The Shang Dynasty’s biggest contribution to China was their mastery of bronze. The Shang Dynasty began around 1600 c, which was also the time that bronze was being perfected by artisans in the middle class because they wanted to improve their religious practices and military. “The Shang Dynasty is the name given by Chinese historians to that line of king that preceded the Chou,”.(James). The Shang dynasty was made up kings and nobles and they were the ones that ruled over the common workers.
The kings were much respected not just because of the position they held but also because of they had a strong connection with the ancestors of the past. The Shang dynasty people lived a dull life; basically things were done just to have the king happy.
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They were their advanced weapons; the Shang people used bronze to their advantage and maintained prominent society at the time. A weapon that was found in great abundance was the Ge, or halberd. “This pole weapon has a blade of bronze blended with another material mounted at the right angles to the shaft, with a tang at the rear passing through the shaft, with a tang at the rear passing through the shaft.” (Xiong) A very powerful weapon was the Ge in which was found in the Shang region. The Ge weapon was used for ceremonial purposes. It was not a weapon for damage; it was a weapon for beauty. Bronze was a good aid for the Shang people to protect …show more content…
When people owned anything bronze it was sign of wealth and the family would preserve it. The Shang people who owned bronze was probably the most precious metal available to them. All the nobles had many bronze artifacts and the labourers often longed for them. Cultural change came when more and more bronze were crafted, that’s because people are more interested in art. During bronze crafting the Shang Dynasty had the upper hand on the rest of the world at the time.
The Shang’s bronze technique involves casting bronze with its lines and lines formed by square and not rounder grooves or perfect trenches with perpendicular sides and flat bottoms. During the Shang age, bronze working attained an extremely high standard, while in other parts of the world the progress of bronze casting scarcely excelled. The leading craftsmen of the time were the Shang people in which they refined bronze.
The Shang Dynasty ended in about 1050 BCE, the Shang Dynasty was invaded conquered by the state Zhou. “The Zhou conquerors claimed to overthrow the Shang Dynasty for moral reasons.” (Lai) they claimed that heaven did not want the Shang King to rule anymore because it was evil. The immoral behavior the king had was the reason why they blamed the Shang’s downfall. The king had drinking problems and an indulgent lifestyle. For years the downfall remained an instructive
The fall of the Shang dynasty ended the river valley society in China, and made way for the beginning of developed civilization in China. After the collapsed Shang dynasty came the Zhou dynasty, which began in 1029 BCE and flourished until 700 BCE, but it did not officially collapse until 403 BCE. Following that came the period of political disintegration and unease, known as the Era of the Warring States, from 402 BCE to 222 BCE. Finally, the Qin dynasty arose in 221 BCE and brought order back to China, however this did not last, and the dynasty fell in 207 BCE. Revolts over the Qin emperor’s death broke out, and it was the rise of the Han dynasty that restored China’s political
Shi Huangdi now able to unite the warring states, explored ways to establish a stable, and long lasting dynasty. The improvements he made to a now unified China, changed they way the world looked upon the country.
The Shang Dynasty invented and, over the years, perfected the technique of casting a bronze vessel from a clay mold assembly, which this wine vessel has also been made from using those techniques (Cantor). This mold was formed around a model of the vessel and was then cut into sections that were carved or impressed in the desired design, in this case the braided or grid design, on the inner or outer surfaces. The decorated clay piece-mold was then fired and reassembled around a clay core. Small bronze spacers were used to hold the piece-mold and the clay core apart. Then, molten bronze was poured into the mold. Using this piece-mold casting technique helped the bronze worker to achieve greater sharpness and definition in any intricate design
The dynasty was a complex, war-like society, occupied by city states. Each city state had their own rulers, but were tied to the dynasty by allegiance or kinship, creating political unity. Historians know more about the Shang society because of the written records and documents that were found in the capital, Anyang. The Shang society was divided into a class system. At the top of the system was the king and his warrior nobles, followed by the artisans, then the peasants, and at the bottom was slaves and prisoners of war. The Shang Dynasty focused their religion on ancestor worship, a belief system based on spirits of dead ancestors helping the living relatives. This religion involved sacrifices of both animals and slaves to achieve divine favor. By the 12th century, Shang leaders became oppressive and corrupt. The Shang society was dominated by the
One of the eras of a majestic ancient civilization that has left a lasting impression upon the world of today is the Chinese Song Dynasty. Established by General Zhao Kuangyin this dynasty lasted from 960–1279 AD and brought a new stability to China after many decades of civil war, and ushered in a new era of modernization. It was divided into the Bei (Northern) and the Nan (Southern) Song periods. This brilliant cultural epoch gave birth to major advances in economic reform, achievements in technology, and helped to further medical knowledge.
China was without a doubt one of the most innovative countries by reason of their many advances made throughout the Shang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Numerous accomplishments were archived by this empire. Their form of government was based on Dynasties, which are series of rulers from the same family. Different dynasties brought out different successes, such as the famous Great wall, which was a 13,170 miles fortress built around around 206 A.C. by millions of people. This structure was ordered to build by China’s first emperor, Qin, in the interest of protecting the Empire from invaders. Another extraordinary Chinese invention was paper. This universal utensil was created in the 2nd century B.C. by Cai Lun. The creating of this material
Before the Communist Revolution, China had a dynastic system for their form of government. A dynastic system consisted of China being ruled by emperors and it started around 221 BC. The first known dynasty in China is the Shang Dynasty. The social classes included the upper class of nobles, the working class, and slaves. In the Shang Dynasty, China was well- known for their well- organized armies and the chariots they used. Their system of writing consisted of pictures called ideograms, pictograms and phonograms. The dynastic system left China in 1911 when the Qing Dynasty ended. A republican form of government was introduced where warlords governed the country. This type of government was weak for China and Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Nationalist Party, searched for help from other countries to try to bring down the warlords. Unfortunately, western countries did not give their help, and China went to the Soviet Union for help instead. The Soviet Union agreed to help them out but they pushed for China to become communist. This decision eventually led to the civil war that occurred in China.
Of the many dynasties that make up China’s history, one of the most notable is the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, under the rule of numerous emperors. It made many contributions to China’s history and made lasting changes, some of which remained for millennia following the dynasty’s collapse. They made changes to China’s economy, technology, social order, religion, philosophy, and education that revolutionized the way China operated. Also, as the Han Dynasty expanded greatly during its rule, many of the territory that the dynasty conquered became part of what would later be modern day China. These changes helped to shape the country that China became.
According to Art in China by Craig Clunas, the Wei Dynasty, which started in 386 and ended in 535, was an era in which Buddhism was central to the culture of both the noble and common people. For much of the Wei dynasty the artists and sculptors were slaves to the state. Different styles of Buddhist art were popular during this period. At first, the artists copied some elements from Indian Buddhist sculpture, but then they developed their own style.
Ancient china was a dynasty, a dynasty is a family that rules a civilization for years. I am choosing to compare the shang and tang dynasties in the period of decline. First off the similarities, my first similarity is that both ignored the needs of the poor. you might be asking why is the poor so important? Well without the poor they would have a very bad economy and a bad economy causes chaos and eventually leads to a rebellion by the chinese citizens. Another similarity between the shang and the tang is that they both had a very bad economy is because of the poor not being taken care of because in china there were mostly poor and merchants so since the poor being most of the population they lost a lot of the people. Now the differences,
In the Dynastic cycle, the Shang and Zhou Dynasties of ancient China showed similar periods of decline. They had both similarities and differences. Both Dynasties had an authoritarian type of government, Which means that they both have one main ruler with lots of power that gives only a little power to the government. Starting off, there were many similarities between the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During their rule, both Shang and Zhou leaders started ignoring the needs of the people and not only the poor. Both leaders only cared about their wealth and not the problems of the people. They started giving only a little money to the wealth. Well, both Dynasties were similar in some way they also had some differences. After Shang rulers started
The Tang and Song Dynasties are both pertinent to China’s development. During the Tang period, which is also considered the “Golden Age”, art and literature was embraced and thrived. During the Song Dynasties, many technical inventions allowed China to grow as a nation, and emerge as one of the greatest nations in the medieval world. Both dynasties played a key role in the history of China.
Early on we see the emergence of civilization in China, where relatively isolated within geographical barriers, China’s early civilization developed with little contact with other cultures. During the Neolithic period, peoples living in environmentally distinctive zones—the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys—mastered agriculture, animals became domesticated, the production of ceramics became more elaborate, built fortified towns, and developed better practice relating to the treatment of the dead. Later on during the Shang Dynasty, (ca. 1500–ca. 1050 B.C.E.), China entered the Bronze Age. Shang civilization was urban, its cities encompassing an aristocratic and religious core around which grew industrial and residential districts. Beyond these were farming settlements. The Shang practiced human sacrifice, and human remains compose some of the contents of the rich underground tombs. The Shang period saw the emergence of writing, the distinct logographic system that enabled centuries of cultural continuity.
Zhou Enlai was the first prime minister of The People’s Republic of China. He is categorized with the likes of people such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xioping, otherwise known as powerful and influential leaders in modern Chinese history. Enlai, for years was one of the most prominent and respected leaders of the communist party. Zhou played a leading role in the Chinese communist party from its beginnings in 1921 and was definitely instrumental in the subsequent construction and reformation of Chinese society (Newworldencycopedia.com). He is also famously known for arranging and implementing the historic meeting between Mao Zedong and United States President Richard Nixon.