Shang

商

SHANG

According to traditional Chinese history, the Shang were the second dynasty to rule China. They are the first dynasty of which we have unequivocal historical evidence because one of their great innovations was the invention of writing. They made extensive use of this invention, particularly for divination on oracle bones, which survive to this day, both corroborating and conflicting with the traditional Chinese version of events.

As they appear in the oracle bone inscriptions, the Shang were rulers of a rather decentralised state, mostly concerned with the receipt of tribute from provinces and the proper observation of sacrifices throughout the empire. Their civilisation was based on bronze working, and the highest prestige objects were bronze tripods; nine of them in the capital symbolised the Emperor’s very right to rule.

As they appear in Chinese historical records, the Shang serve as the paradigmatic Chinese dynasty. A virtuous man, Chéngtāng, rebels against the previous dynasty, Xia, which had grown corrupt, overthrows it and establishes a new dynasty. He is a sage ruler, as are his immediate successors and for many generations the people enjoy great prosperity. Eventually, however, the Emperors grow indolent and corrupt, ruling for their own pleasure rather than the welfare of their people. A final caricature of a tyrant, Dì Xīn Zhòu, rules so badly that the very Heavens turn against him, bringing natural disasters which signal the need for the dynasty to be overthrown and replaced. The Chinese understood (and understand) this pattern to have repeated throughout their history, at least down to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.

A final note; the oracle bones and western sources usually refer to this Dynasty as Shang. Chinese sources know this name, but often prefer to refer to the Dynasty, especially its second half, as Yin (殷), after the dynasty’s final capital, the city of Yin, near modern Anyang.