Territory Map of Shang Dynasty

The territory of the Shang Dynasty was not a whole, but centered on the capital (Dayi), surrounded by several or dozens of "strongholds" belonging to the Shang Dynasty. In the gap between these strongholds, there were small states that did not obey the orders of the Shang Dynasty or even were hostile to the Shang Dynasty. Its form of existence should be similar to that of the Zhou Dynasty, so we take the territory pictures of the early Zhou Dynasty as a reference. That is to say, the territory of the Shang Dynasty is sparse and there are gaps, which is the political geography form of the early large regional countries.

The Shang Dynasty was an early developing country, which was gradually transiting from a capital state to a territory state. It was not a vast territory state with four territories, nor was it a unified centralized slavery empire.

Historical background

The Shang Dynasty rose after the Xia Dynasty, about the 16th-11th century BC. It is said that the Shang nationality is an ancient tribe in the East, whose ancestor is Qi. It is said that the Xia Dynasty was not destroyed until Tang Dynasty.

Now, except that Yin has been proved to be Xiaotun village in Anyang, Henan Province, the other four have not been determined. However, according to the geographical distribution of Shang Dynasty sites, the southwest of Hebei and the north central part of Henan are the central areas of its rule. After pan Geng (the 20th king of Shang Dynasty) moved to Yin, his country was powerful. Before Wuding (the 23rd king of Shang Dynasty), the territory of Shang Dynasty extended to Yishui in the north, Huaihe River in the south, Taihang and Funiu Mountains in the west, and sea in the East. After Wuding, the territory expanded further. The Northeast might reach Liaoning, the south to Jianghan (the capital of the Shang Dynasty in panlongcheng, Huangpi, Hubei), and the northwest across Taihang mountain to Shanxi, becoming a powerful slavery country in the ancient East.

Around the Shang Dynasty, there were many tribes and Fangguo (that is, the tribal states they belonged to). In today's northeast there is Sushen, in the lower reaches of Luanhe river there is Guzhu, in the southeast of Inner Mongolia and in Shanxi there are Guifang, Fangfang and earthwork, in the north of Shaanxi there are qiangfang, gourong and Xunyu (meat porridge), in the West there are Zhoushi, in the southwest there are ba and Shu, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River there are PU and Chu people, in the Huaihe River basin there are Huaiyi people, and so on.

Range

The Shang Dynasty was a great power in the world at that time, with its sphere of influence reaching to the sea in the East, the west of Shaanxi Province in the west, Liaoning Province in the northeast and Jianghan area in the south. The capital of Bo (now south of Caoxian County in Shandong Province) had been moved many times, and later Pangeng moved its capital to Yin (now Xiaotun village in Anyang, Henan Province), so Shang was also known as Yin.

The specific territory is Mongolia in the north, Liaoning Korean Peninsula in the northeast, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian in the south, Gansu and Xinjiang in the west, and the East China Sea in the East. In addition to Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Beijing, Tianjin and Jiangsu to the north of the Yangtze River, and part of Shaanxi, it also includes the remaining land in Shaanxi and Jiangsu, Liaoning, Gansu, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong, Pearl River Delta, etc.)

In the early Shang Dynasty, in the gap between these strongholds, there were princes, Fangguo and ethnic minorities who did not obey the orders of the Shang Dynasty. In other words, the great Shang Dynasty was an early developing country that was gradually transiting from a capital state to a territory state, not a vast territory state with four territories.

Development history

In the 16th century B.C., the Shang nationality conquered many allies of the Xia Dynasty, defeated Jie, the last tyrant of the Xia Dynasty, and established the Shang Dynasty. In order to maintain and consolidate the regime, suppress the remaining forces of Xia Dynasty, control and expand their territory, the king of Shang carefully chose Luoshui and built the early capital of Shang Dynasty, Xihao.

Square Zun with Four Sheep

Xihao is located in Yanshi City, Henan Province, with Mangshan Mountain in the north and Luohe River in the south. It is an important traffic road to control the East and West. This area used to be the hinterland of Xia Dynasty, and it was also the area with developed economy and culture. This is the most magnificent capital, and its layout emphasizes the ruling idea of taking the monarchy as the center. To build a capital of this scale, it will take ten thousand people a day. It is estimated that it will take eight years to build it. The population of the Shang Dynasty is only five to seven million, and the degree of mobilization of the people can be imagined. The building site of the Western Palace in Xihao palace city is rectangular, 51 meters long from east to west and 32 meters wide from north to south. It is built of rammed earth. It is a closed palace building with the main hall as the main body and veranda on the East, West and south sides. In the periphery of the whole building, there is also a wall about 2 meters thick, which will close the palace building and form a whole. The history of Shang is as long as Xia. It is said that Jiandi ate the eggs of Xuanniao and gave birth to the ancestral contract of Shang. From Qi to Tang, it has been handed down for 14 generations, which happens to be consistent with Xia. After five hundred years, Shang became powerful, and at last Xia was destroyed by the battle of mingtiao.

After Shang Tang, from Taijia to Tailong was the consolidation and development period of Shang Dynasty. When Tang's grandson Taijia was in power, there was a story of Yiyin releasing Taijia. Since then, the rule of Shang Dynasty was very stable. When pan Geng was in power, he moved the capital several times, and the final capital was in Yin, so the Shang Dynasty was also called Yin Dynasty, which promoted the development of economy and culture.

The Shang Dynasty was basically a hereditary system of the throne. From the death of the elder brother and the younger brother to the death of the father and the son, the inheritance system of the eldest son was established in the late Shang Dynasty, which was also an important foundation of the patriarchal system in the Later Zhou Dynasty. At the same time, Shang divination is also very famous, the existing oracle bone inscriptions are divination records. The rule of the king of Shang was limited to a small area

The central area, the surrounding areas and the marginal areas are the territories of the royal families and ethnic groups, and the centralization of power has not yet been formed.

The contradiction of Shang Dynasty intensified after the middle period, especially the struggle for the royal power, and the resistance of slaves. King Zhou used force to suppress it, but in the end he burned himself and died. Shang was passed down to seventeen dynasties, thirty-five kings, and existed for about 600 years.

Shang Dynasty (562 BC? - 1066?) It is the second Dynasty in Chinese history. It is called the "three generations" of China together with Xia and Zhou, and plays an important role in Chinese history. According to legend, the ancestor of King Shang was one of the descendants of the five emperors.

In the 16th century BC, Shang, a clan with bird as its totem, rose up in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and its leader Cheng Tang won the hearts of the people. With the help of Yi Yin, Zhong Hui and other ministers, the war against Jie began. First, he wiped out the allies of Ge, Wei, Gu, Kun, and I, and removed Xia Jie's wings. Then he defeated Xia Jie's army twice in Youzhi ruins and mingtiao. After returning to Haoyi, Chengtang officially ascended the throne as king, and various vassals came to celebrate the establishment of the Shang Dynasty.