Shang and Zhou Dynasties: Comparison Between Rituals and Artefacts Research Paper

Introduction

Shang Dynasty when preceded by the Zhou dynasty in 2000 B.C. had many similarities. Among the major similarities was the title both the dynasties carried as “Bronze age of China”. The reason was simple; many ritual artefacts came into existence in this age. However the main reason for calling the era bronze was the fashionable and the then latest weapons which were prepared using only bronze, as it was the need of the imperial and materialistic culture of that era. (2007a) In both the dynasties, ‘bronze’ usage was common as bronze was used for making small objects, including ornaments, tools, and weapons. The bronze earring with a fan-shaped end is a notable characteristic of Shang culture later adopted by Zhou. Though the people of Zhou (Western and Eastern Zhou) defeated Shang dynasty, they remained unable to defeat the historical pages which today tells us about Shang dynasty.

Main Body

The evidence started with the discovery of Oracle bones’ fragments. Found accidentally by the Yin villagers, these fragments were followed by strange markings which later were identified as ancient Chinese language. These bones were sold as ‘dragon bones’, which is a traditional ingredient of Chinese medicine. These ‘dragon bones’ or ‘oracle bones’, were ox scapulae and turtle shells-primarily the under shells or plastrons which had been used in divination by the kings of the late Shang dynasty. This refers to the fact that oracle bones were particularly the identity of the Shang dynasty, which was later carried out by Zhou people.

According to Allan, (1991) “These oracle bones had been carefully cleaned, trimmed and been hollowed on one side. While predicting upon these discoveries, when a hot poker to these hollows were applied, crack started appearing on the reverse side. Conventional shapes started appearing and Chinese characters like bu evolved. It is still a mystery how those cracks were translated, however after they were made, the topic of divination was sometimes engraved beside the crack or, occasionally across it”. (Allan, 1991, p. 1).

Though at least the Shang ruler was fully literate, the oracle bone inscriptions does not show any relevance to the texts transmitted from Zhou times. (Allan, 1991, p. 16) Archaeologists are still doubtful about the how writing was used in the Shang since there is always the possibility of undiscovered texts. Many bamboo slips tied with strings have been found on which the entire ancient Chinese books were written. Bamboo slips have also been evidenced to record ritual promises and oaths, later which sink in rivers. Military officials were also appointed using these bamboo slips but still archaeologists are doubtful on the usage of writing in Shang dynasty other than ritual purposes.

Most of the Shang artefacts included vessels and potteries. Potteries are ordinary but somewhat different from the daily pottery of the Yellow River region whereas the vessel differs according to shapes like steamers, baggy-legged tripods, solid-legged tripods, and jars. Potteries used in ceremonies includes ‘gui’ tripod pitchers and ‘jue’ tripod spouted wine vessels, found in matching sets in burials.

The ‘taotie’ also known as ‘monster mask’ is considered as the identity of Shang dynasty and is common among various Shang design masks which appear among the painted patterns. Occasional patterns in Shang bronzes include cloud, thunder, turtles, and dragons. Dwelling sites and burials are filled up with umpteen pig bones, cattle, and sheep and deer bones. (Nelson, 1995, p. 147) Shang dynasty on the basis of taoties does not represent any deity and it is not representational since it is continually changing, but, a meaningful image which is characterized by two staring eyes and made up of various animals used in the sacrificial rites. Zhou has transformed Shang images and symbols into meaningful transcriptions.

This clearly means that Zhou people were literate enough in transforming symbols and images into their own language. According to Chinese archaeologists Western Zhou was more literate. This is evident from the varied body of literature found during the Shang dynasty. Zhou dynasty records early texts such as ‘Book of changes’ and ‘book of songs’. Neither of these texts represents the continuation of a Shang literary tradition but it is the only literary evidence which differentiates Zhou Dynasty from that of Shang.

The Yijing is associated with the Zhou people and represents another divination tradition. This ‘Book of Changes’ is all about the mantic tradition of ancient China which is followed by the tradition of Zhou people using milfoil or stalks. When their tradition was manipulated, archaeologists came to know that these stalks produced a numerical result which was either expressed as a solid line or a broken line. These lines when grouped together produced a set of different graphs or hexagrams, interpreted accordingly. It was by the end of the Western Zhou dynasty, that texts and meaningful symbols were associated with each of these hexagrams. These hexagrams were used to interpret the future of human or natural world (Shaugnesy, 1997, p. 27).

Similarly, the dragons which may be part of the ‘taotie’ or independent of them are neither real nor mythological creatures and in a constant state of transformation. Shang is also followed by many other dragons in the form of strange masks which bears strange and unusual meanings like water snake depicts the watery underworld of the dead, beaked dragon head reminds us of the sun birds which return through the underworld springs. Similarly, other taoties like owls and cicadas suggest death and rebirth.

Shang dynasty is well known for its artistic jade carvings worn by the then kings in various occasions and battles, like jade tablets, jade axes and armrests. Jade was also used by the kings as different types of awards. (Shaugnessy, 1997, p. 158) Slender bronze chopsticks averaging 20 cms were used in Shang dynasty. (Chopsticks, 2006).

Excavator research revealed that the Shang were a great and powerful dynasty capable of marshalling and maintaining a large labour force over long periods of time, but their rulers were not that benevolent kings as perceived by many of late philosophers. Shang was ruled by harsh kings who used to present large-scale human as well as animal sacrifices in the name of religion. This is evident from the research done on oracle bone divinations and further confirmed by the discovery of thousands of human skulls accompanying the large tombs, buried in building foundations, and in special cemeteries for sacrificial victims.

Though archaeologists have been able to discover only a few cemeteries, but even these few are the rich ones. A dwelling site ‘Dadianzi’ in the north east is important as it reveals the fact that burials are quite close together. Burials are followed by graves which are earth-pits, with wooden coffins. Heads of the graves are oriented towards northwest, but males and females are buried in different directions. The depth of the graves is nearly 8.9 metre with earthen niches at the foot filled with grave goods, such as painted pottery in sets, pig and dog bones, and lacquer ware. (Nelson, 1995, p. 148).

The Zhou dynasty believed in traditionally oral singing which is evident from the ‘Shijing’. These songs as recorded in the Zhou dynasty depicts that writing gradually expanded in its uses at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty or, at the very end of the Shang. With the development of a corpus of documents and different types of texts, came changes in patterns of thought. (Allan, 1991, p. 17).

Zhou bronze inscriptions depict vessels like ‘Defang’, ‘Dake’, ‘You’ bronze ritual vessel, and ‘Square Ding’ vessel. The problem which was confronted by Zhou dynasty after conquering Shang was that the Shang did not begin with a catalogue of real or mythological creatures which they chose to represent. Each vessel was a new creation, deriving from the forms which preceded it, but transforming them to make a new form and image. However a structural identity remains which allows us to recognize that vessels were used by both the dynasties. (Allan, 1991, p. 138).

Western Zhou vessels included sheer numbers of bells whose surfaces were no longer decorated with minute detail. Bells became a source of discovering a new element i.e., the addition of bronze to make music. (Rawson, 1989).

As significant as the record of the captures is in the text, it is clear that for the Zhou composer of the narrative, the sacrifices, particularly the human offerings, that followed the captures held much greater symbolic significance. For instance, Zhou is identified by the parallel between the ‘liao’ burnt-offering sacrifice and the ‘Xiao Yu ding’ inscription.

Conclusion

Zhou dynasty is differentiated from Shang due to the development of a literary corpus at the beginning of the Zhou, in other words Zhou was able to transform the Shang ‘literacy’. Zhou is followed by variant traditions which were recorded and each record assumed a validity of its own. That text then remained, to be read not only by contemporaries, but also by later generations, and to coexist with other variants of the same tradition and its own descendants. Although the relationships were sometimes observed by commentators, they were more usually forgotten.

The myths and cosmogonist events of the Zhou texts, such as the great flood and the butting of the north-western mountain which caused the earth and sky to tilt toward one another, are normally placed in ‘the time of Yao’ –that historical period which had come to represent the mythical ‘time long ago’ of the high ancestors. Therefore Zhou dynasty is the one in Chinese history which is held responsible for transformation. An example of such transformation is the ‘Xia’ who used to be mythological opposites of the Shang, a watery people associated with death and the underworld. They were transformed into a political dynasty by the Zhou.

References

Allan Sarah, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China: State University of New York Press: Albany, NY. (1991).

Chopsticks. Magazine Title: World Watch. Volume: 19. Issue: 1. Publication Date: January- February 2006. COPYRIGHT 2006 Worldwatch Institute Nelson Milledge Sarah, The Archaeology of Northeast China: Beyond the Great Wall: Routledge: New York. (1995).

Rawson Jessica, “Statesmen or Barbarians? The Western Zhou as Seen through their Bronzes,” Proceedings of the British Academy 75 (1989): 89, 91.

Shaugnesy, L. Edward, Before Confucius: Studies in the Creation of the Chinese Classics: State University of New York Press: Albany, NY. (1997).