The Shang: dragons and dragon bones
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What you will learn
By the end, you can say who the Shang were and what they made and wrote.
Long ago in the Yellow River valley, people scratched questions onto turtle shells and ox bones, then heated them until they cracked. They read the cracks as answers from their ancestors.
Read the explanation
The Shang ruled the Yellow River valley from about 1600 to 1046 BCE. They were skilled bronze workers, casting ritual bowls and bells. They wrote the earliest known Chinese writing on “oracle bones” — the first writing found in China. Kings ruled from walled cities and were buried with rich goods.
- The Shang lived in Bronze Age China by the Yellow River.
- Oracle bones carry the earliest Chinese writing.
- Shang bronze casters were among the best of their time.