god") kings ruled from walled palaces, using aristocrats connected to the throne by marriage to govern Shang states. In times of war, these aristocrats became generals.
 * The king and nobility owned most of the farmland.
 * The king conscripted commoners to fi ght wars and construct city improvements like walls frequently.
 * The Shang dynasty was succeeded by the Zhou dynasty.


 * Religion: (R.R)**
 * The Shang believed in many gods and nature spirits, but their patron goddess wash Shang Di, the mother goddess who brought plants and animals to the Earth. The king was seen as the connection to Shang Di.
 * The Chinese believed that Shang Di would not respond to the pleas of mere mortals. The believed that she would only listen to their ancestors, so they prayed to their ancestors to pray to Shang Di.
 * Kings and high ranking advisors w ould write questions on animal bones or tortoise shells. These were placed over a fire to make it crack. Then the cracks were read to divine the answer from their ancestors.
 * Human sacrifices were very common in Shang China. The ruler would sacrifice commoners for "the good of the civilization." These commoners were then thrown into Royal Shang burial pits.

 This is a Shang ceremonial vessel, known as a //ding//. It was used in religious sacrifices.

**Economy: (E.B)**


 * The Shang dynasty was an agricultural civilization.
 * The land that was farmed was owned by the King and his Nobels.
 * Many people in the Shang dynasty were peasants.
 * Most peasants lived in farming villages.
 * The houses of the average man in the Shang were more like pits than houses.
 * Noble families lived in stone or timber houses that were rather large.




 * Arts: (E.B)**
 * Oracle bones and bronze work were common materials for art and inscriptions
 * Inscriptions that have been discovered on Oracle bones and bronze show similarities with modern chinese writing.
 * Tombs, storage pits, and houses were decorated with bronze work and oracle bones.
 * Bronze was the main material used for sculpting.
 * Engravings on sculptures would usually include animals, humans, and a glimpse of some religious aspects.
 * Jade was used for making jewlery that only the high class people could be seen wearing.

 **Technology: (M.B)**   > 
 * In war times the Shang men would use leather armor, bronze weapons, and horse-drawn chariots, but the chariots may have come from outside of China, they aren't sure
 * Tools that the peasants used to farm with were made simply out of stone. There houses were dug out of the ground and had thatch-roofing. Earth around them acted as a heater in the winter and air-conditioner in the summer.
 * The Shang dynasty was consider very skilled with bronze and created things such as basins, bells, bottles, bowls, pitchers, pots and weapon

**Society: (M.B)** 
 * The Shang dynasty had layers of social classes that where taken very seriously, in other words they were highly stratified.
 * The social classes consisted of royal families, noble warriors, artisans, merchants, and peasants. The power distributition for the social classes goes in the order I just named them. The noble men owned a lot of the land and in battles used leather armor, bronze weapons,and horse-drawn chariots. The bronze weapons were made by the artisans who also made silk robes, jade jewlery, and other goods for these noble men. Merchants were in charge of the trade and with the goods the artisans made they traded for salt, cowrie shells, and goods they did not have. Peasants were the lower class and they farmed in the fields using stone tools, and lived in poor houses. Also they repaired the dikes when they weren't in the feilds and had to fight for their master in wars.
 * They also had a king who pronounced himself as a person sent from G*d to become their king.

**Summary of Achievements: (Group)** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A lot of achievements were made during the Shang dynasty. The Shang created a complex writing system that formed the basis of the modern written Chinese language. They also developed advanced bronze working, allowing them to create decorations and weapons. They created multifunctional urban centers that were used as governmental, societal, and religious centers. In conclusion, the Shang dynasty succeeded in achieving a lot during their time in power.


 * Slogan: (M.B)**
 * Shang was in the North China Plain and loved to rule that thang.