The long history of ancient China(2)——Shang Dynasty

Thousands of archaeological finds in the Huang He River,Henan Valley---the apparent cradle of Chinese civilization --provide evidence about the Shang aynasty,which endured roughly from 1700 to 1027B.C.The Shang dynasty (also called the Yin dynasty)is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler.

Its civilization was based on agriculture,augmented by hunting and animal husbandry.Two imporant events of the peiod were the development of a writing system,as revealed in archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat cattle bones(commonly called oracle bones),and the use of bronze metallurgy.A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions date from the Shang peroid;the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.

A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled over much of northern China,and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes.

The capitals,one of which was at the site of the modern city of Anyang,were centers of glittering court life.Court rituals to propitiate spirits and to honor sacred ancestors were highly developed.In addition to his secular position,the King was the head of the ancestor-and spirit-worship cult.Evidence from the royal tombs indicates that royal personages 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.