Introduction to the Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty was one of the earliest civilisations - a group of people who lived together, with their own cities, rules, jobs and culture.

It was governed by kings who came from the same family.

They developed along the Yellow River in China and farmed along its banks.

They created beautiful objects made from bronze, jade, pottery and more.

The Shang also wrote on animal bones.

Important words on the Shang Dynasty.

Watch the video to learn more about the Shang Dynasty.

For around 500 years, between 1600-1046BC, part of China was ruled by the Shang Dynasty.

Their land was along the Yellow River which produced fertile farms for the people.

Interactive: Find the Shang Dynasty

Click on the interactive and see if you can identify where the Shang Dynasty was based.

Traditional stories, known as myths are told by people to explain events or ideas from early history. They often feature gods or the supernatural. They aren't true stories, but helped people at the time make sense of the world around them.

The myth about how the Shang Dynasty was founded involves the second wife of Emperor Ku, Jiandi. It was believed that she swallowed an egg dropped by a blackbird and then gave birth to Xie.

In the myth, Xie was believed to be the first ancestor of the Shang Dynasty. The myth tells of how he helped a legendary king, Yu the Great control the great flood and that he was given a place called Shang in return. It was thought that Xie’s descendants went on to found the Shang Dynasty.

The first Shang king was Cheng Tang who defeated the Xia Dynasty in the Battle of Mingtiao.

The last Shang king was Di Xin, defeated in a significant battle by Wu of Zhou.

The Shang Dynasty is the earliest dynasty in Chinese history that we can learn about from archaeological evidence. It was ruled by a family line of kings and objects from the past help to show what life was like during this time.

The last Shang capital was located at a place that was called Yin.

Thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic items have been uncovered.

The earliest known Chinese writing was also found there. It was written on thousands of animal bones, these objects were called oracle bones. They show information about life, politics and religion during the Shang Dynasty.

Have a look at the thinking point below and think about your answer to the question. You could even write your answer down on a piece of paper or discuss it with somebody else if you want to.

• Why might the Yellow River have been important to the Shang Dynasty?

Click through the interactive and fill in the gaps to show your knowledge of the Shang Dynasty.

Let's find out what you know about the Shang Dynasty.

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