Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Rib of a rhinoceros killed in a royal hunt, bearing an inscription including the character 商 (Shāng, fifth character from the bottom on the right) [2]. The Late Shang, also known as the Anyang period, is the earliest known literate civilization in China, spanning the reigns of the last nine kings of the Shang dynasty, beginning with Wu Ding in the second half of the 13th century BC and ...
The Shang dynasty entered into prolonged conflicts with northern frontier tribes called the Guifang. [81] [82] [83] Bronze weapons were an integral part of Shang society. Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone and bronze weaponry, including spears, pole-axes, pole-based dagger-axes, composite bows, and bronze or leather helmets. [84 ...
The city walls were 40 m at the base and 20 m at the top, varying in height from 8–10 m. There was a smaller set of inner walls. The walls were surrounded by canals 25–20 m wide and 2–3 m deep. These canals were used for irrigation, inland navigation, defense, and flood control.
Shang ancestors were perceived to possess divine powers ranging from trivial matters to state-related affairs, and sometimes were interpreted as a component of the Shang supreme god Di. Towards the later years of the Shang dynasty , activities of ancestral veneration became increasingly frequent compared to those of supernatural deities.
Historians have come to associate the site with Yinxu, the traditional name of the Shang capital for the last twelve kings of the dynasty, starting with Pan Geng. Excavations at Anyang resumed in 1950, under the auspices of a new Institute of Archaeology, and a permanent field station was established there in 1958.
Vessels of the early Western Zhou were elaborations of Late Shang designs, featuring high-relief decor, often with pronounced flanges, and made extensive use of the taotie motif. [37] [39] Jué, jiǎ and gū wine vessels continued to be produced, but would largely disappear in later periods. Yǒu and zūn were usually cast in matching sets. [40]
In 1046 BC, the Shang under King Di Xin collapsed, and were replaced by the Zhou dynasty following the Zhou victory in the Battle of Muye. To ensure their own legitimacy, the Zhou then co-opted many of the Shang's traditions, [301] and invoked descriptions of Shang religious practice in order to explain their downfall and justify their ...
Very large tumuli could be erected, and later, mausoleums. Several special large shapes of Shang dynasty bronze ritual vessels were probably made for burial only; large numbers were buried in elite tombs, while other sets remained above ground for the family to use in making offerings in ancestor veneration rituals.