The Shang Dynasty ruled northern China from 1650-1027 BCE. They established the first Chinese civilization, centered around their walled capital of Anyang. Society was divided between an upper class of kings, nobles, and artisans who lived in large houses, and common farmers who lived in small villages. The Shang developed writing, fine pottery, advanced bronze metalworking, and silk production. They practiced human sacrifice in elaborate tombs for kings and believed in an afterlife. The Shang king acted as a priest and communicated with ancestors and gods. Their culture was based on concepts of yin and yang duality and the five elements of nature. The Shang were eventually defeated by the neighboring Zhou kingdom.

1. The Shang Dynasty
1650-1027 B.C.E.
Textbook pages 77-80

2. Chinese Civilization
Begins
• People had been living on the North China Plain
for hundreds of years
• 1650 B.C.E.- communities merged into a small
kingdom ruled by Shang leaders
*Here in northern China, with the Shang kingdom,
Chinese civilization begins to take shape

4. Shang Rule
• Controlled from walled city at Anyang
• Territory was divided into regions
• Nobles were appointed to rule each region
• Nobles were friends of the king, heads of clans, or
previous rulers
• Positions became hereditary

5. Anyang

6. Upper Class
• Shang Kings and Nobles
• Lived in large timber or stone houses
• Could afford to buy art, so artisans gathered around
the capital at Anyang

8. Common Population
• Most people were farmers
• Grew millet and other crops in the Huang He valley
• Huang He valley loess was very fertile surplus in
food growth in population
• These peasants lived in small farming
communities
• Homes=pits dug into the ground with thatched roofs
• Worked very hard on farm & in public projects like
building dikes and as soldiers during war

10. Art and Culture
• Developed an early form of writing
• Fine pottery
• Skilled metal workers particularly using valuable
bronze (religious ceremonies and weapons)
• Silk making advanced technology

14. Burial Practices
• Believed in an afterlife
• Rulers were buried in deep pits, with
bronze, stone, jade, potty, and bone
• Sometimes tombs were 10 metres deep
• Servants were sacrificed and buried with kings

16. Shang Beliefs
• Believed in many gods
• Di, Lord on High good harvests, successful
battles, weather
• Believed in a connection between live and dead
family members
• Gave offerings to dead family members for
protection

17. Shang Beliefs
• King acted as priest
• Thought to be able to better communicate with
important ancestors and gods
• Consulted ancestors before making important
decisions

18. Duality
• Dual: having two parts
• Duality: yin & yang= opposites
• Yin earth, darkness, cold, femininity
• Yang heaven, light, heat, masculinity
• Yin & Yang= harmonious whole
• Yin yang symbol everything contains the
opposite of itself within, making them
interedependent

20. Five Elements
• Shang believed the earth was made-up of five
elements:
• Wood
• Metal
• Fire
• Water
• Earth
• Everything on earth was a combination of these
forces

21. Qi
• Qi: an essential life force governing the universe
• Travelling beneath earth’s surface in currents
• Did not want to disturb this life force
• Fengshui- before building anything, a fengshui
expert would need to be consulted so that there
would be no negative influences

22. End of the Shang Dynasty
• Shang kings constantly at war with surrounding
kingdoms
• Zhou kingdom defeated Shang