Page 136 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

achievement of their culture, was a functional writing system: a series of symbols that formed an
alphabet allowing the elite of Shang society to develop a government and written records.
Currently, the most studied records of the Shang are in the form of oracle bones. These bones
were used for divination in Shang society, and give useful insight into the life of people in Shang
China. They used oracle bones for several circumstances including military and agricultural
upkeep. An oracle bone detailed the Shang military campaign against another state. The oracle
bone stated that “It should be Zhi Guo whom the king joins to attack the Bafang…”6 They
developed an organized agricultural society, using the Longshan agricultural society and
improving its efficiency. The currency of the Shang was grain, giving cause for the need to
organize the agriculture of the dynasty to better support the economy. As the common people
tilled the land, the higher echelon of society began to develop even more cultural achievements,
one being religion.

Shang religion continued the model initiated by the Longshan and Xia, developing a
religion centered on the appeasement of their ancestors. The common forms of appeasement
were offerings, prayers, and, in extreme cases, rituals of human sacrifice. Complex burial sites
began to be built. The tombs of the elite were well-furnished, as they believed that the dead
remained in this plane of existence and took an active part in the dealings of the living. The
Shang believed the dead affected the crops, weather, childbirth, the king’s health, and warfare.
By conducting rituals and human sacrifices the Shang believed they would achieve good fortune
from their ancestors.7 And as their religion began to take form, the Shang continued
development in another area: warfare.

6 "Military Campaigns," in Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, ed. by Patricia Ebrey, 4.
7 Tanner, China: A History, vol. 1, 36-44.

135