If love isnt a game, then why are there so many players? Your position:Home->china history-> ShangDynasty The Shang held their royal ancestors in highregard. Bronze was found in royal tombs as well as the skeletons of aboutthree hundred servants who were to accompany the king to the heavenly world.Funery tablets were kept in the front of temples and all rituals were carriedout in their presence. These tablets were thought to contain the soulsof the ancestors. Every royal event was announced aloud in the templesto inform the ancestors. In addition, the diviners often consulted theancestors by offering sacrifices and reading the cracks of burnt bones. (details of a bronze vessel from Shang) A line of hereditary Shang kings ruled overmuch of northern China, and Shang troops fought frequent wars with neighboringsettlements and nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. The capitals,one of which was at the site of the modern city of Anyang, were centersof glittering court life. Court rituals to propitiate spirits and to honorsacred ancestors were highly developed. In addition to his secular position,the king was the head of the ancestor- and spirit-worship cult. The cities around the capital were calledpalace-cities. Each city was surrounded by a wall. Within the walls werethe military and religious centers as well as the nobility residences.Every palace-city was a copy of the capital city. The buildings were identicaland arranged in the same format. The capital of the Shang moved seven timesbefore finally settling in Yin which became the permanent capital. 
|