The Shang government was led by a powerful king who controlled all land. To expand power, he made smaller kingdoms under his younger brothers, nephews, or sometimes, a son. Shang kings depended on strong armies to keep other clans under control and to defend and expand the kingdom.
The religion of the Shang focused on ancestor worship. The Shang believed life after death; they believed that dead ancestors had power to help or harm the living. It was important for the Shang to honor their ancestors.
Shang society was divided into six social classes. These social classes were the kings, nobles, craftspeople, traders, farmers, and slaves. Kings were at the top. Nobles were second down, the highest raking social class after the king and his ruling family. Nobles lived a life of luxury. Craftspeople formed a small social class. They included bronze and jade workers, potters, and stonemasons. They had less status than the nobles, but higher status than farmers. Traders were like the craftspeople in status. Traders mostly traded goods. they used cowrie shells as money. Farmers were the largest social class. they didn't own the land they worked on, either owned by kings or nobles. They provided most food for China, leaving little for themselves. Slaves were the lowest ranking class. they often got captured at war. They built buildings, and were sacrificed to their owners when they died to serve in the after life.
The Shang worked with bronze. This proved very important for armies, which is one of the reasons the Shang dynasty held in power for more than 500 years. Bronze was used in arrowheads, spearheads, ax heads, and helmets, etc.
Farmers provided food for China. Guards were in the farms to protect their food supply. The Shang protected their lands for farmers to provide them with food.
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Shang artists were skilled in work with bronze. Craftspeople made beautiful vessels and other objects; some bronze vessels had geometric designs and pictures of mythical creatures. The most common picture was an animal mask, known as a toatie later. The Shang were skilled in jade work, too.
- In Shang writing, characters stood as words rather than sounds, called logographs. The earliest used pictographs, or pictures standing as words. Having a written language helped unify the people.