Transcript shang families

THE SHANG DYNASTY
1700 – 1100 B.C
I can describe the life and traditions
of people living in the Shang
Dynasty of Ancient China
SHANG KINGS
KING TANG: THE FIRST KING OF
THE SHANGE DYNASTY.
About 1700 B.C., Shang
family kings began to control some
cities. They set up a dynasty, or
rule by generations of one family.
The kings were responsible for
religious activities. They claimed to
rule with the gods’ permission.
Shang kings controlled the central portion of the North China Plain; their
relatives ruled distant areas. The Shang used chariots to defend themselves against
the nomads who lived to the north and west. They made war with nomadic people
like the Zhou (Joh).
Leaders of different clans were continuously warring with one another.
Warriors were knights wearing bronze armor.
These warriors went into battle in horse-drawn
chariots made of wood and bronze.
Each chariot had a driver, a spearman and an archer. Behind them came the foot
soldiers, who were usually peasant farmers forced to leave their fields. They did
not have the bronze armor that warrior knights did.
SHANG FAMILIES
In Shang culture, respect for one’s parents and ancestors was very
important. Family was closely tied to religion. The Chinese believed that the spirits
of their ancestors could bring good fortune to the family. Families paid respect to
the father’s ancestors by making animal sacrifices in their honor. Men ruled within
the family.
For both the rich and the poor, the family was all important. The oldest
male was the head of the family. If one member of a family did something wrong,
the entire family was in disgrace. Amongst the nobles, marriages were arranged to
strengthen or create a union between two clans or families.
The young obeyed their parents without a fuss. This was an important part
of ancestor worship. Even a wealthy noble with many servants might patch his
father’s robe with his own hands. Children looked forward to the day when they
would be parents and their children would worship them.
The role of women was to be gentle, calm, respectful, and to obey their
husband. In ancient China, home and family were so important they were nearly
sacred.
DEVELOPING LANGUAGE
The Shang Kings claimed to be able to influence the gods to help
people. Shang kings received messages from the gods through the oracle bones.
These were animal bones or turtle shells on which Shang royal priests scratched
questions to the gods. Next, they toughed the bones with heated rods to make
them crack. The royal priests interpreted the cracks and scratched the answers on
the bones. These scratch marks were an early form of a writing system.
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Like other ancient peoples, the Shang developed their system of writing
with pictographs.
This system of writing used simple drawings, or characters for words or
ideas. Compared to the English alphabet of 26 letters, the Chinese system of writing
used a huge number of symbols. To be barely able to read and write, a person had
to know at least 1,500 characters. An educated person had t know at least 10,000
characters.
The unique aspect of the Chinese system of writing is that you can learn to
read it without learning to speak it. A person who speaks something other than
English can still understand 2+2=4. The writing system in ancient China helped
unify a large and varied land.