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Watch: The Shang dynasty

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Where was the Shang dynasty?

  • For 500 years, part of China was ruled by the Shang dynasty during the era 1600 - 1046 BC.
  • Their territory was along the Yellow River which produced fertile farms for the people.
  • These farms were very important to the success of the Shang dynasty.

Find the Shang dynasty

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How did the Shang dynasty start?

A Shang Dynasty era priest
  • The legend in the Annals of the Yin tells that the second wife of Emperor Ku, Jiandi, swallowed an egg dropped by a blackbird. She gave birth miraculously to Xie.

  • Xie is believed to be the first ancestor of the Shang dynasty.

  • The legend says that Xie helped Yu the Great control the great flood and was given a place called Shang in return.

  • Xie鈥檚 descendants founded the 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 great battle by Wu of Zhou.

A Shang Dynasty era priest
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How do we know about the Shang dynasty?

Jade carving from the Shang era
  • The Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence.

  • The last Shang capital was at Yin (near modern-day Anyang) and thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artefacts have been uncovered.

  • The earliest known Chinese writing was also found there, tens of thousands of inscriptions on oracle bones, telling us a lot about life, politics and religion under the Shang dynasty.

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Explore artefacts from the Shang dynasty

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, A Bronze axe used by the Shang warriors, This is an axe made from bronze. It would have had a wooden handle and been used by the Shang warriors to fight enemies. It is now in the British Museum in London.
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What was happening in Britain?

Illustration showing that during the Shang Dynasty (1600BC - 1046BC) the Bronze Age was taking place in Britain between 3000BC - 800BC.
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Activities

Activity 1: Fill in the gaps about the Shang dynasty

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Activity 2: Shang dynasty quiz

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