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{{Short description|Chinese dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
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{{Redirect|Shang}}
{{Redirect|Yin dynasty|the dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period|Yin Kingdom}}
{{Redirect|Shang Yin|the footballer|Shang Yin (footballer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name = {{langn|zh|商}}<br />[[File:商-oracle.svg|x24px|alt=𗴂|class=skin-invert]]
| conventional_long_name = Shang
| life_span = {{circa|1600|1046 BC}}
| era = [[Bronze Age]]
| government_type = [[Monarchy]]
| title_leader = [[Chinese sovereign|King]]
| year_start = {{circa|1600&nbsp;BC}}
| year_end = {{circa|1046&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}
| p1 = Xia dynasty
| p2 = Predynastic Shang
| s1 = Zhou dynasty
| event_end = [[Battle of Muye]]
| image_map = Shang dynasty.svg
| image_map_caption  = Approximate extent of Shang territory within present-day China
| capital = {{indented plainlist|
* Bo ({{zhi|c=亳}}) (either modern [[Yanshi]] or [[Zhengzhou]])
* Ao ({{zhi|c=隞}}) (near modern Zhengzhou)
* Yan ({{zhi|c=奄}}) (near modern [[Qufu]])
* Xiang (near modern [[Anyang]])
* [[Yinxu]] (near modern Anyang)
* [[Zhaoge]] (near modern [[Qi County, Hebi]])}}
| common_languages = [[Old Chinese]]
| religion = [[Shang state religion]]
| leader1 = [[Tang of Shang|Tai Yi]]
| year_leader1 = {{circa|1600&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}
| leader2 = [[Wu Ding]]
| year_leader2 = {{circa|1250|lk=no}}{{snd}}1191&nbsp;BC
| leader3 = [[King Zhou|Zhou]]
| year_leader3 = {{circa|1075|lk=no}}{{snd}}1046&nbsp;BC
| currency = {{hlist|[[Shell money]]|Shell mussels|[[Tong Bei]]}}
| stat_year1 = {{circa|1122&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}
| stat_area1 = 1250000
| ref_area1 = <ref>{{citation |surname1=Turchin |given1=Peter |title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires and Modern States |date=December 2006 |journal=Journal of World-Systems Research |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=219–229 |doi=10.5195/JWSR.2006.369 |issn=1076-156X |surname2=Adams |given2=Jonathan M. |surname3=Hall |given3=Thomas D. |doi-access=free}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = Shang
| pic = Shang (Chinese characters).svg
| piccap = "Shang" in [[oracle bone script]] (top left), [[bronze script]] (top right), [[seal script]] (bottom left), and [[regular script]] (bottom right) forms
| picupright = 0.5
| c = {{linktext|商}}
| p = Shāng
| w = {{tonesup|Shang1}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|sh|ang|1}}
| bpmf = ㄕㄤ
| tp = Shang
| poj = Siong
| tl = Siong
| showflag = p
| wuu = Saon
| j = Soeng1
| y = Sēung
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|s|oeng|1}}
| oc-b92 = &ast;hljang
| oc-bs = &ast;{{IPA|s-taŋ}}
| c2 = {{linktext|殷}}
| p2 = Yīn
| bpmf2 = ㄧㄣ
| mi2 = {{IPAc-cmn|yin|1}}
| tp2 = Yin
| w2 = {{tonesup|Yin1}}
| j2 = Jan1
| ci2 = {{IPAc-yue|j|an|1}}
| y2 = Yān
| poj2 = Ûn
| tl2 = Ûn
| wuu2 = In
| oc-bs2 = &ast;{{IPA|ʔər}}
}}
{{History of China|BC=1}}

The '''Shang dynasty''' ({{zh|c=商朝|p=Shāngcháo}}), also known as the '''Yin dynasty''' ({{zhi|c=殷代|p=Yīn dài}}), was a [[Dynasties of China|Chinese royal dynasty]] that ruled in the [[Yellow River]] valley during the second millennium&nbsp;BC, traditionally succeeding the [[Xia dynasty]] and followed by the [[Western Zhou]] dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from texts such as the ''[[Book of Documents]]'', ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'' and ''[[Shiji]]''. Modern scholarship dates the dynasty between the 16th and 11th centuries&nbsp;BC, with more agreement surrounding the end date than beginning date.

The Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty within  traditional [[Chinese history]] that is firmly supported by archaeological evidence. The archaeological site of [[Yinxu]], near modern-day [[Anyang]], corresponds to the final Shang capital of Yin. Excavations at Yinxu have revealed eleven major royal tombs, the foundations of former palace buildings, and the remains of both animals and humans that were sacrificed in official state rituals.

Tens of thousands of bronze, [[jade]], stone, bone, and ceramic artefacts have been uncovered at Yinxu. Most prominently, the site has yielded the earliest known examples of [[Chinese writing]]—a corpus primarily consisting of [[divination]] texts inscribed on [[oracle bone]]s, which were usually either turtle shells or ox [[scapula]]e. More than 20,000 oracle bones were discovered during the initial scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s, with over four times as many having been found since. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, and religious practices to the art and medicine of the early stages of Chinese history.{{sfnp|Keightley|2000}}

== Traditional accounts ==
Several of the [[Chinese classics]] discuss the history of the Shang, including the ''[[Book of Documents]]'', the ''[[Mencius (book)|Mencius]]'' and the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]''. From the sources available to him, the [[Han dynasty]] historian [[Sima Qian]] assembled a chronological account of the Shang as part of the ''[[Shiji]]'' ({{circa|91&nbsp;BC}}) official history. Sima describes some Shang-era events in detail, while others are only mentioned as taking place during the reign of a particular king.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|pp=233–235}} A slightly different account of the Shang is given in the ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'', a text whose history is complex: while originally interred in 296&nbsp;BC, the authenticity of the manuscripts that have survived is controversial.{{sfnp|Keightley|1978b}}

Throughout history, the Shang have also been referred to as "Yin" ({{zhi|c=殷}}). The ''Shiji'' and the ''Bamboo Annals'' each use this name for both the dynasty, as well as its final capital. Since [[Huangfu Mi]]'s ''Records of Emperors and Kings'' in the 3rd century&nbsp;AD, "Yin" has been frequently used to refer specifically to the latter half of the Shang. It is also the name predominantly used for the dynasty in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, being rendered as {{tlit|ja|In}}, {{tlit|ko|Eun}} and {{lang|vi|Ân}} in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese respectively. The name seems to have originated during the subsequent [[Zhou dynasty]]; it does not appear in oracle bone inscriptions—which refer to the state as "Shang" ({{zhi|c=商}}), and to its capital as {{zht|p=Dàyì Shāng|c=大邑商|tr=Great Settlement of Shang}}{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=232}}—nor does it appear in any [[bronze inscriptions]] securely dated to the [[Western Zhou]] ({{circa|1046|lk=no}}{{snd}}771&nbsp;BC).{{sfnp|Keightley|1978a|p=xiv}}

=== Founding myth ===
{{See also|Predynastic Shang}}
The founding myth of the Shang is described by Sima Qian in the ''Annals of the Yin''. In the text, a woman named [[Jiandi]], who was the second wife of [[Emperor Ku]], swallowed an egg dropped by a black bird and subsequently gave birth miraculously to [[Xie of Shang|Xie]]. Xie is said to have helped [[Yu the Great]] to control the [[Great Flood (China)|Great Flood]] and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief.<ref>{{harvp|Keightley|1999|p=233}}, with additional details from the ''Historical Records''.</ref> The period before the Shang dynasty was established is known as the "[[Predynastic Shang]]" (or "Proto-Shang").<ref>{{citation |title=The Magic Square: Cities in Ancient China |given=Alfred |surname=Schinz |publisher=Axel Menges |year=1996 |isbn=978-3-930698-02-8 |page=27}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=China: A New Cultural History |given=Zhuoyun |surname=Xu |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-231-15920-3 |page=73}}</ref>

=== Dynastic course ===
{{See also|Periodization of the Shang dynasty}}
In the ''Annals of the Yin'', Sima Qian writes that the dynasty was founded 13 generations after Xie, when Xie's descendant, [[Tang of Shang|Tang]], overthrew the impious and cruel [[Jie of Xia|final Xia ruler]] in the [[Battle of Mingtiao]]. The ''Records of the Grand Historian'' recount events from the reigns of Tang, [[Tai Jia]], [[Tai Wu]], [[Pan Geng]], [[Wu Ding]], [[Wu Yi of Shang|Wu Yi]] and the depraved final king [[Di Xin]], but the rest of the Shang rulers are merely mentioned by name. In the last century, [[Wang Guowei]] demonstrated that the succession to the Shang throne matched the list of kings in Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian''. According to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', the Shang moved their capital five times, with the final move to Yin in the reign of Pan Geng inaugurating the golden age of the dynasty.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=233}}

Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by [[King Wu of Zhou|Wu of Zhou]]. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in the decisive [[Battle of Muye]]. According to the ''[[Yi Zhou Shu]]'' and [[Mencius]] the battle was very bloody. The classic [[Ming dynasty]] novel ''[[Investiture of the Gods]]'' retells the story of the war between Shang and Zhou as a conflict with rival factions of gods supporting different sides in the war.

[[File:Pan water vessel with coiling dragon pattern, Late Shang Dynasty (c.14th - Mid 11th Century B.C.E.).tif|left|thumb|Bronze water vessel with coiling dragon and [[taotie]] pattern, late Shang ({{circa|1300–1050&nbsp;BC}})]]
After the Shang were defeated, King Wu allowed Di Xin's son [[Wu Geng]] to rule the Shang as a vassal kingdom. However, Zhou Wu sent three of his brothers and an army to ensure that Wu Geng would not rebel.<ref>[http://www.pkucn.com/redirect.php?tid=228246 邶、鄘二國考] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617081821/http://www.pkucn.com/redirect.php?tid=228246 |date=17 June 2011 }} (Bei, Yong two national test)</ref><ref>[http://ch.shvoong.com/humanities/1230377-%E5%91%A8%E5%88%9D-%E4%B8%89%E7%9B%91-%E4%B8%8E%E9%82%B6-%E9%84%98-%E5%8D%AB%E5%9C%B0%E6%9C%9B%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6/ 周初"三监"与邶、鄘、卫地望研究] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726152144/http://ch.shvoong.com/humanities/1230377-%E5%91%A8%E5%88%9D-%E4%B8%89%E7%9B%91-%E4%B8%8E%E9%82%B6-%E9%84%98-%E5%8D%AB%E5%9C%B0%E6%9C%9B%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6/ |date=26 July 2008}} (Bei, Yong, Wei – looking at the research)</ref><ref>[http://www.csscipaper.com/chinahistory/xianqin/110612.html "三监"人物疆地及其地望辨析 ——兼论康叔的始封地问题] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509022308/http://www.csscipaper.com/chinahistory/xianqin/110612.html |date=9 May 2011 }} (breaking ground on Kangshu problem)</ref> After Zhou Wu's death, the Shang joined the [[Rebellion of the Three Guards]] against the [[Duke of Zhou]], but the rebellion collapsed after three years, leaving Zhou in control of Shang territory.

=== Descendants of the Shang royal family ===
After the collapse of the Shang dynasty, Zhou's rulers forcibly relocated "Yin diehards" and scattered them throughout Zhou territory.<ref>[http://www.guoxue.com/jrxz/lztdzdxl/yuan231.htm 一 被剥削者的存在类型] (Exploited by the presence of...)</ref> Some surviving members of the Shang royal family collectively changed their surname from the ancestral name [[Zi (surname)|Zi]] to the name of their fallen dynasty, Yin. The family retained an aristocratic standing and often provided needed administrative services to the succeeding Zhou dynasty. King Wu of Zhou ennobled Lin Jian ({{zhi|c=林堅}}), the son of Prince [[Bigan]], as the Duke of Bo'ling. The ''Shiji'' states that [[King Cheng of Zhou]], with the support of his regent and uncle, the [[Duke of Zhou]], enfeoffed Weiziqi ({{zhi|c=微子啟}}), a brother of Di Xin, as the Duke of [[Song (state)|Song]], with its capital at [[Shangqiu]]. This practice was known as "[[Feoffment|enfeoffment]] of three generations for two kings". The dukes of Song would maintain rites honouring the Shang kings until [[Qi (state)|Qi]] conquered Song in 286&nbsp;BC. [[Confucius]] was possibly a descendant of the Shang Kings through the Dukes of Song.<ref>{{citation |surname=Yao |given=Xinzhong |title=An Introduction to Confucianism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-521-64430-5 |quote=Confucius is believed to have been a descendant of the royal house of the Shang Dynasty and his family lived in the state of Song until his grandfather was forced to move to the state of Lu.}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname=Yao |given=Xinzhong |title=Confucianism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Jen and Agape |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |year=1997 |isbn=1-898723-76-1 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname=Rainey |given=Lee Dian |title=Confucius & Confucianism: The Essentials |publisher=Wiley |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4051-8841-8}}</ref>

The Eastern Han dynasty bestowed the title of Duke of Song and 'Duke Who Continues and Honours the Yin' upon Kong An, because he was part of the legacy of the Shang.<ref>{{citation |given=Rafe |surname=de Crespigny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA389 |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD) |date=28 December 2006 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-1184-0 |pages=389}}</ref><ref>《汉书·杨胡朱梅云传》：初，武帝时，始封周后姬嘉为周子南君，至元帝时，尊周子南君为周承休侯，位次诸侯王。使诸大夫博士求殷后，分散为十余姓，郡国往往得其大家，推求子孙，绝不能纪。时，匡衡议，以为"王者存二王后，所以尊其先王而通三统也。其犯诛绝之罪者绝，而更封他亲为始封君，上承其王者之始祖。《春秋》之义，诸侯不能守其社稷者绝。今宋国已不守其统而失国矣，则宜更立殷后为始封君，而上承汤统，非当继宋之绝侯也，宜明得殷后而已。今之故宋，推求其嫡，久远不可得；虽得其嫡，嫡之先已绝，不当得立。《礼记》孔子曰：'丘，殷人也。'先师所共传，宜以孔子世为汤后。"上以其语不经，遂见寝。</ref> This branch of the Confucius family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.

Another remnant of the Shang established the vassal state of [[Guzhu]] (present-day [[Tangshan]]), which [[Duke Huan of Qi]] destroyed.<ref>[http://guzhuwenhua.com/index.asp 中国孤竹文化网] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401085352/http://guzhuwenhua.com/index.asp |date=1 April 2010}} (Chinese Guzhu Cultural Network)</ref><ref>[http://www.guoxue.com/xsjy/2000.7/guzhuguo.htm 解开神秘古国 ——孤竹之谜] (unlocking the ancient mystery of Guzhu)</ref><ref>[http://www.lulong.ccoo.cn/bendi/culture-2.html 孤竹析辨] (Guzhu analysis identified)</ref> Many Shang clans that migrated northeast after the dynasty's collapse were integrated into [[Yan (state)|Yan]] culture during the Western Zhou period. These clans maintained an elite status and continued practising the sacrificial and burial traditions of the Shang.{{sfnp|Sun|2006}}

Both Korean and Chinese legends, including reports in the ''Book of Documents'' and ''Bamboo Annals'', state that a disgruntled Shang prince named [[Jizi]], who had refused to cede power to the Zhou, left China with a small army. According to these legends, he founded a state known as [[Gija Joseon]] in northwest Korea during the [[Old Chosŏn|Gojoseon]] period of ancient Korean history. However, scholars debate the historical accuracy of these legends.

== Early Bronze Age archaeology ==
{{Main|Shang archaeology}}
{{Further|History of Chinese archaeology}}
{{location map+|China Northern Plain|relief=1
 | caption=Major archaeological sites of the second millennium&nbsp;BC in north and central China
 | width=250|float=right|places=
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Erlitou]]|lat_deg=34.7|lon_deg=112.7
   | mark=Purple pog.svg|position=left}}
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Erligang culture|Zhengzhou]]|lat_deg=34.75|lon_deg=113.68
   | mark=Red pog.svg|position=right}}
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Panlongcheng]]|lat_deg=30.69|lon_deg=114.27
   | mark=Red pog.svg|position=right}}
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Yinxu|Anyang]]|lat_deg=36.12|lon_deg=114.32
   | mark=Orange pog.svg|position=right}}
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Sanxingdui]]|lat_deg=31.0|lon_deg=104.2
   | mark=Orange pog.svg|position=right}}
  {{location map~|China Northern Plain
   | label=[[Wucheng culture|Wucheng]]|lat_deg=29.18|lon_deg=116.01
   | mark=Orange pog.svg|position=bottom}}
}}
Before the 20th century, the Zhou dynasty (1046–256&nbsp;BC) was the earliest that could be verified from its own records. However, during the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279), [[antiquarian]]s collected bronze ritual vessels attributed to the Shang era, some of which bore inscriptions.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}}

=== Yellow River valley ===
[[File:Statuette of a Standing Dignitary, China, Shang dynasty, 12th-11th century BC, nephrite - Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University - DSC00742.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Shang [[nephrite]] statuette depicting a standing dignitary, dating between the 12th and 11th centuries&nbsp;BC, housed at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University]]
In 1899, several scholars noticed that Chinese pharmacists were selling "dragon bones" marked with curious and archaic characters.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}} These were finally traced back in 1928 to what is now called [[Yinxu]], north of the [[Yellow River]] near [[Anyang]], where the [[Academia Sinica]] undertook archaeological excavation until the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in 1937.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}}
Archaeologists focused on the Yellow River valley in Henan as the most likely site of the states described in the traditional histories.

After 1950, the remnants of the earlier walled settlement of [[Zhengzhou Shang City]] were discovered within the modern city of [[Zhengzhou]].{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}}
It has been determined that the earth walls at Zhengzhou, erected in the 15th century&nbsp;BC, would have been {{cvt|20|m|ft}} wide at the base, rising to a height of {{cvt|8|m|ft}}, and formed a roughly rectangular wall {{cvt|7|km|mi|sigfig=1}} around the ancient city.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=34}}{{sfnp|Needham|1971|p=43}} The rammed earth construction of these walls was an inherited tradition, since much older fortifications of this type have been found at Chinese [[Neolithic]] sites of the [[Longshan culture]] ({{circa|3000|2000&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}).{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=34}}
In 2022, excavation of an elite tomb inside the city walls yielded over 200 artefacts, including a gold face covering measuring {{cvt|18.3|by|14.5|cm}}.<ref>{{citation |title=New archaeological discoveries provide insight into Yellow River origins of Chinese civilization |work=Global Times |editor-surname=Yi |editor-given=Yan |date=19 September 2022 |url=https://www.ecns.cn/news/culture/2022-09-19/detail-ihceauqk3927468.shtml |access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref>

In 1959, the site of the [[Erlitou culture]] was found in Yanshi, south of the Yellow River near [[Luoyang]].{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=34}} [[Radiocarbon dating]] suggests that the Erlitou culture flourished {{circa|2100&nbsp;BC|lk=no}} to 1800&nbsp;BC. They built large palaces, suggesting the existence of an organised state.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|pp=34–35}}
In 1983, [[Yanshi Shang City]] was discovered {{cvt|6|km|mi}} north-east of the Erlitou site in Yanshi's Shixianggou Township. This was a large walled city dating from 1600&nbsp;BC. It had an area of nearly {{cvt|200|ha|acres}} and featured pottery characteristic of the [[Erligang culture]].

The remains of a walled city of about {{cvt|470|ha}} were discovered in 1999 across the [[Huan River]] from the well explored Yinxu site. The city, now known as [[Huanbei]], was apparently occupied for less than a century and destroyed shortly before the construction of the Yinxu complex.<ref>{{citation |surname=Harrington |given=Spencer P. M. |date=May–June 2000 |title=Shang City Uncovered |url=http://www.archaeology.org/0005/newsbriefs/shang.html |journal=Archaeology |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |volume=53 |number=3}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname1=Tang |given1=Jigen |surname2=Jing |given2=Zhichun |surname3=Liu |given3=Zhongfu |surname4=Yue |given4=Zhanwei |year=2004 |title=Survey and Test Excavation of the Huanbei Shang City in Anyang |url=http://www.kaogu.cn/en/Chinese%20Archaeology/4/Survey%20and%20Test%20Excavation%20of%20the%20Huanbei%20Shang%20City%20in%20Anyang.pdf |journal=Chinese Archaeology |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1515/CHAR.2004.4.1.1}}</ref> Between 1989 and 2000, an important Shang settlement was excavated near [[Xiaoshuangqiao]], about {{cvt|20|km}} northwest of Zhengzhou. Covering an intermediary period between the Zhengzhou site and the late capitals on the [[Huan River]], it features most prominently sacrificial pits with articulated skeletons of cattle, a quintessential part of the late Shang ritual complex.

[[File:Shang dynasty jade deer.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.9|Jade deer dating to the Shang dynasty, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum]]
Chinese historians were accustomed to the notion of one dynasty succeeding another, and readily identified the Erligang and Erlitou sites with the early Shang and [[Xia dynasty]] of traditional histories. The actual political situation in early China may have been more complicated, with the Xia and Shang being political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]], who established the successor state of the Shang, are known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.{{sfnp|Sun|2006}} It has also been suggested the Xia legend originated as a Shang myth of an earlier people who were their opposites.{{sfnp|Allan|1991|p=63}}

=== Other sites ===
The Erligang culture centred on the Zhengzhou site is found across a wide area of China, even as far northeast as the area of modern Beijing. At least one burial in this region during this period contained both Erligang-style bronze utensils and local-style gold jewellery.{{sfnp|Sun|2006}} The discovery of a [[Chenggu]]-style [[dagger-axe]] at Xiaohenan demonstrates that even at this early stage of Chinese history, there were some ties between the distant areas of north China.{{sfnp|Sun|2006}} The [[Panlongcheng]] site in the middle [[Yangtze]] valley was an important regional centre of the Erligang culture.{{sfnp|Bagley|1999|pp=168–171}}

Accidental finds elsewhere in China have revealed advanced civilisations contemporaneous with but culturally unlike the settlement at Anyang, such as the walled city of [[Sanxingdui]] in [[Sichuan]]. Western scholars are hesitant to designate such settlements as belonging to the Shang.{{sfnp|Bagley|1999|pp=124–125}} Also unlike the Shang, there is no known evidence that the Sanxingdui culture had a system of writing. The late Shang state at Anyang is thus generally considered the first verifiable civilisation in Chinese history.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=232}}

In contrast, the earliest layers of the [[Wucheng culture]] predating Anyang have yielded pottery fragments containing short sequences of symbols, suggesting that they may be a form of writing quite different in form from oracle bone characters, but the sample is too small for decipherment.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2013|p=669}}{{sfnp|Wagner|1993|p=20}}{{sfnp|Cheung|1983}}

[[File:Shang Jade Human Figure.jpg|thumb|Shang jade human figure, tomb of [[Fu Hao]] (died {{circa|1200&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}). Probably derived from a design of the [[Seima-Turbino culture]].<ref>{{citation |surname=Lin |given=Meicun |year=2016 |title=Seima-Turbino Culture and the Proto-Silk Road |url=https://www.academia.edu/45055541 |journal=Chinese Cultural Relics |volume=3 |issue=1–2 |page=255, Figure 15 |issn=2330-5169}}</ref>]]

== Absolute chronology ==
The earliest securely dated event in Chinese history is the start of the [[Gonghe Regency]] in 841&nbsp;BC, early in the Zhou dynasty, a date first established by [[Sima Qian]]. Attempts to establish earlier dates have been plagued by doubts about the origin and transmission of traditional texts and the difficulties in their interpretation. More recent attempts have compared the traditional histories with archaeological and astronomical data.{{sfnp|Lee|2002|pp=16–17}} At least 44 dates for the end of the dynasty have been proposed, ranging from 1130 to 1018&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Lee|2002|p=32}}

* The traditional dates of the dynasty, from 1766 to 1122&nbsp;BC, were calculated by [[Liu Xin (scholar)|Liu Xin]] during the Han dynasty.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=248}}
* A calculation based on the "old text" of the ''Bamboo Annals'' yields dates of 1523 to 1027&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=248}}
* David Pankenier, by attempting to identify astronomical events mentioned in Zhou texts, dated the beginning of the dynasty at 1554&nbsp;BC and its overthrow at 1046&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=248}}{{sfnp|Pankenier|1981–1982|p=23}}<ref>{{citation |surname=Pankenier |given=David W. |url=https://www.academia.edu/43379398 |title=Astrology and Cosmology in Early China: Conforming Earth to Heaven |year=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-53901-3 |page=197 |chapter=The cosmo-political mandate |access-date=21 July 2022 |archive-date=15 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915083908/https://www.academia.edu/43379398 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfnp|Nivison|2018|p=165}}
* The [[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project]] identified the establishment of the dynasty with the foundation of an Erligang culture walled city at [[Yanshi]], dated {{circa|1600&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}.{{sfnp|Lee|2002|p=28}} The project also arrived at an end date of 1046&nbsp;BC, based on a combination of the astronomical evidence considered by David Pankenier and [[radiocarbon dating]] of archaeological layers.{{sfnp|Lee|2002|pp=31–34}}
* [[David Nivison]] and [[Edward Shaughnessy]] argue for an end date of 1045&nbsp;BC, based on their analysis of the ''Bamboo Annals''.<ref>{{citation |surname=Shaughnessy |given=Edward L. |title=Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels |year=1992 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-07028-8 |pages=217–236 |chapter=The Date of the Zhou Conquest of Shang |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH1ZrCsslosC&pg=PA217}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname=Nivison |given=David S. |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |year=1983 |publisher=Harvard-Yenching Institute |volume=43 |pages=481–580 |title=The Dates of Western Chou |jstor=2719108 |issue=2|doi=10.2307/2719108 }}</ref>
* Radiocarbon dating of oracle bones has yielded an end date of 1041&nbsp;BC, with an uncertainty of about 10 years.{{sfnp|Liu|Wu|Guo|Yuan|2021|pp=165, 169}}

== Late Shang at Anyang ==
{{main|Late Shang}}
[[File:Oracle bones pit.JPG|thumb|right|A pit at Yinxu containing oracle bones ceremonially buried after divination]]
The oldest extant direct records date from {{circa|1250&nbsp;BC|lk=no}} at the [[Yinxu]] site near Anyang, covering the reigns of the last nine Shang kings. The Shang had a fully developed system of writing, preserved on [[bronze inscriptions]] and a small number of other writings on pottery, jade and other stones, horn, etc., but most prolifically on oracle bones.{{sfnp|Qiu|2000|p=60}} The complexity and sophistication of this writing system indicates an earlier period of development, but direct evidence of such is still lacking. Other advances included the invention of many musical instruments and celestial observations of Mars and various comets by Shang astronomers.<ref>{{citation |surname=Kerr |given=Gordon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URV4e7IDaKYC&pg=PT3 |title=A Short History of China |publisher=Oldcastle |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84243-969-2 |page=3}}</ref>

Their civilisation was based on agriculture and augmented by hunting and animal husbandry.<ref>{{citation |surname1=Beck |given1=Roger B. |title=World History: Patterns of Interaction |surname2=Black |given2=Linda |surname3=Krieger |given3=Larry S. |surname4=Naylor |given4=Phillip C. |surname5=Shabaka |given5=Dahia Ibo |publisher=McDougal Littell |year=1999 |isbn=0-395-87274-X |location=Evanston, Illinois}}</ref> In addition to war, the Shang practised [[human sacrifice in China|human sacrifice]]. The majority of human sacrifice victims mentioned in Shang writings were war captives taken from the [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang people]], who lived to the northwest of the Shang.<ref>{{citation |surname=Shelach |given=Gideon |year=1996 |title=The Qiang and the Question of Human Sacrifice in the Late Shang Period |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46734788 |journal=Asian Perspectives |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Using skeletal isotope analysis, a group of Shang sacrifice victims at the [[Zhengzhou Shang City|Zhengzhou site]] was also found to most likely have been war captives.<ref>{{citation |surname1=Fang |given1=Fang |surname2=Liao |given2=Jingwen |surname3=Zeng |given3=Xiaomin |surname4=Zhang |given4=Juzhong |date=November 2022 |title=The Truth of Unusual Deaths under Military Expansion: Evidence from the Stable Isotopes of a Human Skull Ditch in the Capital City of the Early Shang Dynasty |journal=Genes |volume=13 |issue=11 |page=2077 |doi=10.3390/genes13112077 |doi-access=free |pmid=36360314 |issn=2073-4425|pmc=9690788}}</ref> Skulls of sacrificial victims have been found to be similar to modern Chinese ones (based on comparisons with remains from [[Hainan]] and [[Taiwan]]).<ref>{{citation |surname=Pietrusewsky |given=Michael |title=The Peopling of East Asia: Putting Together Archaeology, Linguistics and Genetics |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-32242-3 |editor-surname=Sagart |editor-given=Laurent |page=203 |chapter=The physical anthropology of the Pacific, East Asia and Southeast Asia: a multivariate craniometric analysis |editor-surname2=Blench |editor-given2=Roger |editor-surname3=Sanchez-Mazas |editor-given3=Alicia}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname=Howells |given=William |title=The Origins of Chinese Civilization |publisher=University of California Press |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-520-04229-2 |editor-surname=Keightley |editor-given=David N. |pages=312–313 |chapter=Origins of the Chinese People: Interpretations of recent evidence}}</ref> [[Cowry]] shells were also excavated at Anyang, suggesting trade with coast-dwellers, but there was very limited sea trade since China was isolated from other large civilisations during the Shang period.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=35}} Trade relations and diplomatic ties with other formidable powers via the [[Silk Road]] and Chinese voyages to the Indian Ocean did not exist until the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] during the Han dynasty (202&nbsp;BC{{snd}}221&nbsp;AD).{{sfnp|Sun|1989|pp=161–167}}{{sfnp|Chen|2002|pp=67–71}}

=== Court life ===
[[File:Shang dynasty inscribed tortoise plastron.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Tortoise shell with divinatory inscriptions]]
[[File:Tomb Fu Hao YinXu.jpg|thumb|right|Bronzeware from the excavated [[tomb of Fu Hao]]]]
At the excavated royal palace in Yinxu, large stone pillar bases were found along with [[rammed earth]] foundations and platforms, which according to Fairbank, were "as hard as cement".{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}} These foundations in turn originally supported 53 buildings of wooden [[timber framing|post-and-beam]] construction. In close proximity to the main palatial complex, there were underground pits used for storage, servants' quarters, and housing quarters.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=33}}

Many Shang royal tombs had been tunnelled into and ravaged by grave robbers in ancient times, but in the spring of 1976, the discovery of Tomb 5 at Yinxu revealed a tomb that was not only undisturbed, but one of the most richly furnished Shang tombs that archaeologists had yet come across.{{sfnp|Thorp|1981|pp=239–240}} With over 200 bronze ritual vessels and 109 inscriptions of [[Fu Hao]]'s name, [[Zheng Zhenxiang]] and other archaeologists realised they had stumbled across the tomb of Fu Hao, Wu Ding's most famous consort also renowned as a military general, and mentioned in 170 to 180 oracle bone inscriptions.{{sfnp|Thorp|1981|pp=240, 245}} Along with bronze vessels, stoneware and pottery vessels, bronze weapons, jade figures and hair combs, and bone hairpins were found.{{sfnp|Thorp|1981|pp=242, 245}}{{sfnp|Li|1980|pp=393–394}}{{sfnp|Lerner|Murck|Ford|Hearn|1985|p=77}} The archaeological team argue that the large assortment of weapons and ritual vessels in her tomb correlate with the oracle bone accounts of her military and ritual activities.{{sfnp|Thorp|1981|p=245}}

The capital was the centre of court life. Over time, court rituals to appease spirits developed, and in addition to his secular duties, the king would serve as the head of the [[ancestor worship]] cult. Often, the king would even perform oracle bone divinations himself, especially near the end of the dynasty. Evidence from excavations of the royal tombs indicates that royalty were buried with articles of value, presumably for use in the afterlife. Perhaps for the same reason, hundreds of commoners, who may have been slaves, were buried alive with the royal corpse.

[[File:Late Shang Jiaguwen about horses.png|thumb|Late Shang oracle bone inscriptions about breeding horses.<ref>{{citation |surname1=Yuan |given1=Jing |given2=Rowan |surname2=Flad |title=Two issues concerning domesticated horses in China |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities |volume=75 |year=2003 |pages=110–126}}</ref>]]
A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighbouring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The Shang king, in his oracular divinations, repeatedly showed concern about the barbarians living outside of the civilised regions, which made up the centre of Shang territory.{{Clarify|reason=are tu areas all of Shang or only the Shang heartland?|date=September 2010}} In particular, the group living in the [[Yan Mountains]] were regularly mentioned as hostile to the Shang.{{sfnp|Sun|2006}}

Apart from their role as the head military commanders, Shang kings also asserted their social supremacy by acting as the high priests of society and leading the divination ceremonies.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=14}} As the oracle bone texts reveal, the Shang kings were viewed as the best qualified members of society to offer sacrifices to their royal ancestors and to the high god Di, who in their beliefs was responsible for the rain, wind, and thunder.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=14}}

The King appointed officials to manage certain activities, usually in a specified region. These included agricultural official, pastors, dog officers, and guards. These officers led their own retinues in the conduct of their duties, and some grew more independent and emerged as rulers of their own. There was a basic system of bureaucracy in place, with references to positions such as the "Many Dog officers", "Many horse officers", the "Many Artisans", the "Many Archers" or court titles like "Junior Servitor for Cultivation" or "Junior Servitor for labourers". Members of the royal family would be assigned personal estates; the king provided them with pre-determined public works such as walling cities in their regions, distributed materials and issued commands to them.<ref>{{citation<!--university course materials--> |surname=Eno |given=Robert |year=2010 |ref={{sfnref|Eno|2010b}} |title=History G380 |chapter=Shang Society |hdl=2022/23464 |publisher=Indiana University}}</ref> In turn, their estates belonged ultimately to the king's land, and they paid tribute to the king as well as reporting to him about conquered lands.<ref>{{citation |title=The Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Huayuanzhuang East |surname=Schwartz |given=Adam C. |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-1-5015-0533-1 |year=2020 |hdl=20.500.12657/23217}}</ref> More distant rulers were known by titles translated as marquess or count,<!--The Chinese titles should be mentioned here. Clearly they didn't use English words from thousands of years later--> who sometimes provided tribute and support to the Shang King in exchange for military aid and augury services. However these alliances were unstable, as indicated by the frequent royal divinations about the sustainability of such relations.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|pp=272–273, 286}}

The existence of records regarding enemy kills, prisoners and booty taken point to the existence of a proto-bureaucracy of written documents.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|pp=287}}

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion of the Shang dynasty}}

[[File:Shang bronze masks, 16-14th.JPG|thumb|Shang-era face masks made of bronze, {{circa|16th–14th centuries&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}]]
Shang religious rituals featured divination and sacrifice. The degree to which [[shamanism]] was a central aspect of Shang religion is a subject of debate.{{sfnp|Chang|1994}}{{sfnp|Keightley|1998}}

There were six main recipients of sacrifice:{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|pp=253–254}}
# Di, the "High God",
# Natural forces, such as that of the sun and mountains, 
# Former lords, deceased humans who had been added to the dynastic pantheon, 
# Pre-dynastic ancestors, 
# Dynastic ancestors, and 
# Royal wives who were ancestors of the present king.

The Shang believed that their ancestors held power over them and performed divination rituals to secure their approval for planned actions.{{sfnp|Keightley|2004}} Divination involved cracking a turtle carapace or ox scapula to answer a question, and to then record the response to that question on the bone itself.{{sfnp|Chang|1994}} It is unknown what criteria the diviners used to determine the response, but it is believed to be the sound or pattern of the cracks on the bone.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

The Shang also seem to have believed in an afterlife, as evidenced by the elaborate burial tombs built for deceased rulers. Often "carriages, utensils, sacrificial vessels, [and] weapons" would be included in the tomb.{{sfnp|Smith|1961}} A king's burial involved the burial of up to a few hundred humans and horses as well to accompany the king into the afterlife, in some cases even numbering four hundred.{{sfnp|Smith|1961}} Finally, tombs included ornaments such as jade, which the Shang may have believed to protect against decay or confer immortality.

The Shang religion was highly bureaucratic and meticulously ordered. Oracle bones contained descriptions of the date, ritual, person, ancestor, and questions associated with the divination.{{sfnp|Chang|1994}} Tombs displayed highly ordered arrangements of bones, with groups of skeletons laid out facing the same direction.

=== Bronze working ===
{{Main|Chinese ritual bronzes}}
Chinese bronze casting and pottery advanced during the Shang, with bronze typically being used for ritually significant, rather than primarily utilitarian, items. As early as {{circa|1500&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}, the early Shang dynasty engaged in large-scale production of bronzeware vessels and weapons.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=17}} This production required a large labour force that could handle the mining, refining, and transportation of the necessary copper, tin, and lead ores. This in turn created a need for official managers that could oversee both labourers and skilled artisans and craftsmen.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=17}} The Shang royal court and aristocrats required a vast number of different bronze vessels for various ceremonial purposes and events of religious divination.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=17}} Ceremonial rules even decreed how many bronze containers of each type a noble of a certain rank could own. With the increased amount of bronze available, the army could also better equip itself with an assortment of bronze weaponry. Bronze was also used for the fittings of spoke-wheeled [[Chariot (Ancient China)|chariots]], which appeared in China around 1200&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=14}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" class="center">
File:Dinastia shang, tipode ding biansato, xiii-xii sec. ac.JPG|A ''ding'' dating from the Shang
File:HouMuWuDingFullView.jpg|The Shang-era [[Houmuwu ding|Houmuwu ''ding'']], the heaviest piece of bronze work found in China so far
File:Liu Ding.jpg|A late Shang-era ''ding'' with ''[[taotie]]'' motif
File:Gu wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty.jpg|A ''gu'' ritual bronze vessel used to hold wine
</gallery>

=== Military ===
{{main|Military of the Shang dynasty}}
[[File:Shang Chariot Burial 04.jpg|thumb|War chariots at Yinxu. Shang chariots were introduced {{circa|1200 &nbsp;BC|lk=no}} through the northern steppes, probably from the area of the [[Karasuk culture]],<ref>{{citation |title=Chariots in Early China: Origins, cultural interaction, and identity |year=2013 |publisher=BAR |surname=Wu |given=Hsiao-yun |isbn=978-1-4073-1065-7}}</ref> or [[deer stones culture]].<ref>{{citation |surname=Rawson |given=Jessica |date=June 2020 |title=Chariotry and Prone Burials: Reassessing Late Shang China's Relationship with Its Northern Neighbours |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342651041 |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=135–168 |doi=10.1007/s10963-020-09142-4 |s2cid=254751158 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1988}}<ref>{{citation |surname=Barbieri-Low |given=Anthony J. |date=February 2000 |title=Wheeled Vehicles in the Chinese Bronze Age (c. 2000–741 B.C.) |url=https://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp099_wheeled_vehicles_china.pdf |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |volume=99}}</ref>]]
The Shang dynasty entered into prolonged conflicts with northern frontier tribes called the ''[[Guifang]]''.<ref>{{citation |surname=Creel |given=Herrlee G. |year=1970 |title=The Origins of Statecraft in China |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=232}}</ref><ref>{{citation |surname=Taskin |given=V. S. |series=Материалы по истории кочевых народов в Китае III-V вв <!--Russian series title is more useful for verification than the English translation. Unfortunately this parameter doesn't exist: |trans-series=Materials on the history of nomadic tribes in China in the 3rd–5th centuries--> |volume=3 |script-title=ru:Мужуны |trans-title=Mujuns |location=Moscow |publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|Nauka]] |year=1992 |page=10 |isbn=5-02-016746-0 |language=ru}}</ref>{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=269}}

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.{{sfnp|Wang|1993}}{{sfnp|Sawyer|Sawyer|1994|p=35}}

Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, Shang rulers could mobilise the masses of town-dwelling and rural commoners as conscript labourers and soldiers for both campaigns of defence and conquest. Aristocrats and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their local garrisons with all necessary equipment, armour, and armaments. The Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital and would personally lead this force into battle.{{sfnp|Sawyer|Sawyer|1994|pp=33–34}} A rudimentary military bureaucracy was also needed in order to muster forces ranging from three to five thousand troops for border campaigns to thirteen thousand troops for suppressing rebellions.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - bronze battle axe.jpg|A ''yue'' bronze axe with head motif, dated to the Shang
File:Shang dynasty curved bronze knives with turquoise inlays and animal pommel. 12th-11th century BCE.jpg|Shang dynasty curved bronze knives with turquoise inlays and animal pommel. 12th–11th centuries&nbsp;BC. Such knives may be the result of contacts with northern people.<ref>{{citation |surname1=So |given1=Jenny F. |url=https://ia601307.us.archive.org/28/items/tradersraiderson00soje/tradersraiderson00soje.pdf |title=Traders and raiders on China's northern frontier |surname2=Bunker |given2=Emma C. |year=1995 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |isbn=978-0-295-97473-6 |location=Seattle |pages=35–36 |quote=Enough northern bronze knives, tools, and fittings have been recovered from royal burials at the Shang capital of Anyang to suggest that people of northern heritage mingled with the Chinese in their capital city. These artifacts must have entered Shang domain through trade, war, intermarriage, or other circumstances.}}</ref>
</gallery>

== Kings ==
{{anchor|list|kings|king list|emperors}}
{{Main list|List of monarchs of China#Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE)|Family tree of ancient Chinese emperors#Shang dynasty}}
The earliest records are the oracle bones inscribed during the reigns of the Shang kings from [[Wu Ding]].{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2013|p=684}} Oracle bone inscriptions do not contain king lists, but they do record the sacrifices to previous kings and the ancestors of the current king, which follow a standard schedule that scholars have reconstructed. From this evidence, scholars have assembled the implied king list and genealogy, finding that it is in substantial agreement with the later accounts, especially for later kings. According to this implied king list, Wu Ding was the twenty-first Shang king.{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|p=235}}

The Shang kings were referred to in the oracle bones by [[posthumous name]]s.
The last character of each name is one of the 10 [[celestial stem]]s, which also denoted the day of the 10-day Shang week on which sacrifices would be offered to that ancestor within the ritual schedule.
There were more kings than stems, so the names have distinguishing prefixes such as ''da'' ('greater', {{zhi|c=大}}), ''zhong'' ('middle', {{zhi|c=中}}), ''xiao'' ('lesser', {{zhi|c=小}}), ''bu'' ('outer', {{zhi|c=卜}}), and ''zu'' ('ancestor', {{zhi|c=祖}}), as well as other, more obscure ones.{{sfnp|Smith|2011|pp=3–5}}

The kings, in the order of succession derived from the oracle bones, are here grouped by generation. Later reigns were assigned to oracle bone diviner groups by [[Dong Zuobin]].{{sfnp|Keightley|1999|pp=234–235, 240–241}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
! Generation
! colspan="3" | Older brothers
! Main line of descent
! Younger brothers
! Divination phase
|-
| align="center" | 1 || || || || [[Tang of Shang|Da Yi]] ({{zhi|c=大乙}}){{efn|The first king is known as Tang in the ''Shiji''. The oracle bones also identify six pre-dynastic ancestors: {{zhi|c=上甲}} Shang Jia, {{zhi|c=報乙}} Bao Yi, {{zhi|c=報丙}} Bao Bing, {{zhi|c=報丁}} Bao Ding, {{zhi|c=示壬}} Shi Ren and {{zhi|c=示癸}} Shi Gui.}} ||
| rowspan="10" align="center" | {{efn|There is no firm evidence of oracle bone inscriptions before the reign of Wu Ding.}}
|-
| align="center" | 2 || || || || [[Da Ding]] ({{zhi|c=大丁}}){{efn|According to the ''Shiji'' and the ''[[Mencius (book)|Mencius]]'', Da Ding (there called Tai Ding) died before he could ascend to the throne.  However in the oracle bones he receives rituals like any other king.}} ||
|-
| align="center" | 3 || || || || [[Tai Jia|Da Jia]] ({{zhi|c=大甲}}) || [[Bu Bing]] ({{zhi|c=卜丙}}){{efn|According to the ''Shiji'', Bu Bing (there called Wai Bing) and {{zhi|c=仲壬}} [[Zhong Ren]] (not mentioned in the oracle bones) were younger brothers of Dai Ting and preceded Da Jia (also known as Dai Jia).  However the ''Mencius'', the ''Zuo Zhuan'' and the ''Book of Documents'' state that he reigned after Da Jia, as also implied by the oracle bones.}}
|-
| align="center" | 4 || || || align="center" | {{efn|The ''Shiji'' includes a king [[Wo Ding]] not mentioned in the oracle bones.}} || [[Tai Geng|Da Geng]] ({{zhi|c=大庚}}) || [[Xiao Jia]] ({{zhi|c=小甲}}){{efn|The ''Shiji'' has Xiao Jia as the son of Da Geng (known as Tai Geng) in the "Annals of Yin", but as a younger brother (as implied by the oracle bones) in the "Genealogical Table of the Three Ages".}}
|-
| align="center" | 5 || || || || [[Tai Wu|Da Wu]] ({{zhi|c=大戊}}) || [[Yong Ji|Lü Ji]] ({{zhi|c=呂己}}){{efn|According to the ''Historical Records'', Lü Ji (there called Yong Ji) reigned before Da Wu (there called Tai Wu).}}
|-
| align="center" | 6 || || || || [[Zhong Ding]] ({{zhi|c=中丁}}){{efn|The kings from Zhong Ding to Nan Geng are placed in the same order by the ''Shiji'' and the oracle bones, but there are some differences in genealogy, as described in the articles on individual kings.}} || [[Wai Ren|Bu Ren]] ({{zhi|c=卜壬}})
|-
| align="center" | 7 || || || [[He Dan Jia|Jian Jia]] ({{zhi|c=戔甲}}) || [[Zu Yi]] ({{zhi|c=祖乙}}) ||
|-
| align="center" | 8 || || || || [[Zu Xin]] ({{zhi|c=祖辛}}) || [[Wo Jia|Qiang Jia]] ({{zhi|c=羌甲}}){{efn|The status of Qiang Jia varies over the history of the oracle bones. During the reigns of Wu Ding, Di Yi and Di Xin, he was not included in the main line of descent, a position also held by the ''Shiji'', but in the intervening reigns he was included as a direct ancestor.}}
|-
| align="center" | 9 || || || || [[Zu Ding]] ({{zhi|c=祖丁}}) || [[Nan Geng]] ({{zhi|c=南庚}}){{efn|According to the ''Historical Records'', Nan Geng was the son of Qiang Jia (there called Wo Jia).}}
|-
| align="center" | 10 || [[Yang Jia of Shang|Xiang Jia]] ({{zhi|c=象甲}}) || [[Pan Geng]] ({{zhi|c=盤庚}}) || [[Xiao Xin]] ({{zhi|c=小辛}}) || [[Xiao Yi of Shang|Xiao Yi]] ({{zhi|c=小乙}}) ||
|-
| align="center" | 11 || || || || [[Wu Ding]] ({{zhi|c=武丁}}) ||
| align="center" |  1254–1197 BC (I)
|-
| align="center" | 12 || || align="center" | {{efn|The oracle bones and the ''Shiji'' include an older brother [[Zu Ji]] ({{zhi|c=祖己}}) who did not reign.}} || [[Zu Geng of Shang|Zu Geng]] ({{zhi|c=祖庚}}) || [[Zu Jia]] ({{zhi|c=祖甲}}) ||
| align="center" | 1206–1177 BC (II)
|-
| align="center" | 13 || || || [[Lin Xin]] ({{zhi|c=廩辛}}){{efn|Lin Xin is named as a king in the ''Shiji'' and oracle bones of succeeding reigns, but not those of the last two kings.{{sfnp|Keightley|1978a|p=187}}}} || [[Geng Ding]] ({{zhi|c=康丁}}) || || align="center" |  1187–1135 BC (III)
|-
| align="center" | 14 || || || || [[Wu Yi of Shang|Wu Yi]] ({{zhi|c=武乙}}) ||
| rowspan="2" align="center" |  1157–1110 BC (IV)
|-
| align="center" | 15 || || || || [[Wen Wu Ding]] ({{zhi|c=文武丁}}) ||
|-
| align="center" | 16 || || || || [[Di Yi]] ({{zhi|c=帝乙}}){{efn|There are no ancestral sacrifices to the last two kings on the oracles bones, due to the fall of Shang.  Their names, including the character {{zhi|c=帝|p=dì|l=emperor}}, come from the much later ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'' and ''Shiji''.{{sfnp|Keightley|1978a|pp=187, 207, 209}}}} ||
| rowspan="2" align="center" | 1121–1041 BC (V)
|-
| align="center" | 17 || || || || [[King Zhou of Shang|Di Xin]] ({{zhi|c=帝辛}}){{efn|also referred to as Zhòu ({{zhi|c=紂}}), Zhòu Xīn ({{zhi|c=紂辛}}) or Zhou Wang ({{zhi|c=紂王}}) or by adding "Shang" ({{zhi|c=商}}) in front of any of these names.}} ||
|}

== See also ==
* [[Chinese sovereign]]
* [[Historical capitals of China]]
* [[Predynastic Zhou]]
* [[Women in ancient and imperial China]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
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* {{cite Cambridge History of China |volume=ancient |given=Robert |surname=Bagley |author-link=Robert Bagley |year=1999 |chapter=Shang archaeology |location= |pages=124–231 |postscript=.}}
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{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{citation |title=Ssŭma Ch'ien's ''Historical Records'', Chapter III – The Yin Dynasty |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/jras/1895-17.htm |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=601–615 |year=1895 |postscript=. |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00145083 |ref=none |translator-last=Allen |translator-first=Herbert J. |last1=Allen |first1=Herbert J. }}
* Campbell, Roderick. 2025. ''The Shang Economy''. Cambridge University Press.
* {{citation |surname=Chang |given=Kwang-Chih |title=Shang Civilization |year=1980 |postscript=. |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-02885-7 |ref=none |author-link=Kwang-chih Chang}}
* {{citation |surname1=Duan |given1=Chang-Qun |title=Relocation of Civilization Centers in Ancient China: Environmental Factors |journal=Ambio |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=572–575 |year=1998 |postscript=. |jstor=4314793 |ref=none |surname2=Gan |given2=Xue-Chun |surname3=Wang |given3=Jeanny |surname4=Chien |given4=Paul K.}}
* {{citation |title=The Chinese Classics |volume=3 |url=https://archive.org/details/chineseclassics07legggoog |at=Part 1, pp. 128–141 |year=1865 |postscript=. |chapter=The Annals of the Bamboo Books: The Dynasty of Shang |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/chineseclassics07legggoog#page/n146/mode/2up |ref=none |author-link=James Legge |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James}}
* {{citation |surname1=Lee |given1=Yuan-Yuan |title=Chinese Musical Instruments |year=1999 |postscript=. |series=Chinese Music Monograph Series |publisher=Chinese Music Society of North America Press |isbn=1-880464-03-9 |ref=none |surname2=Shen |given2=Sin-yan}}
* {{citation |surname=Shen |given=Sinyan |title=Acoustics of Ancient Chinese Bells |magazine=Scientific American |volume=256 |issue=4 |page=94 |year=1987 |postscript=. |bibcode=1987SciAm.256d.104S |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0487-104 |ref=none}}
* {{citation |surname=Timperley |given=Harold J. |title=The Awakening of China in Archaeology; Further Discoveries in Ho-Nan Province, Royal Tombs of the Shang Dynasty, Dated Traditionally from 1766 to 1122 B.C. |year=1936 |postscript=. |ref=none}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Shang Dynasty}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Xia dynasty]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Dynasties in Chinese history]]|years=c. 1600 – c. 1046&nbsp;BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Zhou dynasty]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Shang dynasty topics}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Shang dynasty| ]]
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[[Category:Dynasties of China]]
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