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Shang Dynasty

What was the Shang Dynasty?

The Shang Dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty for which we have written and archaeological evidence .

Most historians now date the dynasty from 1600-1046 BC when it was succeeded by the Zhou Dynasty.

The Shang Dynasty was centred around the Yellow River in North East China but moved its capital on a number of occasions. The artistry of its craftsmen has made the dynasty famous for its bronze and jade work.

Top 10 facts

• The first ruler of the Shang was Tang Shang, a military leader. There were thirty Shang Emperors; a dynasty is a succession of rulers from the same family or line .
• The Shang built their houses and public buildings out of wood and mud. They built mud banks to try and hold back flooding. Defensive walls and towers were also built of mud.
• Shang society was divided into different classes . At the top were the ruling class under the royal family , then came priests , an administrative class, warriors, craftsmen, traders, farmers and slaves . Most people were farmers.
• Noble warriors paid tributes to the Emperor who granted them land in return for their loyalty.
• The Shang were specialists in bronze work and many beautiful artefacts have been recovered from their tombs.
• The Shang believed in a supreme God, Shang Di , as well as subsidiary powers or spirits. Ancestor worship and the family were central to their religious practice.They also believed in an afterlife and were buried with the goods, slaves and animals they believed would be useful to them.
• The Shang were the first Chinese to develop writing . They used pictographs , characters which could convey more than one meaning.
• The Shang year of 360 days was comprised of 12 months of 30 days. It was based on the lunar month and the solar year. An additional month was added when necessary.
• In order to predict the future, or ask questions of the gods, people would engrave questions on oracle bones (tortoise shells or cow bones). These would then be burned and the priests would ‘read’ the cracks which then appeared.
• Chinese people used to grind down these ancient animal bones to make traditional medicines . In 1899 some scholars noticed engravings on the bones and discovered they had come from North East China. In 1928 excavations began and evidence of the Shang was discovered.

• c1650 BC City States form
• c1500 BC Large scale bronze production occurs
• c1400 BC Capital of dynasty is at Yin, near Anyang
• c1200 BC Death of Lady Fu Hao; spoke-wheeled chariots in use
• 1046 BC End of Shang Dynasty

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Did you know?

• The Shang dynasty was said to have come to power when Tang Shang defeated the evil King Jie of the Xia Dynasty , but historians believe that the Xia dynasty may be legendary rather than real.
• Tai Wu , the ninth Shang Emperor, reportedly ruled for 75 years.
• Lady Fu Hao was a Shang dynasty queen and military leader who died c1200 BC. She led an army of 10,000 men. Her tomb contains the remains of 16 slaves and six dogs who were sacrificed when she died.
• The Shang enjoyed music and played ocarinas, pipes, drums, chimes, cymbals and bells.
• Emperor Zhou , the last Shang Emperor, was said to have been very cruel. He was overthrown by Wu who became founder of the Zhou dynasty.
• A Shang week lasted ten days.

Look through the gallery and see if you can spot the following:

• Map of Shang Dynasty
• The military leader and ruler Tang of Shang
• Drawing of a Shang palace or temple
• A Bronze battle axe (Credit: Editor at Large, Wikipedia)
• Jade carving of a buffalo

The Shang Dynasty is the first historic dynasty of China . The river valley of the Yellow River provided a fertile area for this civilisation to develop. The area was forested and the Shang used wood to build their homes and public buildings; little has survived of their domestic architecture. Fortunately royal and other tombs have provided many clues as to life under the Shang. Artefacts such as beautifully carved jade and stone, bronze ritual vessels and weapons and domestic items such as the earliest glazed porcelain and woven silk testify to their levels of craftsmanship and artistry.

The Yellow River was unpredictable and prone to flooding. The remains of mud walls tell us about the struggle to keep back the waters of the river during times of flooding. Shang cities were surrounded by defensive walls and gates.

Most of the written evidence we have about the Shang comes from oracle bones, although some bronze and pottery goods also have inscriptions.

The Shang used wheeled carts for transport in times of peace and chariots for hunting and as a means of overseeing warfare. They also used canoes for local trade. Cowrie shells show they traded with coastal dwellers but they did not trade further afield. Roads enabled communication to be maintained between the city states.

The Dynasty lasted for six hundred years and encompassed the reign of thirty emperors.

The Shang are important because they left a legacy of Chinese culture that proved durable and long lasting. The hereditary dynastic succession that they set in place endured for millennia. The role of the family and importance of ancestors remain central to Chinese culture today. Their artistry , with bronze in particular, continues to be admired for its beauty and grace.

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Best children's books about the Shang Dynasty

Find out more

• Look through the brilliant BBC Bitesize Shang Dynasty guides about life in China in 1600-1046BC, the Shang people's jobs and army and what oracle bones were used for
• You'll find lots of images and information in the DKfindout! children's guide to Ancient China
• Information about  Chinese tombs and ancestors
• Read a guide to the Battle of Muye, between the Shang and the Zhou people
• Find out about the history of silk production
• Learn about King Di Xin, the final king of the Shang Dynasty , in a short video
• Details of the Chinese writing system of logograms (a symbol represents a word or a meaning)
• Read more about Shang Dynasty history
• Find out about archaeological excavations in Yin Xu (in modern-day China's AnYang city)
• Discover how the Shang were the first Chinese people to invent writing in a video clip
• Look through a guide to Chinese bronzes , with lots of pictures and information
• Find out about a Shang Dynasty bronze vessel used to hold wine for ritual sacrifices to the ancestors

See for yourself

• The British Museum has some Shang Dynasty artefacts
• See a slideshow of Shang Dynasty objects from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
• See artefacts from the archaeological site of Yin Xu , the ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty
• At Compton Verney’s Chinese galleries in Warwickshire you can see one of the finest collections of ancient Chinese bronzes outside of China

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World history

Course: world history   >   unit 1.

• Shang Dynasty in Ancient China

Shang Dynasty civilization

• Ancient China
• Shang China practice
• The Shang had a number of religious practices, one of which was veneration of dead ancestors; Shang people made sacrifices to and asked questions of their ancestors.
• Ancient Chinese nobles sought to tell the future by writing on bone fragments or pieces of turtle shell and throwing those bones into a fire; the fortune seekers saw messages about the future in the cracks that formed.
• Shang dynasty craftspeople mastered bronze, an alloy of copper and tin; bronze weapons gave Shang foot soldiers and charioteers a tactical advantage in combat.

The first dynasty

Writing and culture, technological innovation and exchange, power and social hierarchy, shang religion.

• How would you describe the relationship between Shang political leaders and the Shang religion?
• What environmental features of the region in which the Shang dynasty ruled were advantageous?
• What was the significance of bronze in Shang society?
• What kind of hierarchies existed in Shang society, and how do we know about them?
• See "This is China" 17
• See "This is China" 21
• See "Shang Dynasty." Ancient History Encyclopedia 2016. https://www.ancient.eu/Shang_Dynasty/
• See "Shang Dynasty." Ancient History Encyclopedia 2016.
• Berkshire China 1942
• The Shang of Ancient China 42
• See Bulliet, Richard W. et. al.: The Earth and its Peoples: A Global History (Boston, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011) 47
• See "Bridging World History." http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/support/videotranscript_6.pdf
• See Bulliet, The Earth and its Peoples: A Global History , 52
• See Spodek, Howard: The World's History (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006) 91
• See Berkshire Encyclopedia 65
• See Berkshire China 1944
• See Berkshire Encyclopedia 187
• See Spodek, The World's HIstory 91
• See This is China 21

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Lessons and resources for primary history

The shang dynasty, lesson plans.

Home    >    Shang Dynasty   >   Shang Dynasty Planning Pack

The Shang Dynasty Resource Pack contains a complete unit of work with detailed lesson plans, teacher guides and pupil resources.

£8.99

Lessons include:.

1. Introduction: What was the Shang Dynasty?

This lesson introduces the Shang Dynasty and encourages pupils to generate research questions about their new topic. Pupils will make a fact-file after researching key facts to set the Shang Dynasty into its wider context of world history. 

2. Settling Down: What was it like in settlements around the Yellow River Plain?

This lesson invites pupils to consider the problems faced by people in early Shang settlements. Pupils will discover how Shang people overcame issues with flooding and irrigation and they will find out how Shang cities were organised, with an opportunity to design their own Shang city.

3. Let it Grow! Let it grow!: How did Shang farmers provide food for their society?

This lesson addresses the question of how farmers were able to irrigate their crops to provide enough food. Pupils will be introduced to the legend of Yu the Great and will consider his influence on the Shang Dynasty. They will learn what kind of food people ate in Shang times and try out a Shang recipe for Ginger Millet Porridge. 

4. Time to Worship: What were the religious beliefs of the Shang Dynasty?

In this lesson pupils will find out about the different gods that Shang people worshipped. Pupils will investigate how Shang people responded to different situations by feasting, worshipping or making sacrifices. Pupils will have a chance to create storyboards to visualise different worship scenarios. .

5. Written on the Bones: What was the Shang system of writing like?

This hands-on lesson looks at the different ways in which Shang people used symbols and ideograms as writing. After researching different uses of writing, pupils will be set the challenge of making their own oracle bones from clay and they will use a key to write their own questions using Shang ideograms. 

6. How to Rule a Dynasty: What did the rulers of the Shang Dynasty do?

In this lesson pupils will be introduced to the story of the first king of the Shang Dynasty, King Tang of Shang. They will work in groups to prepare dramas based on his story. Pupils will then consider the arguments for and against Shang kings taking prisoners of war and they will write and deliver a persuasive argument to support or oppose this practice.

7. Piecing it Together: What do archaeological findings tell us about the Shang Dynasty?

Pupils will become familiar with the different types of artefacts that help us to know about life in the Shang Dynasty. They will be introduced to the concept of making deductions from evidence and they will fill in a table to show what information different artefacts give us about the Shang period.

8. Who was Fu Hao?: Why is Lady Fu Hao's tomb significant to historians?

Pupils will investigate who Lady Fu Hao might have been by looking at some of the artefacts found in her tomb. They will learn about how people in Shang times were often buried with a tomb full of treasures to take with them to the afterlife. Pupils will engage imaginatively with a scenario about a slave being taken to the grave with his master and they will write a persuasive letter to escape such an unfortunate destiny. 

9. Coming to an End: Why did the Shang Dynasty fall in 1046 BC?

Pupils will discover the story of the last Shang king, King Zhou, and they will find out why his behaviour lead to the fall of the Shang Dynasty. Pupils place themselves in the shoes of the Shang fighters at the Battle of Muye and they will take part in a debate about whether or not they should defect to the opposing army. Pupils will then have the opportunity to learn about the Dynastic Cycle and the concept of the Mandate of Heaven. 

10. Summing Up: What have we learned about this period of history?

This lesson is designed for pupils to reflect on what they have learned about this period of history. There is an assessment activity and a chance to consider further research opportunities.

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Shang Dynasty Planning Pack

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

11 February 2019

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Download our complete unit of work for primary history including lessons plans, pupil resources and teacher’s guide. The Shang Dynasty is now a study unit for KS2 on the new curriculum for history.

This ten-lesson unit is designed for upper KS2 and it covers the following questions: 1. What was the Shang Dynasty? 2. What was it like in settlements around the Yellow River Plain? 3. How did Shang farmers provide food for their society? 4. What were the religious beliefs of the Shang Dynasty? 5. What was the Shang system of writing like? 6. What did the rulers of the Shang Dynasty do? 7. What do archaeological findings tell us about the Shang Dynasty? 8. Why is Lady Fu Hao’s tomb significant to historians? 9. Why did the Shang Dynasty fall in 1046 BC? 10. What have we learned about this period of history?

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Shang Dynasty

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 22, 2023 | Original: December 13, 2017

The Shang Dynasty is the earliest ruling dynasty of China to be established in recorded history, though other dynasties predated it. The Shang ruled from 1600 to 1046 B.C. and heralded the Bronze Age in China. They were known for their advances in math, astronomy, artwork and military technology.

Beginning of the Shang Dynasty

The earliest written records in Chinese history date back to the Shang Dynasty, which, according to legend, began when a tribal chief named Tang defeated the Xia Dynasty, which in 1600 B.C. was under the control of a tyrant named Jie.

This victory is known as the Battle of Mingtiao, fought during a thunderstorm. Jie survived the battle but died later of illness. Tang is known for establishing a low number of drafted soldiers in the army and for beginning social programs to help the kingdom’s poor.

Shang Dynasty Achievements

People of the Shang Dynasty are believed to have used calendars and developed knowledge of astronomy and math, thanks to inscriptions on tortoise shell that have been unearthed by archaeologists.

The Shang calendar was at first lunar-based, but a solar-based one was developed by a man named Wan-Nien, who established a 365-day year through his observations and pinpointed the two solstices.

Shang Dynasty artisans created sophisticated bronze works, ceramics and trinkets made from jade. Unlike their Bronze Age counterparts, artisans during the Shang Dynasty used piece-mold casting as opposed to the lost-wax method. This meant that they first made a model of the object they wanted to create before covering it in a clay mold. The clay mold would then be cut into sections, removed and re-fired to create a new, unified one.

By 1200 B.C., Shang armies were equipped with horse-drawn chariots. Before that, there is evidence of bronze-tipped spears, halberds (pointed axes) and bows.

The language of the Shang Dynasty is an early form of modern Chinese. Chinese characters first appeared during the Shang Dynasty inscribed on cattle bone and tortoise shells. There is evidence of two numerological systems, one based on numbers from one to 10 and the other from one to 12.

Shang Cities

During the Shang Dynasty, there were several large settlements, including Zhengzhou and Anyang, though these are not believed to be as densely urban as Mesopotamian settlements during the same time.

Anyang became the capitol around 1300 B.C. under King Pan Geng and at the time was called Yin. Zhengzhou is renowned for its walls, which ran for four miles and were 32 feet high and 65 feet thick.

Anyang is believed to be the city that Shang kings ruled from for more than two centuries, with altars, temples and palaces located at the center. Surrounding the political center were artisans comprising an industrial area of stone carvers, bronze workers, potters and others, and then small housing structures and burial sites.

Shang Dynasty Religion

Much of the history of the Shang Dynasty has been deciphered from oracle bones found in Anyang, which present a kingdom at war, with narratives of shifting alliances with other powers.

Prisoners of war were used as slaves or sometimes slaughtered for sacrifice. Within the religion, sacrifice was practiced, sometimes in large groups.

Within Shang culture, the king also functioned as a priest. It was believed that ancestors communicated through the god Di, and the Shang king led in the worship of Shangdi, considered the supreme ancestor, as well as communicating with the other ancestors. The wishes of the ancestors were received by a group of mystics and then interpreted by the king.

Shang Graves

In the first half of Shang rule, royal burials included the burial of subordinates in the chambers alongside their ruler. By the end of the dynasty, the number of bodies in each burial had risen. One grave in Anyang dating to around 1200 B.C. housed the unnamed ruler’s cadaver accompanied by 74 human bodies as well as horses and dogs.

Shang rulers would even send out hunting parties to capture members of primitive tribes to the northwest to use as sacrificial bodies in royal burial sites.

The Anyang grave of Lady Hao from around 1250 B.C. features not only 16 human sacrifices, including children, but a large number of valuable objects, including ornaments and weapons made from bronze and jade, stone sculptures, bone hairpins and arrowheads and several ivory carvings. The grave also includes 60 bronze wine vessels with images of animals.

Lady Hao is believed to be the wife of King Wu Ding, who ruled for 59 years. Bone inscriptions reveal that she lead several significant military campaigns in her life.

Fall of the Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty came to an end around 1046 B.C. The final king in the Shang lineage, King Di Xin, was considered a cruel leader who enjoyed torturing people, leading to calls for the end of his rule.

Entrusted with an outpost to protect the western frontier of the kingdom, the Zhou army, lead by King Wu, marched on the capitol city. Di Xin armed nearly 200,000 slaves to supplement the defending army, but they defected to the Zhou forces. In what is known as the Battle of Muye, many Shang soldiers refused to fight the Zhou, some even joining the other side.

Di Xin committed suicide by setting fire to his palace. The incoming Zhou dynasty would rule for 800 years, though the Shang Dynasty had left an indelible mark on the timeline of Chinese history .

Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Patricia Buckley Ebrey . The Dynasties of China. Bamber Gascoigne . Early China: A Social and Cultural History. Li Feng . Early China and the Shang Dynasty: Columbia.edu . Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China; The MET .

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