This video is about the Shang Dynasty. It tells about their empire, writing system, crafts and more!
-Sid
The Shang and Zhou Dynasty
By: Siddharth Bhatia, Finn Burke, Logan Huh and Sina Jameossanaie
1600-314 B.C.E (1286 years)
Government Writing
The Mandate of Heaven:
The Zhou had a mandate of heaven. This stated that China could only be ruled by one person at a time, and that this ruler had the blessing of the gods.
- Finn
Writing
The Shang had written on Oracle bones. These bones were the earliest examples of Chinese writing
In the Shang writing, characters stand for words rather than sounds.
-Sina
Shang government
To maintain their reign, the rulers had to have strong, big armies at their disposal. These armies were mostly made up of foot soldiers. there were also cavalry made of horses and sometimes even elephants! Some soldiers had even rode chariots.
-Finn
Shang government
The Shang were very wealthy, they had spent all of it on furniture and decoration. Sadly, they spent their money too fast and the Shang started to become poor.
-Finn
Writing
In the beginning, Chinese writing had only included pictographs. By the Shang dynasty, it had included logographs. Logographs are character's that stand for words.
-Logan and Sina
Did you know?
In 1046 BCE, the Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty in the Battle of Muye.
Their justification for this was the Mandate of Heaven.
According to the mandate of heaven, you could only overthrow another king if he had lost the support of the heavens.
You can tell if he had lost the support if bad things like storms or floods started happening to the kingdom.
-Sid
Feudalism
In feudalism, the king owns all the land, but he commonly gave parts of it to his loyal supporters. In exchange, the lords provided him with soldiers when he was being attacked.
-Finn
Technology
The Shang craftspeople used bronze to create everything!
They used it to create
- Arrowheads
- Spears
- Tools
- Axes
- Armor
Bronze is one of the reasons that the Shang survived for over 1000 years.
-Finn
Shang craftsmen used bronze to make most of their tools and weapons. Bronze-making skills were one of the reasons that the shangs were able to stay in power for over five hundred years.
-Logan
Technology
When the Shang had progressed to iron, farmers were only able to use wooden and stone tools.
- Logan/sina
Social Structure
Shang Social Classes:
The Shang had 6 classes:
- King and his family
- Nobles
- Craftspeople
- Traders
- Farmers
- Slaves
-Sid
Traders:
Because trading was important in the Shang dynasty, they were above farmers.
Traders used cowrie shells as money.
The shells were valuable because traders had to get them from far away.
-Sid
King and royal families
Shang kings depended on strong armies to control their kingdoms. Also kings had constant wars with other kings. They fought to keep other clans under control and to expand their kingdoms to its best.
- Logan
Farmers:
Farmers were the largest class. They grew all kinds of things like Millet, wheat, barley, rice, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. They also raised pigs, chickens, and cattle. Farmers actually didn't own their own farm. The kings and nobles owned it. Farmers could only keep enough crops to feed their family. Even when the Shang had progressed to iron tools, the farmers had to use stone and wood.
-Sina
Did you know?
Nobles did lots to help the king. They fought in the army, and provided soldiers, weapons, and chariots. In exchange for what they did, the king did not control their land.
The nobles had a very nice life. They lived a life of luxury, and even went on hunting parties with the king! The king also gave them symbols of power like jade disks.
-Sid