The Shang Dynasty T-Chart
Characteristics |
Important Facts, Evidence, and Explainations |
Goverment |
During the Shang Dynasty, there was a monarchy and an emperor as the monarch. The Shang Dynasty’s monarch was ruled by about 30 emperors, over the 600 years. The emperors were served by high- authority officials. The officials were from a class of aristocrats where the decedents would take their place as officials, often the officials would be related to the emperor himself. The emperor would constantly move the capital and live in that capital.
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Religion |
These oracle bones show that during this dynasty the religion was polytheist. In this religion they believed that their ancestors had an afterlife and prayed to them for protection over their families. They built elaborate and fancy tombs for the dead so they could enjoy their afterlife similar to the Egyptians. For instance, when a king died his pets and servants would be sacrificed so they could live in heaven as they did on earth.
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Social Structure |
The king and nobles were at the top of the social pyramid. The warriors were also very powerful even though they were immediately below the king and nobles. The peasants were at the bottom of the pyramid, very poor and could barely afford to pay the enforced and required taxes to the emperor. The royal families would live in a palace with their divisors and advisers whom predicted the future.
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Technology |
During the Shang dynasty the use of chariots, like the on you see on the left, and bronze weaponry were very useful in warfare. During this time period bronze showed power, wealth and rich. Only the powerful had access to this precious material during Shang. Bronze was used for weapons and ceremonial vessels for food and wine. A ceremonial vessel is a hollow utensil, such as a cup, vase, or pitcher, used as a container, especially for liquids, such as wine. The chariots used during Shang were horse driven. Chariots were a whole new perspective for war plan. With these chariots generals could supervise their troops productively and travel long distances. This was very important because war was the central aspect of life during the Shang dynasty.
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Stable Food Supply |
Millet, as shown on left, was a staple food during the Shang dynasty. Wheat and rice were common food during this time. To keep a stable food supply the people used wood and stone tools for farming. Crops such as wheat, rice, and other grains were planted on large farms. Animals such as oxen and bison were used to plow heavy bundles. Wheat from the bundles were loosened by being beaten with sticks. The ancient Chinese used a complex irrigation system. Common food were eggs, fish, rice, and wheat.
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Art |
A popular material for art, that was used during that time period, was jade. What was special about this jade art is that, jade cannot be carved it must be elaborately shaped by sawing,filling and grinding. Another material used for art was bronze. The use of bronze in art during the Shang dynasty was for carving intricate shapes and patterns in the tough material.
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Writing |
The earliest examples of writing were the oracle bones. Oracle bones were turtle shells or bones of other animals.The writing on oracle bones were to record the history of the emperor. Bamboo was also written on during this time period. People believe that Chinese writing originated from pictographs, similar to the Egyptians. The ancient Chinese writing system is a series of signs representing pictures and events.
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