Bronze Age China

One of the main things you should remember about the previous civilizations covered in this unit is the concept of Cultural Diffusion. It is a sociological term that means "the spreading out of culture, cultural traits, or a cultural pattern from a central point." And each of the previous civilizations benefited from it as they developed from small, isolated cultures into civilizations. Through trade and conquests between the city-states of Mesopotamia, Sumer experienced cultural diffusion and, in some cases, gained their accomplishments the "easy way." The same goes for the Nile River Valley Civilization through their trade and conquests with Mesopotamia and southern Africa. And the same goes again for the Indus River Valley Civilization through the same thing. Each of these civilizations benefited from their locations and the ease of cultural diffusion between them.

Photograph of the Yellow River That is not the case for our next civilization. Its location was considerably isolated in comparison with the other three due to the Himalayan Mountains and the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts. This translates into a hindrance with regards to the possibility of cultural diffusion. Also, the natural environment did not easily allow for domesticated animals. (At least, at first.) Which means that the civilization we are about to study was slower in its development towards "civilization" status than the previous three.

As early as 5000 BCE, settlements formed along the Yellow River (in the north of modern-day China) and the Yangzi River (in the south.) However, their development into civilizations was stunted for the above reasons. But that is NOT to say that they didn't develop- it just took a little longer. These settlements grew and developed into distinct cultures during the 4000s and 3000s BCE- one of which, the Longshan Culture, established cultural foundations that would emerge in the later civilization.

Longshan Culture Foundations
1. Metal Industry based on copper
2. Pottery-making distinguished by its color (black)
3. Walled towns
4. Divination through the use of animal bones

The Longshan Culture was not alone in its presence though. There were other distinct cultures located in eight regions along the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers— but they were very independent of one another at first. (This lack of relations might have been exacerbated by the same world drought in the late 3^rd Millennium BCE that impacted Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Harappan.) Gradually, though, the people of the eight regions interacted and out of that interaction came the first civilization in the area known now as China.

Xia Dynasty?

Assumed location of the Xia Dynasty Legend tells of an ancient Xia Dynasty that emerged sometime in the early part of the 3^rd Millennium or late part of the 2^nd Millennium BCE and united the eight regions under one head. According to this legend, the founder of the Xia Dynasty, Yu, rose to prominence after engineering the drainage of a Great Flood from the Yellow River. After this remarkable feat, Yu was given a "Mandate of Heaven" and established the first Dynasty in Chinese history. For years, historians questioned the authenticity of this story—and even the very existence of the Xia Dynasty, believing it to be a story made up by later emperors to justify their own "Mandate of Heaven" (concept that the ruler was being favored by the gods). Evidence for the legend came from the Bamboo Annals- a history of China written on bamboo strips that were found within a past emperor's tomb during an excavation almost 2000 years ago...Eventually there came a time when historians doubted the validity of the Bamboo Annals and began to describe the existence of the Xia Dynasty as myth. However, recently archaeologists unearthed evidence of a Great Flood along the Yellow River that coincided with the birth of the Xia Dynasty.

Interestingly enough, the contested legend about the Xia Dynasty continues with the emergence of a second dynasty in Chinese history- the Shang Dynasty. According to tradition, the founder of the Shang Dynasty, Tang, overthrew the last emperor of the Xia Dynasty due to the belief that he had corrupted his favorable position with the gods through despotic behaviors. Upon overthrowing the despot, Tang offered himself as a sacrifice to end a severe drought in the land. His selfless action resulted in his receiving the favor of the gods and the Shang Dynasty began around 1700 or 1600 BCE.

Location of the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty: c. 1700s-1122 BCE

Time and debates (along with archaeologists) will determine the historical accuracy of these legends. But it is true that the Shang Dynasty did emerge around 1600 BCE and that its first emperor was Tang. The Shang Dynasty ruled over the Yellow River Civilization during the 2^nd Millennium BCE and incorporated the foundations of the Longshan Culture, adding their own flourishes along the way.

Use of Metal

Metal industry based on copper
The Shang melted tin with the copper and created bronze
The Shang brought the Yellow River Civilization into the Bronze Age

Construction of Cities

Walled Towns
The Shang introduced a stamped-earth technique to building walls
At least one Shang city had a wall 32 feet in height and 65 feet in depth that ran for four miles

Religion

To the foundations laid out by the Longshan Culture, the Shang Dynasty also added the practice of hereditary rulers, the introduction of a solar calendar with roughly 360 days and leap months, the invention of musical instruments, and tributes given to the king.

Photograph of Oracle Bones The Shang kings were personally involved with the people that they ruled. They traveled throughout their realm, meeting with the people and often moving their capital cities to be closer to them. They recognized that a healthy and well-fed population was a population easily ruled, and worked hard to promote agricultural production. They also recognized that a well-armed army was difficult to defeat and fiercely guarded the secret of making bronze to prevent the diffusion of weapon technology to rivals. Plus, they found that a strong economy prevented unrest among the people and involved themselves as a center for all exchanges. In return for the relatively healthy, peaceful and prosperous environment the kings created, tributes flowed up the social ladder. That meant that workers paid tributes to the elites of the population. And that the elites and Dynasty allies paid tributes to the kings in a theocratic political structure based on familial descent (focusing on the patrilineal.) And so the Yellow River Civilization operated under the Shang Dynasty for roughly half of a millennium.

That is, until the last king of the Shang Dynasty was supposedly accused of cannibalism (during a period of bad weather that included drought- induced dust storms, so there might have been some political restructuring of the truth there,) subsequently overthrown and replaced by a new Dynasty in 1045 BCE. That new Dynasty was the Zhou.

Western or Early Zhou Dynasty: 1045-771 BCE

States of the Western Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou people lived along the Wei River until they marched east across the Yellow River to conquer the Shang armies. In overthrowing the Shang leader, the Zhou, with Wu as their leader, claimed the "Mandate of Heaven"—the first to actually use the term for divine right to rule and as an explanation of political succession. Drawing on Shang principles of ancestor worship and a patrilineal society, the Zhou worked to unify the lands under Shang control as well as those north and south. Their success led them to claim the new territorial state Zhongguo, a term that evolved to mean "the Middle Kingdom." By strengthening the engineering efforts to control the flooding of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and to build canals linking the waterways, the Zhou increased agriculture and improved relations among the different regions within the Middle Kingdom- thereby driving the population up to perhaps 20 million people by the end of their time of power. Those that lived within and on the outskirts of the Middle Kingdom became more and more dependent upon its increasing prosperity- driving them to a greater unity as a civilization than ever before.

Recap Section

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.