History glossary
Shang
a Bronze Age Chinese dynasty known for oracle bones, royal ancestor ritual, and powerful bronze production.
- Category
- Dynasty
- Region
- Yellow River basin, China
- Date range
- c. 1600-1046 BCE
What it means
The Shang dynasty ruled parts of the Yellow River world from roughly 1600 to 1046 BCE. Its kings used oracle bone divination, controlled bronze ritual production, honoured royal ancestors, and left the earliest confirmed Chinese writing.
Related terms
Stories using this term
Early China
From Neolithic farming villages to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Early China built the writing, bronze culture, and political doctrines that gave Chinese civilisation its enduring character.
The Qing Dynasty
From Manchu conquest to republican revolution, the Qing dynasty built China's largest empire, oversaw centuries of prosperity, and then struggled to survive foreign intervention, rebellion, and the collapse of imperial legitimacy.
