11 Unearthed Fun Facts About the Shang Dynasty: Discover the Secrets of Ancient China

1. No Elephants Allowed!

Ever hear of "surf and turf" at a Shang Dynasty cookout? Their aristocrats dined on an array of delectable meats, from barnyard to riverside, with a conspicuous absence of pachyderms: Ancient texts such as Shi Jing show that horse, cow, chicken, sheep, deer, and over a dozen species of fish were regularly on the menu, but no elephants graced their feasting tables.
Source => china.org.cn

2. Fancy Food Fortune-telling

Holy cow! Or should we say, "holy turtle and ox?" The Shang dynasty took playing with their food to a whole new level, turning rib-tickling animal parts into mystical predictors of the future: By heating ox scapulae and turtle plastrons until they cracked, these ancient diviners interpreted the patterns to answer questions about the weather, crop planting, and royal fortunes - all the while unwittingly creating the earliest known corpus of Chinese writing on bone-chilling oracle bones.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Discover how ancient Chinese fortune-tellers may have predicted the rise of GPS and Google Maps with their invention of the compass in the Han dynasty! A tool that changed the course of history. 🧭🌏

=> Fun Facts about Ancient-China

3. Spirit World Social Media

Who needs fortune cookies when you've got turtle shells and ox bones? Welcome to the mystical world of ancient Chinese social media: The Shang Dynasty were expert diviners who used oracle bones to communicate with the spirit world. They would inscribe questions on animal parts, then crack them to reveal answers. Ranging from personal inquiries to political matters, the king himself acted as the chief interpreter and was usually pretty spot-on with his predictions.
Source => daily.jstor.org

4. Puppies' Grave Duty

Next time you're tempted to bury a bone, just remember: dogs of the Shang dynasty had it ruff! With puppy sacrifices being a popular way to accompany hoomans to the afterlife, adult dogs pretty much lucked out of the grave offerings: In the Shang dynasty, it was common for young puppies, rather than adult dogs, to be buried with their masters, as they were easier and more affordable to care for before the ritual.
Source => scientificamerican.com

5. Heavyweight Ancestor Worship

Ancient Chinese mixologists were anything but lightweight: The Shang Dynasty showcased their exemplary bronze mastery with monumental ceremonial vessels that weighed up to 2,000 pounds, used for feasts to honor ancestral spirits and demonstrate their bling in the realm of worship and burial.
Source => spice.fsi.stanford.edu

6. Ancient Symphony of Bongs and Jingles

In a time before pop stars and head-banging concerts, one dynasty rocked the ancient world with the sweet symphony of bongs and jingles: The Shang Dynasty was a big fan of music, showcasing their love with intricately crafted musical instruments like stone chimes, bronze drums, bamboo flutes, and a discovered set of 64 precision-made bells, weighing between 6.75 and 79.5 kg, that were gifted from the king of Chu himself.
Source => depts.washington.edu

7. Spicy Ancient Chinese Prophesying

Who needs a crystal ball when you have turtle shells and animal bones? The Shang dynasty had the ultimate fortune-telling hack: Oracle bone script! This pyromantic divination method was engraved on animal remains and provided a delightful glimpse into their society. It covered spicy topics like war, ritual sacrifice, and even the royal family's health issues. Inscribed millennia ago, this early form of Chinese writing turned out to be the great-great-great-grandparent of modern Chinese and Japanese scripts!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Chariot Racing Warfare Style

Fast and furious: ancient China edition! The Shang dynasty racers were tearing up the battlefield with their weaponized chariots, sporting spiffy dagger-axes and stylin' halberds, all while an elite crew of three armored badasses man the whip, arrows, and defenses: These tricked-out chariots weren't just for show, they played a crucial role in warfare, with each warrior having specific roles, such as driving, archery, and short-range defense, but they faded out of vogue as warfare evolved and the open fields got crammed with more infantry and cavalry during the Han Dynasty.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. BYOB Bronze Parties

Before Zeus had his mighty thunderbolts, the Shang dynasty was already throwing extravagant BYOB (Bring Your Own Bronze) parties: The Shang dynasty expertly crafted bronze into ceremonial objects and weapons, including detailed wine-serving vessels adorned with animal motifs and inscriptions that showcased important events in their history.
Source => khanacademy.org

10. The Mystery of the Taotie

Eyes wide open and jaws agape: that's the look on the faces of the taotie, the mysterious animal-like masks that bedecked the Shang dynasty's swanky bronze collection. Seriously now: these quirky motifs, along with jade, symbolized the pinnacle of Bronze Age material culture in China, used for fancy court ceremonies and sacrificial offerings that today leave historians intrigued and a tad puzzled.
Source => metmuseum.org

11. Shangdi Pen Pals

Talk about a long-distance relationship: the Shang Dynasty emperors chose to be pen pals with their supreme deity, Shangdi, through oracle bones instead of direct worship! The Serious Reveal: The Highest Deity was considered too distant for mere mortals, so rulers made sacrifices and communicated with Shangdi, using ox shoulder blades for a process called scapulimancy, with ancestral spirits as intermediaries.
Source => en.wikipedia.org