Watch: The Shang dynasty
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.
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How did the Shang dynasty start?
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.
How do we know about the Shang dynasty?
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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Activities
Activity 1: Fill in the gaps about the Shang dynasty
Activity 2: Shang dynasty quiz
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