AS 210 Shang Dynasty and the Bronze Age

Shang Bronzes: A Window into Ancient Chinese Culture (1523 B.C.-1028 B.C.)
by
Sheldon A. Ayers

The Shang dynasty and Chinese Neolithic culture:

It is believed that this unique culture originated circa 1523 B.C. and thrived in the Huang He Valley until 1028 B.C. In the first few days of the semester, students should be able to:

1. Understand what the “emergence of civilization” means
2. See the connections between ritual, Sacrifices and the hierarchical class structure of Shang society
3. Understand pivotal role of the King in Shang government and religion
4. Be aware of Shang artifacts and how they might have been used

The Shang: A Brief History

Today, China is the most populous country in the world, home to more than 1.1 billion people or more than 20% of the world’s population. This great mass of people causes tremendous population pressure, land shortages and environmental strain in modern China.

The earliest records of Chinese civilization comes from the Shang dynasty. Some archaeologists believe the Shang period extended from approximately 1523 B.C. to 1028 B.C. Despite their early development, other civilizations preceded the Shang and these civilizations may have influenced Shang development, at various times. The Sumerian emerged as one of the first groups to form a civilization. By 3000 B.C., the Sumerians had built a number of cities on the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded the Mesopotamian plains annually. The rich silt deposits left by the river created a rich soil in which farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley. As a direct result of surplus grain, village populations grew and gradually spread.

The Sumerian civilization and the Shang civilization both developed along the flood plain of major rivers. The Shang people chose to settle in the Huang He River Valley of North China because of its arable land. The land was enriched by the silt left behind by floodwater. Northern China is geographically isolated and the land surrounding the valley is hemmed in by mountain ranges, The Gobi Desert and the Yellow Sea. Mountain ranges and deserts dominate about two thirds of China’s land mass. The Huang He (Yellow River) played a vital role in the lives of the people. The river had both positive and negative impacts on their lives. For example, the river provided drinking water, irrigation for their crops and accessibility to transportation but it also flooded frequently, causing terrible destruction to farmland and property.

The Shang used their creativity to build the first Chinese cities. These early people were able to organize the manpower and raw materials to accomplish this logistical feat. Most cities were organized similarly, at the center stood a palace and a temple. Public buildings and the homes of high government officials were built around the palace. The city’s outer perimeter housed workshops, burial grounds and the homes of the workers.
When the Communists took over China in 1949, they took drastic steps to eradicate inequality. A commune system was adopted and the equality of all commune members was emphasized. The communes forced land reform and wrenched property ownership out of the hands of a privileged few. In contrast, class boundaries were distinct in Shang culture. The city was the home of the rich, the learned and the skilled. Poorer people lived on the city outskirts or countryside. These peasants or farmers grew grains such as millet, wheat, and rice. The peasants tilled the land for their overlords using primitive tools such as wooden digging sticks, hoes and sickles made of stone. Peasants lived in primitive semi-subterranean shelters. Their burials were extremely simple and contained only the most meager displays of possessions.

The king and his royal lineage dominated the highest class ranks in society. The nobles sharpened their horsemanship and military skills by conducting hunts. The cavalry was drawn from the aristocratic ranks and noblemen charged into battle on horse drawn chariots while infantrymen ran afoot. In battle the cavalry wore bronze helmets and armor made of buffalo or rhinoceros hide. Nobles were skilled in the use of bow and arrow.
Below the aristocracy was a specialist group composed of craftsmen, especially artisans skilled in bronze work. Artisan groups had a lifestyle which distinguished them from the peasantry. They lived in above ground stamped earth buildings, each containing two rooms and sometimes provided with a window. These homes were superior to the dwellings of the peasants who stood at the bottom of the pyramid. Some scholars have argued that Shang society was a slave society. Other writers suggest that the peasants were not slaves but serfs. In any event, there was a great gulf between the aristocracy and the peasants. This intra-societal friction caused polarization and among the Shang people. In 1028 B.C. a people called the Zhou invaded Shang territory but the Shang could not mount a proper defense because of disunity.
The spirits were an important part of Shang life. The Shang worshipped spirits, or supernatural beings which they believed lived in mountains, rivers and seas. The people believed they had to please the spirits. If the spirits became angry or unhappy, the people might suffer poor harvest or lose a battle.
The Shang also believed their ancestors influenced their destiny. They offered their ancestors food, wine and special prayers which they believed would help them in time of need and bring them good fortune. The respect for ancestors forged strong family ties amongst the Shang people. They had specific rules about how family members should act toward one another. Children were taught to obey their parents and to honor older people. Wives were socialized to obey their husbands. Traditional Chinese values regarding family, duty and honor originated in this period and later Confucian teachings.

The central focus of the Shang civilization was the king. It was believed that the kings received their power from the spirits of nature and their wisdom from their ancestors. This belief forged a strong link between religion and government. There was no separation of church and state as we have in modern America. The following quote from David N. Kneightley, a leading scholar on the Shang political culture, briefly explains the situation:

Shang religion was inextricably involved in the genesis and legitimacy of the Shang state. It was believed that Di, the high god, conferred fruitful harvest and divine assistance in battle, that the king’s ancestors were able to intercede with Di, and that the king would communicate with his fore-fathers. Worship of the Shang ancestors, therefore, provided powerful psychological and ideological support for the political dominance of the kings. The king’s ability to determine through divination, and influence through prayer and sacrifice, the will of the ancestral spirits legitimized the concentration of political power in his person. All power emanated from the theocrat because he was the channel, the one man, who could appeal for ancestral blessings, or dissipate the ancestral curses,  It was the king who made fruitful harvest and victories possible by the sacrifices he offered, the rituals he performed, and the divinations he made. If, as seems likely, the divinations involved some degree of magic making, of spell casting, the king’s ability to actually create a good harvest or a victory by divining about it rendered him still more potent politically. (202)

This passage is indicative of how the connection to divine wisdom legitimized the power and authority of the king. This special link to the supernatural gave the king exclusive license to conduct religious rituals. The kings asked for special advice from the ancestors before making important decisions. To communicate with the ancestors, the kings had questions scratched on a flat polished piece of bone. A hole was then drilled into it and a hot bar put in the hole. Heat from the bar produced cracks on the bone which were believed to be the ancestors’ replies to a king’s questions. A special interpreter gave the king the meaning of the ancestors’ replies. These bones are known as oracle bones and the writing on them is the oldest known form of Chinese writing. The king was important because of what he represented, a connection to the unseen world of ancestors and spirits.

The Shang state was a form of theocracy ruled by a series of kings whose main functions were probably ritual rather than political. The throne was passed from elder to younger brother as well as from father to son in a succession of thirty rulers. Although Shang culture spread over a large area of northern China, it is unlikely that the control of the Shang kings extended nearly as far. Chinese scholars such as J.A.G. Roberts, speculate that authority was exercised by aristocratic leaders who accepted to some extent Shang leadership, but who ruled in their own areas. This “feudalistic system” worked well and it provided an organizational framework over a large area. Feudal leaders defended the frontiers of Shang territory, supplied the manpower required for both military and construction projects and collected tribute for the royal court. Near the area of established and permanent Shang authority was an outer zone ruled by tribal chieftains friendly to the Shang. The Shang’s social organization had a strong military orientation. Shang rulers had ample military force at their command. Artifacts and records mention military campaigns involving the use of three thousand, five thousand or even thirteen thousand troops. The taking of prisoners of war mounted into the thousands, according to some archaeological evidence. The ritualistic sacrifice of war prisoners was commonplace. Oracle records mention the sacrifice of as many as three hundred Ch’iang for a ritual of ancestral worship. Other evidence indicates that as many as 600 human victims were put to death at Hsiao-t’un for the construction of a single house. The king wielded absolute power over his people, and brutal force was often used to coerce cooperation.

Near the ancient Shang capital of Anyang is the site of Xibeigang. Archaeologists describe this site as the royal cemetery of the Shang monarchs. At the site eleven very large cruciform graves and 1,222 small graves were unearthed. It is possible that these are the graves of the eleven Shang kings recorded as having ruled from Anyang over a 273 year span. The evidence recovered from these grave sites have provided the most dramatic evidence of the nature of Shang kingship. The burials were accompanied by a large number of human sacrifices, the bodies, frequently with heads and torsos separated. Body parts were found around the central chamber and on the ramp leading down to it. Everything in and around these burial chambers suggests that the deceased were people of power, wealth and honor. The tombs contained a rich selection of Shang art. In one particular tomb was found an outstanding collection of stone sculptures and bronze pieces.

Shang Bronzes

The Shang venerated their ancestors. They believed people continued to exist after death. Ancestors who died still needed food and they exercised a degree of power over the living. Offerings of grains, wine, animals and humans were buried with the dead in order to satisfy the hunger of the ancestors. Many human sacrifices were captured in war or offered as tribute by vassal states. Tombs of the royal ancestors were filled with the bodies of human and animal victims along with many ritual objects. Shang rulers sacrificed to their ancestors more than they sacrificed to the spirits.

The most sacred objects were the bronze vessels which held ritual offerings. The Shang manufactured wonderful works of art made from bronze. Art experts believe these are the finest works of bronze ever created. Archaeological evidence indicates that bronze making was a major industry during the Shang period. Where did they gather the copper and tin ores to create these works? Scholars have discovered that copper and tin were amply available in all parts of Northern China. Ting Wen-chiang stated, in An Outline of Mineral Industries in China, that copper ores were widely deposited in China and mining of them began early.  Over time, innovations in technique and casting were honed to a fine detail by the skilled craftsmen. There is little doubt that the art of bronze was born in China. In his work, Ancient China--From the Beginnings to the Empire, Jacques Gernet emphasizes:

bronze techniques originated in China itself; but it does not necessarily follow that this birth was entirely spontaneous. Remote influences must have played some part in the appearance of the technique in Yellow River China. From the Neolithic period onwards, the painted pottery of Yang Shao brings proof of relations between this region and countries near the Caspian Sea. The Middle Yellow River region was situated at a crossroads and was always open to remote influences from Siberia and the oases of Central Asia...

The bronze ritual vessels represent the highest aesthetic and technological achievement of the Shang culture. Shang artisans devoted themselves to refining the artistry and technology required to manufacture these pieces. Three main categories of bronze artifacts exist: ritual vessels, luxury items sometimes placed in tombs and weapons. Production quality peaked in the late Shang period. One characteristic form was the jue, a ritual vessel standing on three legs, apparently intended for the warming of wine. The surfaces of most ritual vessels were commonly covered with stylized surface decoration. The most common motif was a mythical creature lacking a lower jaw known as the taotie mask. Many vessels carried inscriptions indicating why they had been cast and explaining their intended use. Sarah Allan in her book, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China, writes that if we are to understand the art of the Shang we must recognize that the fantastic quality of their art is not accidental but meaningful. She points out that the forms are not simply decorative, nor are they depictions of a reality to which a symbolic meaning has been assigned. The artistic form portrayed in the bronzes deliberately contradicts the reality of the material world. The bronze motifs suggest another order beyond our logical comprehension. Practically the vessels had a singular purpose, to feed the spirits. They were thus decorated in the language of the spirit world so that the boundary between the living and the dead might be crossed and the sacrifice be received by those for whom it was intended. The motifs which are not from this world signify the crossing of this boundary. Allan observes that the language of the Shang bronzes is characterized by disjunction, double images and transformations. There is often a joining together of unrelated animals to form one composite. Double images, such as the two bodied snake, the taotie, which may be seen either as a single animal with two bodies or as two dragons facing one another, create a complex sense of illusion. In this art medium, nothing is ever quite what it seems. Application of these techniques created a sense of the other worldly, unfettered by physical limitations. Bronze motifs were constantly in a state of metamorphosis. Despite this emphasis on change, only a few distinctive styles were used. The taotie and the kui dragon were replicated in many different forms. The artist was not designing freely, but referring again and again to the same things.

 

 

 

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