WEEK 2.1 Shang w. Pixs

7/23/2019 WEEK 2.1 Shang w. Pixs

1/17

WEEK 2

PART 1: CHINA, THE CENTRAL KINGDOM

AND SHANG DYNASTY

INTRODUCTION

This week, the art of dynastic China will be introduced. Although the

Shang dynasty is perhaps not be the rst dynasty in Chinese history, it was

the rst on which we have with documentary evidence. Anyang, the late

Shang capital (!""#"$" %C&', was a ceremonial center scientically

ecavated by Chinese archaeologists beginning in the late )*"s. The city is

not in a grid pattern like +oheno#daro, but a royal cemetery with nearby

sacricial burials sites, palace temples, foundries, workshops, andcommoners- residences and burial sites found scattered along the uan

/iver. &0uisitely cast bron1e vessels, weapons, ade obects, bone obects,

and oracle bones were recovered there, re2ecting that ob speciali1ation and

social compleity had emerged no later than the late Shang period.

Shamanism and ancestor worship were practiced by many of the Shang

people.

LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter completing this unit you should be able to3

&plain characteristics of city planning at Anyang.

/ecogni1e the arts of ancestor worship and Shamanism in Shang.

4ind Anyang, the 5ellow /iver, and the 5angt1e /iver on a map of China.

6utline features showing that Anyang was, or was not, a state levelsociety. 7escribe the layout of the ancient city at Anyang. Compare and contrast the city planning of +oheno#daro and

Anyang. 4ind evidence of social hierarchy at Anyang from the remains of the

site. 6utline the archaeological features that document ob#speciali1ation

at Anyang. 7escribe the evidence of writing at Anyang.

8dentify a fang ding and eplain how it was used in relation to ancestorworship.


2/17

8dentify the taotiemotif from bron1e vessels, describe its composition,and eplain how it was related to Shamanism.

7escribe special architectural techni0ues used for palace9templebuildings at Anyang.

7escribe what discoveries from the Tomb of :ady ao show that she wasroyalty.


3/17

KEY WORKS

+ap of China with the City of Anyang, Central ;lains,


4/17

-A!#a!", The @aste of 5in, enan ;rovince # the last capital of the

Shang 7ynasty

Dhou (also spelled Chou' 7ynasty (c.**9"$"#** %.C.'

The illustrated map below shows the diverse bron1e cultures in the

Shang dynasty in the Central ;lain, the


5/17

A close#up and a line drawing of the taotie motif on the fang ding follow'

&amine these two images while you read the description about the animal

motif in your tetbook on page )).

The map of Anyang below shows the the northern bank of the uan /iver

where the royal cemetery at =ibeigang is located, other nobility-s cemeteries

at ouia1huang, @uguancun, and =iaosikongcun, bone workshop andresidence of nobility at 7asikongcun. 6n the southern bank of the river are

the remains of platforms of pounded earth with stone or bron1e pedestals

indicating palace temples at =iaoctun (siao#tun'. Animals such as horses,

cattle, dogs, or human sacrices are usually found under the platforms of the

palace temples. %ron1e foundries, workshops for production of bone and

clay artifacts, residential areas and more than ,""" burial sites of

commoners are scattered on the southern bank of the uan /iver.

Specically, residential areas and burial sites of commoners are close to

foundries and workshops.


6/17

The diagram of the royal cemetery at =ibeigang follows. +ost of the kings-

tombs have four tomb passages, and unfortunately, they are all looted.

There are * large tombs of the Shang kings surrounded by more than *""

small sacricial tombs arranged in a regular pattern. Altogether more than

,!!" individuals are buried in these sacricial tombs. The maority of the

victims were decapitated young males. @ithin the royal tombs, human

victims are often found. The tombs are usually large in scale and very deep.

A large number of laborers worked for a long time to construct a tomb such

as this one. 5ou may read the following detailed discussion of the tomb of 4u

ao, a consort9wife of a late Shang king @u 7ing to nd out what has been

found in a late Shang royal tomb at Anyang. ;lease also pay attention to thediscussion of the taotie motif, its meaning, and function as well as

Shamanism and ancestor worship.


7/17

/oyal Tomb


8/17

Notes on Orthodox History

@hen human beings became aware of themselves as a cultural

community, they formulated ideas of the past, to eplain how they became

what they were. @hat relationship do you see between their ideas of the

past to the ideas of modern outsidersE The following notions are important

in the stories of anti0uity and recount some of the most cherished values of

Chinese civili1ation3

. The epic of the taming of the


9/17

sacricial bron1e vessels, tools and weapons, almost B$" were ade, and

about $" were bone obects, plus some sculptures and ivory carvings. 8n

addition, there were ve pottery vessels and nearly ,)"" cowrie shells,

presumably used as currency. The immense wealth of this tomb and others

at Anyang indicates that the Shang had control of and created great

resources.

The Shang elite are considered the rulers of the rst archaeologically

identiable state (dynasty' in &ast Asia##in the central 5ellow /iver %asin in

north China. Inowledge about these people can be gleaned from the

inscriptions found on some of the bron1e vessels, from writing on animal

bones or turtle shells which were used for taking oracles (the 0uestions and

answers asked of the ancestors and other spirits inscribed on the surface of

the bones', and from the archaeological record. &amples of all these

documents were found at Anyang, occupied by the Shang kings from about

!$"#"$" %C&

The bron1es uncovered in the Tomb of :ady ao constitute the largest

and most complete, intact group of their kind ever discovered at Anyang.

Among them over )" bear inscriptions which refer to :ady ao and

suggest her status and death date. She was a well#known consort of Iing @u

7ing (c. *"" %C&' as well as a general when she died some time before the

Iing. The consistency of materials found in her tomb and other materials

ecavated at the site conrm her acceptance into the Shang elite##she used

the clan emblem, the taotie##and yet probably retained cultural aHliation

with her non#Shang parent culture as marked by the ade hawk, frontier#style

bron1e knives, horse gear and mirrors found in the tomb in association with

her personal eJects.

Anyang was a ceremonial center which included the royal burial

grounds as well as oHcial temples and palaces built on pounded earth

platforms. The Shang faith was Shamanism, which re0uired oJerings of foodand entertainment to the ancestorsK to deceased great men, and to deities of

rain, water, rivers, wind and stars who lived in the cosmos and could be

appealed to, but also had to be appeased. The u - seers, medicine men,

and9or sorcerers##and their associates L the diviners who predicted the future

L were mediums between the supernatural and human worlds. These ritual

leaders could write and keep accounts and served as archivists and

historians to the king.


10/17

/ituals and burials at Anyang paid homage to ancestors and to spirits

of the natural world, and the materials used at these ceremonies were

specially decorated with the two#eyed mask called a taotie, probably the

emblem of the ruling clan. ;resumably by claiming that communication with

the spirit world including ancestors was possible only through use of precious

sumptuary bron1es, the elite were able to create and maintain their status

separate from the masses. %ecause they controlled the production of bron1e

as well as the ceremonies which made use of bron1e vessels and weapons,

they demonstrated their dual power L access to the spirit world and military

domination.

Archaeological nds at Anyang reveal ceremonial functions rather than

administrative ones such as witnessed at other ancient centers like those in

the Tigris#&uphrates Malley and at +oheno#daro.


11/17

CONCLUSION

The late Shang capital at Anyang is a ceremonial center, probably not

an administrative one. ;alace9temples, the royal cemetery, including burials

of the nobility and commoners, foundries, workshops, and residential areas

are scattered along the uan /iver. There are no remains of broad avenues

running through the city. 8nstead of walls and fortications, a deep ditch

surrounding the city has been found. &vidence of residential remains are

limited so the population at Anyang is hard to study, however, clear social

stratication is evidenced at Anyang. A great contrast can be seen by

comparing the rich elite tombs and the remains of palace9temples for the

elite, to the burials with few remains and much smaller and sometimes semi#

subterranean houses used by the commoners. The small sacricial tombs

and human victims inside the large tombs of kings and other nobility

indicated to the Chinese ecavators the possibility of the eistence of

slavery. The many workshops and foundries found there also suggest that

the maority of the population at Anyang served a small number of elite. A

strong political organi1ation and religion also played an important role in the

Shang society. /itual bron1e vessels were eclusively used by the Shang

elite in ancestor worship. The right of divination and its eplanation was also

controlled by the Shang king. The Shang king was not only a political, but

probably also a religious leader. A fully developed writing system is revealed

from the oracle bone inscriptions found at Anyang. %ron1e, ade and stone,bone, and pottery obects found at Anyang demonstrating e0uisite

workmanship indicate the eistence of ob speciali1ations. &vidence of long

distance trade or tribute such as cowries from the eastern coast and ade

materials from the west was also discovered at Anyang. The Shang was a

strictly stratied society with the Shang king at the top, other elite and

artisans below, and the servants at the bottom. Their superb piece#mold

casting bron1e art is uni0ue among other contemporary ancient civili1ations

in the world. Their special architectural techni0ue and written language had

strong in2uence on other cultures such as Iorea and Gapan. The bron1e#

using tradition in ancestor worship was carried on by the Dhou people, which

we will discuss net week.

#$ggested %eading

Chang, I. C., Shang %ivilization,


12/17

PRACTICE &UESTIONS

. @hat was the social organi1ation at Anyang and how is it re2ected in theartsE

*. @hat are the diJerences in city planning between +oheno#daro andAnyangE

!. @hat features of state level society are similar and diJerent in +oheno#daro and AnyangE


13/17

F. 7ene each of the following terms3 Shang

Shamanism

Fang ding

Anyang

6racle bones

Taotie


14/17

ANSWERS TO PRACTICE &UESTIONS

. The late Shang society represented at Anyang was a stratied societywith the Shang king at the topK a group of aristocrats helped the kingrule the commoners. At the bottom of society there were probablyslaves captured during wars. At Anyang, we see royal cemeterieslocated at =ibeigang, palace9temples at =iaotun, many bron1e foundries,adeand bone workshops, residences and burial sites of commonersclustered along the uan /iver. Those people buried close to theworkshops were probably workers who served the Shang elite./esidences of the aristocrats were also found at Anyang. /ich royaltombs yielded large numbers of prestigious burial goods such as bron1eritual vessels, weapons and tools, ade, bone and ivory obects and evenhuman sacrices as seen in the Tomb of 4u ao (:ady ao'. These royaltombs and palace9temples must have re0uired a great deal of forcedlabor in their construction. Several hundred small tombs of humansacrice were discovered close to the royal tombs. The large royaltombs and human sacrice, palace9temple remains, and workshops allindicated that Anyang was an urban center, and Shang was a stratiedcomple society.

*. 4irst, +oheno#daro was planned integrally in a grid pattern with straightstreets. Anyang was not built on a grid pattern. The royal cemetery,palace temples, bron1e foundries and workshops were all clusteredalong the uan /iver and are deliberately grouped together by function.Second, +oheno#daro had two parts3 the Opper City with publicbuildings to the west, and a lower city of residences to the east.


15/17

at Anyang, including the king, aristocrats, commoners, and probablyslaves.


16/17

F. Sa!"3 A dynasty in ancient China, "" to "$" %C&

A!#a!"3 The capital of the late Shang dynasty in ancient China, from!"" to "$" %.C. 8t was where the tomb of :ady ao was located.

Sa'a!i$'3 A religion based on the belief that spirits can bein2uenced or controlled by specially endowed, trained practitioners

(shamans'. Shaman means >he who knows.? e is a person who cancommunicate between the human beings and the supernatural worldwith the help of animals. They usually wore masks and dressed in ritualgarments (animal skins, for instance'.

O)a(* B-!*$3 Specially prepared turtle shells and9or cattle scapulaeinscribed with divination 0uestions found at Anyang, the late Shangcapital, !""#"$" %.C. A fully developed written language was used onthese bones. 7ivination was carried out by applying heat to the bonesand answering 0uestions according to the cracks thatappeared.

Fang ding: A s0uare bron1e vessel used as a food oJering container in

ceremonies that paid homage to ancestors. Such vessels were buried inthe tomb of :ady ao at Anyang, and are dated to about *"" %.C. 8thas taotiedesigns cast into its body.

Taotie:Two#eyed motif cast into the fang dingand other bron1e vesselsof the Shang dynasty China. 8t was composed of diJerent parts of wildanimals and was probably the emblem of the Shang ruling clan. 8t wasalso regarded as the image of the animal used by a shaman in ritualpractice.


17/17

WEEK 2.1 Shang w. Pixs

Documents

Transcript of WEEK 2.1 Shang w. Pixs