ExclusiveThe Shang Dynasty | The earliest dynasty firmly supported by archaeological evidence.

The Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty, was founded by Tang or Chen Tang that ruled in the Yellow River Valley in the 2nd millennium BC, succeeding the Shai dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty. It is the earliest dynasty firmly supported by archaeological evidence. Excavation at the ruins of Yin, which has been identified as the last Shang capital, uncovered 11 major royal tombs and the foundations of palaces and ritual sites, tens of thousands of bronzes, jade, stone, bone, and ceramic artifacts. Instead of attributing their ancestors to dragons, the Shang dynasty people believed the mysterious black bird is their ancestor, according to ancient Chinese classics, such as records of the grand historian and the classics of mountains and seas. And the beautiful and strong black bird became the totem of the Shang people. It goes that a woman named Jian Di, who was the second wife of Emperor Ku, swallowed an egg dropped by a black bird and subsequently gave birth miraculously to Xie. Sima Qian's Aeneas of the Yin begins by describing Xie, who is said to have helped Yu the Great to control the Great Flood. Most people would consider this a myth. Believe it or not, no nation is without its mythological origin. Jesus' mother Mary was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. After the success of water control, Emperor Shun appointed Xie the position of Situ, equivalent to the minister of education. Emperor Shun also granted him a place called Shang as a fief for his service. After Yu the Great established the Shang dynasty, Shang was a vassal state. Xie's descendants moved to the capital of Shang many times and settled in Yin for hundreds of years. After 13 generations, Xie's descendants Tang defeated the Shang dynasty, which in 1600 BC was under the control of a tyrant named Jie. Tang is usually represented as a nine-foot-tall, white-faced, whiskered man with a pointed head, six jointed arms, and a body markedly larger on one side than on the other. He is said to be a benevolent and virtuous king. The idiom, giving one a way out, is about him. One day, Tang was having a walk in the open country. He saw a man spreading the nets in all four directions to catch birds. The man mumbled, come on birds, come into my net, all of you, whether flying high or low, east or west, just come into my net. Tang walked over and said to him, hey, you all spare no birds this way. He ordered the man to remove the nets facing three of the directions, leaving one net facing one direction. Then he asked the man to change his prey to, may all the birds on the left escape further to the left, may all the birds on the right escape further to the right, let only those that are destined to die enter my net. In comparison, Jie is known to have lived a lavish lifestyle and treated his people with extreme cruelty. After Jie assumed the throne, the rule of the Xia dynasty had been between the bitter and the black. Tribes which used to ally with the Xia dynasty betrayed successively. Facing to this situation, Jie didn't try to make the country prosperous and devote more to his people. On the contrary, he wasted the human resources and set on building palaces. In addition to this, he studied many wars to the surrounding tribes frequently. When he was crusading against the tribe of You Si, he got a beautiful girl named Mei Xi. Jie doted on Mei Xi extremely and made his life more licentious. Mei Xi liked to drink and had Jie order a lake of wine made. They both sailed about in the alcohol lake, in an orgy of drunken, naked men and women bathing and drinking. Virtuous ministers who dared to criticize their behavior were immediately jailed and put to death. In one incident, Jie was riding the back of a top counselor like a horse. When the counselor could no longer crawl or move, Jie ordered him to be executed. Another minister, Guan Longfeng, who was known for his loyalty and honesty, tried to point it out that Jie was losing the trust of his people and he might lose his country if he didn't change. Jie didn't listen at all and killed Guan Longfeng instead. When Tang learned about the incident, he sent someone to mourn Guan. Jie was so angry that he detained Tang in Xiatai. However, as he couldn't find any fault with Tang or probably out of public pressure, Tang was freed subsequently. What happened after his return to Shang was a big surprise. As many as 500 feudal lords pledged their allegiance to him a day. At the age of 87, Tang received a message from the heaven. The virtue of the Sha has been heavily disturbed. Go and destroy him. I will personally see that necessary support is granted to you in this situation. This is a mandate conferred upon you by heaven. Tang defeated Jie in the end. The victory is known as the Battle of Mingtiao, fought during a thunderstorm. Jie survived the battle but died four years later of illness. According to the Book of Zhou, after Tang completed an honorable crusade that ended the reign of Jie, 3,000 feudal lords gathered to determine the new ruler. Tang presented the imperial seal that he acquired from Jie, placed it on the left of the emperor's empty seat and bowed repeatedly to the seal. Then he took his seat as a feudal lord and said, This throne belongs to a man of virtue, for China is the property of any family. Only a virtuous man should rule China. Only a man with principles can govern the world because only a man with principles knows how to govern the country properly. Of all 3,000 feudal lords, no one dared to claim the throne. Tang modestly declined the unanimous vote of all feudal lords three times before he finally took the imperial seat graciously. After Tang established the Shang Dynasty, the serious drought that had started during the reign of Jie continued to plague China. Revered as a virtuous and generous ruler, Tang is said to have offered himself as a sacrifice to heaven for reign. Throughout the history of China, whenever calamities like locust plagues, droughts and meteor impacts occurred, the ancient monarchs considered these occurrences to be heavenly signs, warning and urging the monarchs to improve their administrations. Ancient Chinese monarchs believed that the root cause of natural calamities was that the monarch's virtue was not fit for his position. They believed that the monarchs must wear white robes, keep away from the palace, abstain from entertainment, partake in fasting, as well as many other measures to help them engage in self-reflection and to be able to cultivate virtue. To serve as a sacrifice, Tang did everything mentioned above, and on the day of the sacrifice, he wore white coarse clothes and wrapped a thatch around his body. The sacrifice would be burned on a pile of firewood along with a black bull. Before the ceremony, Tang stood on the altar and blamed himself for the drought. Tang said his prayer to heaven. The fault is mine and mine alone. Please do not punish my subjects. If my subjects had done anything wrong that might contribute to the drought, I must be the root cause for their wrongdoings. He asked to be responsible for all human crimes that might have brought about the drought. Rain fell before he finished his words, however, and he was spared. During the Shang Dynasty, characters were carved on animal bones in order to frame questions regarding the future like will the king have a song, will it rain tomorrow, etc. The bones were then heated over a fire, and the resultant cracks were interpreted by a diviner to determine the answer. These oracle bones of the Shang era are the earliest example of Chinese writing. The refined writing system of Shang is perhaps its most significant achievement. Apart from the oracle bones, writings were carved on stones, bronze items, etc. There were over 2,000 symbols in the writing system. Although writing has since evolved in China, many current Chinese characters can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. Shang Dynasty period corresponded with the Bronze Age in China. It was during the Shang era in China that bronze rose in popularity and represented wealth, luxury, and power. The artistry and workmanship of bronze objects from the time indicate the mastery of bronze technology. The earliest archaeological evidence of chariots in China dates to the late Shang Dynasty. In mathematics, the Shang could denote numbers as high as 30,000. They had the preliminary capability to calculate and had a notion of odd, even, and multiple numbers. Numerous records about solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, and nova had been found from the Shang era, indicating the proficiency of Shang astronomers. Other achievements in astronomy include observations of Mars and various comets. An excavated convex mirror from Shang era which can mirror the whole face of a person shows that they also had some knowledge of optics. The Shang had a highly developed calendar system with a 360-day year of 12 months of 30 days. It took into consideration both lunar and solar cycles. Hence, intercalary months, a month inserted into the calendar to harmonize it with the actual solar year, was added as 13 months every few years. This is the origin of intercalary months in Chinese history, which laid down the foundation for traditional Chinese calendar. Sarah's History of China. See you soon.