2. Map
The Shang Dynasty
lasted around 5- 600
years, and was ruled by
30 different emperors in
its time. It was in the
Bronze Age, and took
over the previous dynasty
using bronze. The Shang
Dynasty was only the
second dynasty the
period, and was not very
large.
3. Background
The Shang Dynasty was a very
important part of the Chinese history.
the Shang Dynasty was created by a rebel
king. It was based on agriculture, but there
was also some hunting. Their military was
fairly strong, and used bronze weapons to
fight with. The Shang also sacrificed
humans. The civilization practiced ancestor
worship, and believed in the afterlife. They
formed their own writing system, and they
also had some astronomers.
4. Social Structure
The highest person in the Shang Dynasty’s social
structure was the king. There were some slaves at
the very bottom of the social structure, and nobles
were the second highest. They were usually
the relatives of the king. The priests were
in charge of the religion of the dynasty,
and watched over the government.
Women were lower than men, and
children (usually girls) were
sometimes killed if they caused
problems.
An example social structure.
5. Housing
The majority of the people in the
Shang dynasty lived in small
farming, and fishing villages while
the rich lived in huge cities
surrounded by gigantic walls. These
huge walls that protected the city
were made of mud and sticks. They
were about 30 feet high, 65 feet
thick and 6kms long. The wall took
18 years to build, and 10 000
people worked on it. The less well
off people during this dynasty lived
in houses made by dried mud and
brick. The doors usually faced south
to keep out the north wind. They
had dirt floors and almost no
furniture.
6. How the Wealthy
The wealthy people in the
Shang dynasty lived in large
wooden houses similar to
these. In their houses, there
were wooden floors and some
furniture. Their main diet for
food was fish, grain products,
vegetable and fruit. They lived
very close to each other, which
let all of the community know
each other well. The people
wore silk and other expensive
materials.
7. Food
The main food for the poor were
millet, which is similar to rice.
The main diet for everyone was
mostly fish. Also, the rich ate
other wild animals but hunting Used for crushing grain
wasn’t a main source of food
and more like a hobby. For
special events, people would
drink millet ale. The ale was
known as wine. If the rich had
extra money to spend, they
would buy vegetables and fruit.
They were not very hard to grow
in the Shang dynasty, as it was
based upon agriculture.
8. Family Life
The family was one of the Oldest Man
most important things in the
Shang Dynasty. Loyalty to
your family was a very key Man’s Wife
part of the culture. The
oldest man was the leader of
the family, and the younger
The children
people looked up to their
parents. The women were
supposed to defer to their A sample Shang
husband, and generally be Dynasty family.
respectful.
9. Marriage
When a girl was 13-16, their marriage
was arranged by their parents. After she
was married she would move to her
husband’s house. The nobles would
marry for political reasons rather than
personal. They would create
links between two different
families or clans.
Two people getting
married.
10. Childbirth Practices
When a woman finds she is pregnant
people thought that everything the
woman says and does will influence
the unborn child. A pregnant woman
reads poetry and doesn't gossip, No speaking gossip
laugh loudly or lose her temper. Also,
Chinese women will read nice stories
before going to sleep. People
believed that if a pregnant woman
eats food that's not correctly cut, her
child will have a deformation.
Pregnant women would not be
allowed to attend funerals, and to
scare away evil sprits Chinese
women slept with knives under their
beds. The women would usually
have the baby in their own house Read nice story before sleeping
with only close family.
11. Childhood
The Shang Dynasty worshipped their ancestors,
so the children obeyed and looked up to their
parents. If you were a girl, you would not be
wanted and seen to be a waste. The male children
would work on trades such as farming or fishing,
and the girls would learn to wash clothes and do
other assorted chores. The children of nobles
would get better education, and generally have a
much better life than the lives of commoners.
Chinese children.
12. Childhood Comparison
Equivalent to
In the Shang dynasty children were expected to do every
thing that their elders told them to do. If the child was a
female, they would usually stay in their house doing chores
like washing clothes. If the child was male, they would have
to farm and fish if they were farmers or fishers and learn to
fight if they were warriors. If they had the blood of the king
the children could do almost anything they would like inside
the walls of their town. Our life is probably the most similar to
the relatives to the king because we don’t have to get are
own food and we can do a lot of things when we want to.
13. Education
Their was not much schooling in the Shang
Dynasty. Nobles would pay tutors to teach their
children, but the average child would not be
educated. The children who learned would be
taught on turtle shells, or bones. They would learn
how to do things by being an apprentice to their
job of choice. Some of the male children would
learn to become warriors and fight in the army, but
girls were not given this option.
The children would be taught
on shells of turtles.
14. Religion
The Shang Dynasty worshipped their ancestors.
This later became a main part of Confucianism,
and the way China thinks. They would bring
offerings to the tombs of their ancestors, but this
wasn’t all of their religion. The Shang Dynasty also
worshipped gods. The highest god was named
Shang Di, Shang Ti or just Di. They
believed in gods of specific things and places,
such as the god of Earth. Dead kings
were thought to have been gods, and
their name was preceded by “Di”.
An offering to an ancestor would
often be a bronze pot.
15. One God
In the Shang dynasty, there
were many gods for war, ocean
etc. but the main god was
Shang Ti/Shang Di. He was the
highest god and ruled over
heavens and all the other gods.
The people of Shang believed
that their gods were very
powerful and could cause
droughts, floods, and plagues.
They also thought that the king
was from the heavens and was
a mortal god, similar to Ancient
Egypt.
16. Clothing
The Shang Dynasty, created the
fundamentals of the Hanfu.
Hanfu is a wool shoulder to knee
fabric. Since the technology was
only simple, the only colours that
could be used were primary
usually red, blue , yellow and
green. The hanfu was worn by
both men and women, and look
almost identical. The higher
strata of society of course had
more elaborate work and motifs
on it even though there were
limited colours available.
Hanfu
17. Art, Music
The art in the Shang Dynasty was mainly based
upon bronze casting. They would make pots and
sculptures out of bronze or pottery, and they would
also make ritual vessels. They made masks, and
rubbings of patterns.
The music of the Shang Dynasty also used
bronze. They would make bronze bells, and also
big bronze drums. Along with ceremonial rites the
Shang would sing. It was believed you could
communicate with the gods by making music or
singing. They would do it as a form of tribute.
18. Festivals
The biggest festival in the Shang
Dynasty was Chinese new year.
Weeks before the new year,
homes would be cleaned
thoroughly in preparation for the
holiday. The new year marks the
end of winter and the start of the
new year. In the new year,
people give small amounts of
money in red envelopes (lucky
money) to each other for good
luck for the year. People who
pray wish for things like good
wealth for the year, good
farming, and successful war.
19. Conclusion
The Shang dynasty was only the
second dynasty in its time but it
is still one of the most important
dynasties. They added a lot to
the culture of China, and also to
the world as a whole. One thing
that changed China forever was
the first Chinese writing system.
The Shang dynasty has probably
changed the world for ever and
is history that will never be
changed.
20. Information Bibliography
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2011.
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Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chinese Bronzes: Of the Shang, 1766-
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Publishing, 2010. Print.
Thorp, Robert L. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization.
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21. Info Biblio 2
“Shang Dynasty Religion.” China Knowledge. 2000. Web.
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/shang-religion.html. 26
May 2011.
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22. Info Biblio 3
Carr, Karen. “Shang Dynasty Architecture.” History for Kids. 16 Mar
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23. Picture Bibliography
Ceramic pot -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosemania/3267207063/sizes/m/in/pho
tostream/
Stone knife -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/4337754798/sizes/m/in/photo
stream/
Another pot -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inyucho/4394400259/sizes/m/in/photos
tream/
Pot -http://www.history-of-china.com/shang-dynasty/the-bronze-of-
shang.html
Rubbing - http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/shang-
arts.html
Chinese marriage - http://news.alibaba.com/gallery/detail/business-
in-schina/100015580-3-chinese-marriage-customs.html
