Shang Dynasty (562 BC?-1066?) It was the second dynasty in Chinese history, together with Xia and Zhou, and is known as the "Three Dynasties" of China, and has a very important position in Chinese history. . According to legend, the ancestor of the King of Shang was one of the descendants of the Five Emperors.
Around the 16th century B.C., a clan with a bird as its totem, the Shang, rose to prominence on the lower Yellow River, and its leader, Cheng Tang, was deeply popular; in the With the help of his ministers, Yiyin and Zhong venomous, he began his war against Jie. He first destroyed Xia's allies such as Ge, Wei, Gu, Kun and Wu, and cut off Xia Jie's wings. Xia Jie's army. After Cheng Tang returned to Huyi, he became king and all the vassals came to congratulate him, and the Shang Dynasty was officially established.
Cheng Tang reigned for twelve years and died, after which he was succeeded by Wai C. The Shang dynasty had a very short reign from Chung-nim to Tai-jia. After his death, he was succeeded by Wai-Chi, who ruled for a short period of time from Chung-In to Tae-Ka, and the power of the Shang dynasty was in the hands of Yi-Yin. After his reign, Taijia was banished to Tong, where he repented and was exiled by Yi Yin. When he repented, Yi Yin welcomed Taijia back to continue his reign, and the Shang reigned with a clear and bright atmosphere.
After the death of Taijia, he was passed on to his son Wodin, and the Shang dynasty's rule declined for a while until Taiwu came to power.
In the middle of the Shang Dynasty, the rulers of the past dynasties moved their capitals for many times because of the internal disputes and economic reasons: Zhongding moved from Hao to Xiao; hetanjia from Xiao to Xiang; Zuyi to PI; Nangeng to Nanping; Pangeng to Yin. Since Pan Geng moved his capital to Yin, the power of Shang Dynasty began to rise again. After Wuding ascended the throne, he vigorously selected talents, appointed talents such as Fu Shuo, Gan pan and Zuji, conquered the surrounding countries, greatly expanded the territory and population of the Shang Dynasty, and created conditions for the development of production. During this period, the politics, economy and culture of the Shang Dynasty had unprecedented development, reaching the peak of the late Shang Dynasty, known as "Wuding resurgence".
After Wuding, the Shang Dynasty began to decline. After the succession of Zugeng and Zujia, the sons of Wuding, had no talent in politics and no morals, which led to social chaos and people's livelihood. However, the six kings after Zujia (Linxin, Kangding, Wuji, wending, Diji and Dixin) were better than Zujia. At the time of emperor Xin (King Zhou of Shang), the Shang Dynasty finally came to the verge of collapse. King Zhou of Shang Dynasty was a famous tyrant in Chinese history. He adored Daji, a beautiful woman. He abolished and denounced Shang Rong, Bigan, Weizi and Jizi one by one, and handed over the administration to Fei Zhong and other jesters. Therefore, not only the ministers and nobles in the court opposed King Zhou, but also the princes and other countries were separated from each other in Shang Dynasty. 1027 BC (?) Under the leadership of King Wu of Zhou, the Western Zhou nationality defeated the Shang army in Muye at one stroke, thus ending the rule of the Shang Dynasty for more than 600 years.
After more than 600 years of development, the Shang Dynasty has made great progress in politics, economy and science. From the archaeological sites of Yin Ruins, the Shang Dynasty has completely divorced from the primitive tribal lifestyle, from nomadism to settlement. A large number of divination tortoise shells and exquisite bronzes and jades were unearthed in the Yin Ruins. Among them, "Si Mu Wu Da Fang Ding" discovered in Anyang is the largest bronze ware discovered so far in China. This shows that the bronze smelting and casting technology of Shang Dynasty reached a fairly high level. The oracle bone inscriptions found on divination tortoise shells are generally regarded as the characters of the Shang Dynasty, which is the earliest Chinese hieroglyphs we can recognize today, which provides a powerful basis for us to study Shang culture today.
The Shang Dynasty had 17 generations and 31 kings, about 496 years.