Rib of a rhinoceros killed in a royal hunt, bearing an inscription including the character 商 (Shāng)[2]
The Late Shang, also known as the Anyang period, is the earliest known literate civilization in China, spanning the reigns of the last nine kings of the Shang dynasty, beginning with Wu Ding in the second half of the 13th century BC and ending with the conquest of the Shang by the Zhou in the mid-11th century BC. The state is known from artifacts recovered from its capital at a site near Anyang now known as Yinxu and other sites across the North China Plain. One of the richest finds was the Tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu, thought to belong to a consort of Wu Ding mentioned in Shang inscriptions.
Most Shang writing takes the form of inscriptions on oracle bones used for divinations on behalf of the king. Shang ritual focussed on offerings to ancestors, enabling modern investigators to deduce a king list that largely matches that of the traditional histories of Sima Qian and the Bamboo Annals. The inscriptions also give insight into royal concerns such as weather, the harvest, warfare with neighbouring polities, and mobilizing workers for warfare or agricultural work.
The Late Shang shared many features of the earlier Erlitou and Erligang cultures, including the rammed earth technique for foundations of rectangular walled compounds. Bronze casting reached new heights of decoration and a volume unmatched elsewhere in the world at that time. Workshops in the capital produced ceramics and carved stone and bone for a variety of ceremonial, decorative or utilitarian purposes.
Besides writing, new features of the Late Shang included horse-drawn chariots, massive royal tombs and human sacrifice on an unprecedented scale, both in divination rituals and in royal burials.
The LateShang, also known as the Anyang period, is the earliest known literate civilization in China, spanning the reigns of the last nine kings of the...
The Shang dynasty (Chinese: 商朝; pinyin: Shāng cháo), also known as the Yin dynasty (殷代; Yīn dài), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow...
formalized over time, were held for divine support and welfare of the lateShang state. The Shang religion originated in the Yellow River valley, heartland of...
posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang (商帝辛; Shāng Dì Xīn) or King Shou of Shang (商王受; Shāng Wáng Shòu), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China....
laterShang sent his minister Yi Yin as an envoy to Jie. Yi remained in the Xia capital for about three years, before returning to Shang. The Shang's...
Chinese texts, since the earliest oracle bone inscriptions date from the LateShang period (13th century BC). The earliest mentions occur in the oldest chapters...
pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the lateShang dynasty. Scapulimancy is the specific term if ox scapulae were used for...
of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later Tiān ("Heaven" or "Great Whole") of Zhou theology...
The second royal regime of China, the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 - 1046 BCE), developed a polytheistic religion that focused on worshipping spiritual beings...
Shang Juncheng (Chinese: 商竣程; pinyin: Shāng Jùnchéng; also known as Jerry Shang; born 2 February 2005) is a Chinese professional tennis player. He reached...
commemorative tradition in the late Western Zhou or early Spring and Autumn periods. Chapters dealing with the lateShang and the transition to Zhou use...
capital of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BCE). Located in present-day Anyang, Henan, Yin served as the capital during the LateShang period (c. 1250 –...
are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BC, in the LateShang period. Bronze inscriptions became plentiful during the following Zhou...
ancestry to the Shang oracle bone script at Anyang. Along with the contemporary bronzeware script, the oracle bone script of the LateShang period appears...
ruled as sage-king during the late 3rd millennium BCE, which predates the oracle bone script used during the lateShang dynasty—the oldest known form...
and trace isotope analysis. In the case of Shang period bronzes, various sites, from early to lateShang period, numerous samples of the bronze alloy...
dǐng tripodal cauldrons from the Shang dynasty (2nd millennium BC) to the Zhou dynasty (11th–3rd century BC) and even later. Early bronze inscriptions were...
known body of writing in the oracle bone script dates much later to the reign of the lateShang dynasty king Wu Ding, which started in about c. 1250 BC or...
history mentioned in contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were once thought to be little more than legends...
valley from the Neolithic through to the Shang period. A historical connection with the symbols used by the late Neolithic Dawenkou culture (c. 4300 – c...
such a linkage, as the earliest evidence of Chinese writing dates to the LateShang period. The Erlitou culture may have evolved from the matrix of Longshan...
the lateShang dynasty (c. 1250 – c. 1050 BCE), but the process of creating characters is thought to have begun centuries earlier during the Late Neolithic...
bronze casting expertise. Additionally, during the final phase of the Shang period (late twelfth to eleventh century bce) there was less weaponry found in...
states（Chinese："方"） primarily comes from oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the lateShang Dynasty Yinxu. In these inscriptions, these tribal states are often referred...
body of inscriptions made on bronze vessels and oracle bones during the LateShang period (c. 1250 – 1050 BCE), with the very oldest dated to c. 1200 BCE...
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