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Government: The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy government.

https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/the_shang_dynasty_1600_to_1050_bce#:~:text=The%20Shang%20Dynasty%20was%20a,course%20of%20almost%20600%20years.&text=The%20king%20was%20served%20by,related%20to%20the%20king%20himself.

Social classes:

1. King and Royal Family

2. Nobles

3. Officials

4. Craftsmen

5. Traders

6. Peasants

7. Slaves

Same website

Religion: Nature spirits, along with ancestors, and they believed in fortune and after life.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/shang-dynasty-religion-art-culture.html#:~:text=Current%20knowledge%20of%20the%20Shang,or%20ox%20bone%20and%20carve

The fall: The Shang Dynasty fell around 1046 BCE because of the "Battle of Muye." They were trying to get freed by their own ruler who was evil.

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Selena Lai and Waka Takahashi Brown
November 2006
available in PDF format ( 180.78 KB )

Excerpt from Chinese Dynasties Part One: The Shang Dynasty Through the Tang Dynasty, 1600 BCE to 907 CE

The Shang Dynasty marked the middle of China's Bronze Age and was a dynasty that made great contributions to Chinese civilization. Scholars do not fully agree on the dates and details of the earliest Chinese dynasties, but most accept that the Shang Dynasty is the first one to have left behind written records and solid archaeological evidence of its existence. The Shang is the second dynasty of the Three Dynasties Period. Legends speak of the earlier Xia dynasty, but no written records from that time have been found to confirm this. Even though texts written later than the Shang Dynasty mention the Xia Dynasty, Western scholars argue that they are not enough to prove it truly existed. Therefore, most Western scholars regard the legendary Xia as an early civilization that existed between the Neolithic and Shang cultures. But many Chinese scholars firmly believe that the Xia did indeed exist even if written records have never been found.

Because the Three Dynasties' civilization occupied the Yellow River valley, this geographic area is often called the birthplace or cradle of Chinese civilization. While this is true in some regard, one must keep in mind that the Shang was but one of several contemporary civilizations in China. ¹ It may have been the only one with written records, but that does not mean it was the only one in existence. More recently discovered archaeological sites far away from the Yellow River valley reveal distinctly different cultures from the Shang, and scholars are now trying to determine how much these cultures influenced each other.

Oracle Bones

Before the discovery of the Shang oracle bones and the interpretation of their inscriptions and bronze inscriptions, scholars had no firm proof that the Shang Dynasty existed. Up to that point, Shang history had been based heavily on historical accounts written long after the Shang period ended. Shang bronze inscriptions were usually very short. With so little information, scholars questioned whether the dynasty even existed. The information and details inscribed onto oracle bones matched what was recorded in texts written centuries later, thereby providing the evidence scholars needed. The oracle bone inscriptions and the bronze inscriptions mark the beginning of written Chinese history.

The king or professional diviners hired by the king used oracle bones to make predictions about the future or to answer questions such as, "Will the king have a son?", "Will it rain tomorrow?", "If we send 3,000 men into battle, will we succeed?", or even "Is the long drought caused by ancestor X?" ² The scribe carved the question onto a bone (most often the shoulder bones of water buffalo or other cattle) or a tortoise plastron. ³ On the other side of the bone or plastron he would carve a number of small pits. He then inserted a hot metal rod into these pits until the bone cracked; and the king or diviner interpreted the cracks. Then, on the other side of the bone, the scribe carved the answer and the eventual outcome.

By analyzing oracle bone inscriptions, other artifacts, and archaeological sites such as tombs and ancient cities, scholars have been able to piece together many details of Shang civilization. They have confirmed the names of its kings, its style of government, its military history, its religious beliefs and rituals, and its society.

The Kingdom

According to legend, the Shang Dynasty was founded sometime around 1600 BCE by a virtuous man named Cheng Tang, who overthrew the evil king of the legendary Xia. The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy governed by a series of kings, 29 or 30 in total, over the course of almost 600 years. ⁴ The king was served by officials who held specialized positions of authority and function; and the officials belonged to a hereditary class of aristocrats, usually related to the king himself. ⁵

While the king lived in and ruled from a capital city, it wasn't always the same city. Although historical records mention many different Shang capitals, only a few have actually been confirmed with archaeological evidence. No one knows exactly why a king would move the capital but some scholars think it had to do with internal power struggles within the royal family.

Cheng Tang is said to have established the dynasty's first capital at a town called Shang (near modern-day Zhengzhou), but later kings moved the capital many more times, the last being a place called Yin (near modern-day Anyang). Archaeological evidence suggests that the town of Shang was the ancestral capital of the dynasty that remained in a fixed location throughout the dynasty. It was where the Shang kings kept their most sacred ancestral temples, tablets, and regalia. The political capital was where the kings lived and ruled from. While the political capital moved many times during the dynasty, the ancestral capital never moved. ⁶

The core of the dynasty was located in the northern part of modern-day Henan province, in a triangular area between the cities of Anyang, Luoyang, and Zhengzhou, the latter two of which are on the Yellow River. In addition to uncovering the remains of several Shang cities, archaeologists have found huge tombs of many Shang kings and their families. Even though the dynasty was centered in this area, its culture reached places much farther away.

As the oracle bones and other artifacts and records revealed, the Shang kings were constantly at war with outsiders near and far. Many of the oracle bones bore questions related to battles, such as the outcome of a future battle or how many men to send into battle. The king sent out armies of as many as 13,000 men to fight battles on behalf of the kingdom. Victorious armies brought back prisoners of war-as many as 30,000 at a time-who either became laborers or ritual sacrifices. ⁷ The armies also helped gain new territories and bring back precious resources for the kingdom.

Religion

The Shang worshipped the "Shang Di," who was the supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places. ⁸ They also worship8ped their ancestors because they believed that although their ancestors lived in heaven after their death, they were still actively involved in the affairs of family and descendants. The kings communicated with their ancestors using oracle bones and made frequent sacrifices to them. As in many other societies, they sacrificed animals to royal ancestors and to various nature gods, ⁹ using sacrifices to ask the ancestors or gods for help and to feed the ancestors or gods to keep them strong. ¹⁰ They believed that if they failed to properly worship their ancestors, their family and the kingdom would experience many disasters.

Because the Shang believed in the afterlife and ancestor worship, they thought very seriously about burial and what was to accompany the deceased to his or her grave. The vast and elaborate tombs of the Shang royal family are signs of their strong beliefs. Among the many treasures buried in important people's tombs were the remains of many other people. Some were nameless individuals who had been captured during battle and used as human sacrifices at burials. Others were relatives or lower-ranking dependents of the deceased. This practice of burying lower-ranking people reflected the Shang's belief that those related to a king or lord by blood or service in life were expected to continue that relationship in death. ¹¹

Shang Contributions to Chinese Civilization

The Shang made many contributions to Chinese civilization, but four in particular define the dynasty: the invention of writing; the development of a stratified government; the advancement of bronze technology; and the use of the chariot and bronze weapons in warfare.

The Invention of Writing
The oracle bone inscriptions are the oldest known form of Chinese writing. By comparing and equating the inscriptions to modern Chinese characters, scholars have shown that the Shang had already developed all the principles of the modern writing system used today. In fact, Chinese writing has undergone relatively few changes since it was first developed 3,500 years ago.

Since Shang documents were originally recorded on strips of bamboo and silk that have long since decomposed, the oracle bones and bronze inscriptions bear the only written history from the Shang era. Since Shang bronze inscriptions were very short and did not say much, most of what is known about the Shang Dynasty is from the oracle bones. Toward the end of the Shang, writing was also inscribed on bronze objects.

A Stratified Government and Society
The Shang political system was organized into a hierarchy, meaning that it had many levels of rank and many specialized functions and jobs, all passed down within a noble family. Shang society was also hierarchical with many different levels of social rank.

The invention of writing had a profound effect on Shang government and its ability to rule. It increased the government's ability to organize on a large scale, whether it be to oversee a hierarchical administration; rule the state's many territories; organize the mining of large quantities of ore for bronzework; wage large military campaigns; construct city walls and palaces; or build elaborate tombs for themselves.

Bronze Technology
The Shang Dynasty existed during China's bronze age. At that time, bronze represented power, wealth, and luxury. By looking at the way bronze was used by the Shang, it is clear that only those with any degree of power in the kingdom had access to using bronze objects. Shang bronzes fall into two categories: weapons or ceremonial vessels for food and wine. By far, most of the pieces are ceremonial vessels and speak of a society and culture that valued rituals, such as rituals for burial, celebration, and worshipping gods and ancestors. Bronze was not used for common tools, such as hammers or hoes.

Archaeologists have dug up thousands of Shang bronze pieces, ranging from small objects to huge food and wine vessels weighing as much as 2,000 pounds. The artistry and workmanship of the bronze pieces reveal the Shang's mastery of bronze technology. The Shang perfected a technique known as piece-mold casting, a complicated process that involved creating a mold out of clay; carving a design into it; pouring molten bronze into the mold; cracking the mold away; and adding handles as a final step. The actual shape, design, and decoration of ritual vessels changed over time according to changing importance of rituals and belief systems.

The Use of the Chariot and Bronze Weapons in Warfare
The advancement of bronze technology and the use of bronze weapons gave the Shang military great advantage over their enemies and completely changed the way they fought wars. They used newly-developed weapons like the bronze-tipped halberd and spear, the compound bow; and most importantly, they used horse-drawn chariots.

The chariot, which had most likely been introduced from western Asia, completely changed the way battles were fought. Chariots allowed commanders to supervise their troops efficiently and across great distances. They also gave soldiers a significant edge over their opponents by making them highly mobile and fast. Since war was central to life during the Shang Dynasty, these developments in weapons were very important in allowing the Shang to maintain its military supremacy.

The End of the Shang

The Shang Dynasty ended in about 1050 BCE, when conquerors from the state of Zhou invaded the capital and successfully toppled the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou conquerors claimed to overthrow the Shang Dynasty for moral reasons. They said that the Shang king was evil and that heaven no longer wanted him to rule. They blamed the Shang's downfall on its king's excessive drinking, indulgent lifestyle, and immoral behavior. The downfall remained a cautionary tale to kings and emperors for years to come.

Notes

1. Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy, editors, The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 14.

2. Charles O. Hucker, China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1975), 29.

3. David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang History: The Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1978), 6.

4. Kwang-Chih Chang, Shang Civilization (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1980), 6; David N. Keightley, "The Shang: China's First Historical Dynasty," in The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C., edited by Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaugnessy, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 232.

5. Hucker, 30.

6. Chang, 212.

7. Chang, 194.

8. Richard Hooker, "Ancient China: The Shang" (1996), , 1.

9. Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History: China (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 25.

10. Ebrey, 25.

11. Keightley, "The Shang: China's First Historical Dynasty," 286.

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Selena Lai and Waka Takahashi Brown November 2006 available in PDF format ( 180.78 KB ) Excerpt from Chinese Dynasties Part One: The Shang Dynasty Through the Tang Dynasty, 1600 BCE to 907 CE The Shang Dynasty marked the middle of China's Bronze Age and was a dynasty that made great contributions to Chinese civilization.

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The Zhou Dynasty rose in 1046 BCE. They rose from beating the Shang Dynasty is the Battle of Muye. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zhou-dynasty

The Mandate of Heaven was a thought that there could only be one ruler in China and the ruler was picked by the Gods.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-mandate-of-heaven/

The Dynastic cylce was a historical pattern was where a family was given power through the Mandate of Heaven, which lead to natural disasters, famine, and popular uprising.

https://www.studentsofhistory.com/the-dynastic-cycle

The inventions were iron tools and ox drawn plows.

http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhou-tech.html

The fall the Zhou Dynasty was their goverment system was breaking down and they could not repair it anymore. It fell in 771 BCE.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-fmcc-boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-zhou-dynasty/

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Learning Objective

Describe the Zhou Dynasty's justification for overthrowing the Shang Dynasty

Key Points

In 1046 BCE, the Shang Dynasty was overthrown at the Battle of Muye, and the Zhou Dynasty was established.

The Zhou created the Mandate of Heaven: the idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. They used this Mandate to justify their overthrow of the Shang, and their subsequent rule.

Some scholars think the earlier Xia Dynasty never existed-that it was invented by the Zhou to support their claim under the Mandate that there had always been only one ruler of China.

Terms

Battle of Muye

The battle that resulted with the Zhou, a subject people living in the western part of the kingdom, overthrew the Shang Dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven

The Chinese philosophical concept of the circumstances under which a ruler is allowed to rule. Good rulers were allowed to rule under the Mandate of Heaven, while despotic, unjust rulers had the Mandate revoked.

In 1046 BCE, the Zhou, a subject people living in the western part of the kingdom, overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye. This was a battle between Shang and Zhou clans, over the Shang's expansion. They largely had the support of the Chinese people: Di Xin (the final king of the Shang Dynasty) had become cruel, spent state money on drinking and gambling, and ignored the state. The Zhou established authority by forging alliances with regional nobles, and founded their new dynasty with its capital at Fenghao (near present-day Xi'an, in western China).

Under the Zhou Dynasty, China moved away from worship of Shangdi ("Celestial Lord") in favor of worship of Tian ("heaven"), and they created the Mandate of Heaven. According to this idea, there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and this ruler reigned as the "Son of Heaven" with the approval of the gods. If a king ruled unfairly he could lose this approval, which would result in his downfall. Overthrow, natural disasters, and famine were taken as a sign that the ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate of Heaven did not require a ruler to be of noble birth, and had no time limitations. Instead, rulers were expected to be good and just in order to keep the Mandate. The Zhou claimed that their rule was justified by the Mandate of Heaven. In other words, the Zhou believed that the Shang kings had become immoral with their excessive drinking, luxuriant living, and cruelty, and so had lost their mandate. The gods' blessing was given instead to the new ruler under the Zhou Dynasty, which would rule China for the next 800 years.

The need for the Zhou to create a history of a unified China is also why some scholars think the Xia Dynasty may have been an invention of the Zhou. The Zhou needed to erase the various small states of prehistoric China from history, and replace them with the monocratic Xia Dynasty in order for their Mandate of Heaven to seem valid (i.e., to support the claim that there always would be, and always had been, only one ruler of China).

The Zhou ruled until 256 BCE, when the state of Qin captured Chengzhou. However, the Mandate of Heaven philosophy carried on throughout ancient China.

Sources

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Describe the Zhou Dynasty's justification for overthrowing the Shang Dynasty In 1046 BCE, the Shang Dynasty was overthrown at the Battle of Muye, and the Zhou Dynasty was established. The Zhou created the Mandate of Heaven: the idea that there could be only one legitimate ruler of China at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods.

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The Qin Dynasty gained their power from the military in China in 221 BCE.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Qin-dynasty

The Qin Dynasty leader was Qin Shi Huang also known as Ying Zheng.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Qin-dynasty

Architecture work

The Qin Dynasty created excisting walls, roads, and canals such as the Lingqu Canal, and the straight road.

The Qin Dynasty also created the Terracota Army with thousands of life sized warrior sculptures, horses, and chariots created to guard the tomb of the first empire.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Qin-dynasty

The Qin dynasty fell in 210 BCE due to their tyranical rule which caused wide spread disconnection between everyone after the death of Qin Shi Huang.

https://www.history.com/articles/qin-dynasty

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Qin dynasty, Qin also spelled Kin or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ch'in, dynasty that established the first great Chinese empire. The Qin-which lasted only from 221 to 207 bce but from which the name China is derived-established the approximate boundaries and basic administrative system that all subsequent Chinese dynasties were to follow for the next two millennia.

The dynasty was originated by the state of Qin, one of the many small feudal states into which China was divided between 771 and 221 bce. The Qin, which occupied the strategic Wei River valley in the extreme northwestern area of the country, was one of the least Sinicized of those small states and one of the most martial. Between the middle of the 3rd and the end of the 2nd century bce, the rulers of Qin began to centralize state power, creating a rigid system of laws that were applicable throughout the country and dividing the state into a series of commanderies and prefectures ruled by officials appointed by the central government. Under those changes, Qin slowly began to conquer its surrounding states, emerging into a major power in China.

Finally, in 246 bce, the boy king Ying Zheng came to the throne. He, together with his minister Li Si, completed the Qin conquests and in 221 created the Qin empire. Ying Zheng proclaimed himself Qin Shihuangdi ("First Sovereign Emperor of Qin"). To rule the vast territory, the Qin instituted a rigid, authoritarian government; they standardized the writing system, standardized the measurements of length and weight and the width of highways, abolished all feudal privileges, oversaw large-scale construction of what then became the first Great Wall, and in 213, to halt subversive thought, ordered all books burned, except those on such utilitarian subjects as medicine.

Those harsh methods, combined with the huge tax levies needed to pay for the construction projects and wars, took their toll, and rebellion erupted after Shihuangdi's death in 210 bce. In 207 the dynasty was overthrown and, after a short transitional period, was replaced by the Han dynasty (206 bce-220 ce).

The Qin dynasty left two architectural monuments of massive proportions-one the Great Wall of China, which actually connected sections of a number of existing short walls, and the other a great palace for the first emperor, which contained a hall of state some 1,500 feet (450 metres) square. Its most important artistic contribution may have been the simplification and standardization of the emerging written Chinese language. Little survives of Qin painting, but it generally emulated what was being produced late in the Zhou period (1046-256 bce). Silhouettes drawn on funerary slabs depict feasts and beasts (mythical and actual) and historic scenes. The Qin tomb near present-day Xi'an in Shaanxi province, the burial place of Shihuangdi with an army of some 8,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers and horses, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. The Qin did not last long enough to stamp out literature and learning effectively, and much of the rich legacy of the ancient Shang dynasty managed to survive into the successor Han, under which the arts thrived greatly.

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Qin dynasty | History, Facts, & Achievements

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Qin dynasty, Qin also spelled Kin or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ch'in, dynasty that established the first great Chinese empire. The Qin-which lasted only from 221 to 207 bce but from which the name China is derived-established the approximate boundaries and basic administrative system that all subsequent Chinese dynasties were to follow for the next two millennia.