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Religion of the Shang dynasty

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The state religion of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC) involved trained practitioners communicating with deities, including deceased ancestors and nature spirits. These deities formed a pantheon headed by the high god Di.[2] Methods of communication with spirits included divinations inscribed on oracle bones and sacrifice of living beings. Much of what is known about Shang religion has been discovered through archaeological work at Yinxu – the site of Yin, the final Shang capital – among other sites.[3] At Yinxu, artefacts such as oracle bones and ritual bronze vessels have been excavated.[4][5] The earliest attested inscriptions were made c. 1250 BC, during the reign of King Wu Ding – though the attested script is fully mature, and is believed to have emerged significantly earlier.[6][7][8][9]

Religion of the Shang dynasty
A Shang oracle bone inscribed with the results of divination[1]
TypePolytheism
Theology
RegionYellow River valley
LanguageOld Chinese

Religion played a significant role in Shang court life. The Shang built large tombs,[10] reflecting a belief in the afterlife and in sacred places. Deities were constantly honoured with ceremonies, the scheduling of which was facilitated by Shang astronomers via the invention of a sophisticated calendar system based on a 60-day cycle.[11] Using the calendar, royal adherents of the religion conducted liturgical rituals dedicated to those spirits. Regional estates maintained independent practitioners but worshipped the same deities for common purposes. Those acts of worship, which were formalised over time, were held for divine fortune along with prosperity of the late Shang state.[12]

The Shang originated in the Yellow River valley,[a] and for over two hundred years, their religion influenced and was influenced by the traditions of neighbouring peoples. After 1046 BC, the Zhou dynasty, which replaced the Shang, gradually assimilated elements of Di into its own cosmology.[14][15] Some Shang beliefs and practices were integrated into later Chinese culture, with elements such as ancestor worship and the calendar still reflected in traditions throughout the Sinosphere.

Beliefs

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Certain characteristics of the Shang state religion have been identified as prefiguring later elements of Chinese bureaucratic culture.[16][17] The Shang articulated an image of a supreme being that simultaneously led a body of lesser spirits—which included both natural and ancestral deities—while also being composed of all of them.

High god Di

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Shang Oracle bone script characters of Di (帝) as the celestial pole[18]

The highest of the Shang gods was Shangdi (上帝), or simply Di (帝).[19][20][b] In many oracle bone inscriptions, Di is described as presiding over a hierarchy of spirits, including former humans and nature deities, of which all were under Di's control.[23][24] Di was not described by Shang priests in works of scripture; instead, the will of Di could only be known through the practice of divination using oracle bones.[25][26]

The Shang believed that Di exercised authority over both the natural and human worlds, which included controlling the climate, influencing both the harvest and the outcomes of battles,[24] and issuing commands (令; lìng). Di expressed approval or disapproval over the everyday actions of humans,[27][28] and was thought to be capable of either providing aid or sending down disasters.[29] While the Shang conducted rituals to ensure Di would not harm them, there is no evidence that they made sacrifices to Di as they did to other spirits, implying a significant distinction in how Di was perceived.[30][2]

 
Emperor Ku, the third of the Five Emperors according to Sima Qian's history

The identity of Di has been the subject of debate.[31] According to the traditional approach, the Shang conceived of a hierarchy of spirits with Di at its apex, analogous to the leading role of Zeus in Ancient Greek religion, and that of Tian in the cosmology of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC) that followed the Shang.[32] Another approach conflates Di with the legendary Emperor Ku, the third of the Five Emperors mentioned as preceding the Shang in Sima Qian's Shiji (c. 91 BC), and who was addressed as "High Ancestor" in at least four Shang inscriptions.[33][34][35] Some historians assert that having the highest god as their ancestor, the Shang would ensure their rule on earth.[36]

Another view holds that Shang religion did not conceive of a high god in its pantheon, and that Di was a generic word applicable to all divine powers.[37] According to Robert Eno, Di was applied to the names of some ancestors, despite the fact that these spirits were not considered comparably powerful to Di. From this, Eno infers that Di was not a name for one god in particular, but could refer to any spirit.[38] While agreeing with Eno against the existence of a singular god, John C. Didier states instead that the Shang likely had a particularised, impersonal conception of Di as a composite of ancestor and nature powers.[39]

Nature spirits

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Further information: Divinity of winds (Shang dynasty)
 
Shang character for 'Sun' (日)

The Shang often noted the winds, and established a cult for them, associating them with the phoenix. The winds were thought to be controlled by four gods associated with each of the cardinal directions, and in turn with the four seasons.[40][41][42][c] Together, the four winds and their associated deities represented the cosmic will of Di and carried his authority to affect agriculture. Rituals were conducted to appease the wind gods, and to pray for successful harvests. Winds could also be harmful, and there are other spirits aside from wind gods that could control winds.[46]

The Shang economy depended heavily on agriculture, and the worship of nature powers that directly affected it seemed to be a vital priority.[47] The earth power She (社)—or Tu (土) in Shang inscriptions—was associated with protection from misfortune, and potentially also with the feminine.[48][49] Tu may have been related in some manner to the Tufang (土方) tribe that neighboured the Shang, and with whom the Shang maintained agricultural relations.[50] The Shang nature cult also recognized the mountain god Yue (岳), and He (河), a god representing the Yellow River.[51][52] These two were sometimes called 'high ancestors', and were also the subjects of an ancestor cult—making the distinction between nature and ancestor spirits for the Shang less clear.[53][54]

The Shang worshipped spirits representing the East, West and South.[55] Some inscriptions refer to gendered spirits such as the Mother of the West (西母) and Mother of the East (東母) who received animal sacrifices. Although some identified these two spirits with the Sun and Moon, others say that they were more likely associated with directions, and were therefore earth deities. The worship of such mother-earth spirits might have originated from agricultural cults and representation of fertility goddesses.[56]

Inscriptions also concern rituals dedicated to snow, diseases, and locusts.[57][58] Dance ceremonies acted as Shang prayers to the rains.[59] When the Sun was mentioned, it was almost exclusively as a mere moving object, and rituals were very rarely dedicated to it.[60] Shang kings also worshipped the deity of the Huan River, which provided them with ritual space.[61]

Ancestor spirits

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Main article: Shang ancestral deification
 
Shang character for the high ancestor Shang Jia (上甲)[62]

The Shang dynasty established a complex ancestor cult.[d] Six Predynastic ancestor spirits were recognized:

  1. Shang Jia (上甲)
  2. Bao Yi (報乙)
  3. Bao Bing (報丙)
  4. Bao Ding (報丁)
  5. Shi Ren (示壬)
  6. Shi Gui (示癸)

In turn, the Shang dynastic line was recognised to begin with Shi Gui's child Da Yi—and ultimately ended with Di Xin, the final Shang king.[e][66][67][68] Ancestor spirits appeared to exert influence over the reigning king—in one inscription, a particular ancestor was identified as having caused one of the king's nightmares.[69][70] The pantheon of ancestor spirits has been described as a "generational hierarchy", with the power of its members determined by seniority.[71] The Predynastic spirits were the most powerful, and influenced weather and the harvest.[72][73] If ancestors were not appeased with the proper rituals, they could inflict what was described as a curse, potentially resulting in poor harvests and natural catastrophes.[74]

The Shang also revered female ancestor spirits, especially the consorts and mothers of mainline kings.[75] On certain occasions, divinations determined female ancestors as being unfriendly and angry, which would thereafter result in the ancestors receiving offerings.[76] In general, female ancestors did not receive a similar level of reverence as male ancestors, being the focus of only one-sixth of Shang rituals. This was due to the fact that the jurisdiction of women was seen as being limited to reproduction.[77] Women attested in oracle bone inscriptions included Bi Ji (妣己), Bi Geng (妣庚), Bi Bing (妣丙), and most prominently Fu Hao, the consort of Wu Ding, who was referred to by the posthumous names Mother Xin (母辛) and Ancestress Xin (妣辛).[78][79]

Several spirits were addressed by the Shang as ancestors, but whose identity has not been fully apprehended. These include former lords (先公; xiāngōng) like Wang Hai (王亥) and Nao (獶), whose names were written with pictographic characters.[80] Other spirits revered alongside ancestors include Mo Xi and Yi Yin – who apparently commanded rains and assured good harvests[81] – as well as his apparent consort Yi Shi.[53][82][83] Some of these being later reappeared within classic works of Chinese literature, where they are presented as historical figures.[84][85] For example, traditional Chinese historiography described Wang Hai as a trader who was an uncle of Shang Jia, and was murdered by a greedy tribal chief in present-day Henan.[86]

Cosmology

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Further information: Shang–Zhou theology
Taotie on ritual bronzes
 
A taotie motif on a 12th-century BC gong vessel – Freer-Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
A turquoise taotie motif on a Late Shang lei bronze

The Shang believed in the divinity of an area surrounding the orbital pole, with the shape of a square associated with four stars that surrounded the pole during the period contemporaneous with Shang civilisation.[f] In oracle bone script, the square pictograph denoted the modern stem ding; this possibly originated from oral expressions, and was related to Shang lineal descent.[88] Inscriptions indicate the square as indicating many possible things, including the subject of a given cult, the space for a ritual, or the ritual itself.[89]

A visualisation of the orbital pole referred to as the taotie appears on Shang ritual bronzes.[90][91][g] This motif typically depicts spirits through representation of various animals, a tradition similar to those of the earlier Yangshao and Liangzhu cultures.[93][94] Several interpretations of the taotie's specific meaning to the Shang have been given. While some speculate the taotie motif was purely decorative, most of the evidence is generally interpreted as having a clear religious dimension.[95] In essence, since the taotie appears on Shang ritual vessels and ceremonial axes, it was not carved for decorations. These faces all bear strong resemblances with the polar area concerned in Shang cosmology. Specifically, the Shang taotie features nasal ridges surrounded by dots, a similarity to the ecliptic pole and its adjacent stars. John C. Didier asserted that these similarities indicate that the depicted figures were divine spirits with crucial importance to the Shang people.[96]

Orbital pole in Shang–Zhou characters
 
The Shang character di (禘) features a rectangle projecting the stars Mizar, Thuban, Kochab, Alioth and Pherkad
 
The Zhou character for Tian (天) also features a rectangle at the top

The Shang believed that Di was composed of two components. One of these, Shangdi, was a manifestation of ancestors through the polar square. In other words, this upper component was housed by the squared northern pole. Also in Shang beliefs, indicated by oracle bones, this squared polar area on the sky, containing the god's cosmic divinity, was composed of mainline ancestral spirits through the generic name Shangdi, representing Di's will to act favourably towards humans.[97] Already in oracle bone script, there are two frequent characters depicting Shangdi; one features the squared shape, and the other has parallel lines, which in turn was associated with heavenly divinity and the square itself.[98]

口未卜賓貞
Crack-making on dingwei day (day 44), Bin divining:

今日侑于口六月
This day we perform the you ritual to 口, sixth month.

— Divination regarding 口 (a.k.a. Shangdi, Shang Jia)[99]

Conversely, the Shang believed that Shangdi, as Di's superior component, possessed a negative counterpart associated with 'earth'.[100] Many character versions depict the earthly counterpart of Shangdi named Xiadi (下帝), composed of non-ancestor deities such as cloud spirits, rain spirits and the Earth Power.[101] Therefore, Di was believed to be both Shangdi (heaven and positive) and Xiadi (earth and negative), with the latter still being able to influence earthly matters that bear upon the Shang despite endeavours to make Shangdi dominate Di.[102] Sometimes, the Shang referred to these two components in bronze inscriptions as the binome Shangxiadi (上下帝).[103]

Other beliefs

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The Shang recognised five special subordinates under Di, called the 'five adjutants' (五臣; wǔchén), which transmitted messages to the human world about Di and may have been associated with each of the five classical planets,[104]

The characters used in the names of several ancestral and semi-ancestral spirits, such as Wang Hai and Kui, incorporate a bird symbol that was seemingly sacred to the Shang. This may be related to the founding myth of the Shang attested much later in the classic texts of traditional Chinese historiography – the myth itself tells that the Shang progenitor Xie was born after his mother stepped on a mysterious dark bird's footprint.[105] Some argue that this was a bird totem, a symbol in Shang perception, and some others attempted to trace the origins of this particular religious image.[106][107] However, these names might also represent beasts rather than feathered animals.[108]

Practices

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Shang rituals were based on an ancestral hierarchy. The king was able to convene directly with his most recent ancestors, who could themselves provide access to more senior spirits – who in turn passed the king's requests to Di.[109] Prominent Shang practices included divination, liturgical sacrifices, invoking prayers, and funerals. There was also an "archery ritual" that Shang kings often conducted on the Huan River, demonstrated by an inscribed bronze turtle rewarded to a scribe named Zuoce Ban.[110] Oracle bones also reveal spiritual rituals such as holocaust, ale libation, exorcism, and dance rituals.[111][112][113]

Divination

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Main articles: Oracle bone and Oracle bone script
Scapula inscribed during the reign of Wu Ding[114][115]

The Shang practised divination to communicate indirectly with spirits.[116] Divination typically took place in temples, but also could be conducted outside of ritual centres.[117] Main materials include scapulae, turtle plastrons and some others, on which the staff applied heat after cleaning and preparing.[118][119][h] The heat produced cracks on the bones, which were interpreted as a response and given to scribes who wrote the interpretation on the bones.[123][124] The oldest example inscriptions were radiocarbon dated to c. 1250 BC, representing the state religion of the Shang dynasty.[i][7][126] Typically, an inscription includes a preface, the charge, and occasionally prognostication along with verification.[j][128][129][130] It is common for multiple pairs of the same charge to appear on a single bone, in which case the date records help establish their sequence.[131] Signs of proto-divination with trigrams and hexagrams also appear on inscriptions.[132]

丁丑卜，暊貞：
Divined on dingchou day, Fu tested:

其示�宗門，
When handing over [unstated object] (at) the gate of Ancestral Temple,

告帝甲暨帝丁，受左
Making announcement to Di Jia together with Di Ding will receive disapproval.

— Divination during the reign of Geng Ding[133]

Through the oracle bones, the Shang communicated with spirits about warfare, agriculture, well-being, sacrifices, and weather, using the calendar for arranging days.[134][11][135][k][l] For example, there are certain divinations about outside attacks, although none of them appeared during Yinxu Period V when the Shang had established control over a small, stable area.[137] Additionally, divinations were carried out to determine suitable policies for public works and royal commissions, such as walling cities and commanding civil officers.[138]

It has been recognised that some divinations were not made on the king's behalf. Rather, members of the aristocracy created divinations themselves; there are four groups of these so-called 'non-king divinations'[139][140] made during the early and middle periods of Wu Ding's reign:[141] One group comprises 500 inscriptions excavated at the Huayuanzhuang East site that were originally commissioned by a Shang prince,[142][m] and reflect a distinct writing style from that of the royal divinations.[19][144][145] Recurring topics include the construction of temples on the prince's estate, his relations with Wu Ding and the royal family, and matters of war.[142]

Liturgical sacrifices

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The Shang religion is a typical sacrificial system in which violence was ritualised to obtain divine appeasement.[146][147] By the 11th century BC, the king had to perform sacrifices to ancestors every day, with many objects for that purpose.[148][149] The demand for such sacrificial materials spurred technological innovations for late Shang society.[150]

 
The Houmuwu ding, dimensions 133 cm × 110 cm × 79.2 cm (52.4 in × 43.3 in × 31.2 in), commissioned by Zu Geng to commemorate his deceased mother[151]

The sacrifices that were not living beings were mainly bones, stones and bronze. Some of the bone products were shaped into hairpins or arrowheads, and there are instances of ivory found in elite tombs.[152][153] Stone objects such as jade were moulded into decorative ritual objects, such as those discovered in the Tomb of Fu Hao.[154][155] Offering ceremonies involved bronze vessels such as the ding (鼎) with short inscribed characters, the access to which seemed to be an exclusive authority granted to the king and heirs in rituals.[156][157][158] There were also accepted minor materials like ceramics, the designs on which were inherited from earlier cultures.[159][160]

Certain species of game animal were served as offerings, both to the ancestral and supernatural sections of the religion's pantheon.[161] There are four types of animal sacrifice, regarding two criteria.[162] Usually, canines were sacrificed in a very flexible manner, ranging from being food of ancestors to being their postmortem attendants.[163][164] It was also common for the Shang to sacrifice sheep cattle and pigs, which were offered to the River, Earth and Mountain Powers with the wood-burning ritual.[165][166] The Shang also sacrificed millet ale and grains with animals.[167]

 
The Tomb of Fu Hao, dedicated to the principal queen of the Shang dynasty during the 13th century BC. Several human skeletons lay in the tomb's burial pit.

The Shang dynasty also practised human sacrifice, which was evidently on a significantly large scale.[167] Human sacrifice was an important feature of the Shang and an integral part of their burial traditions.[168] Inscriptions concern at least 14,197 human victims, although 1,145 of such inscriptions do not mention exact figures.[169] The Shang often sacrificed enemy prisoners, such as the Qiang (羌) who were either captured or sent by neighbours as gifts.[170][171] Except for some prisoners who were spared, the rest, including women, were killed and their remains sacrificed to Shang spirits.[172] A single sacrifice alone could require hundreds or even thousands killed.[173][174] These victims were subject to different killing methods when offered to different spirits, such as being drowned if the recipient was the River Power, being buried for sacrificing to the Earth Power, being cut into pieces for the wind spirits and being burned to death if it was a sky spirit.[175]

Sacrificial terminology

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Reconstruction of a sacrificial pit

Inscriptions contain a rich number of words related to sacrifice. The lexicon includes terms such as xisheng 'animal sacrifice', rensheng 'human sacrifice', nü 'females', qi 'dependent women', and qie 'servants', all of which referred to subjects of sacrifice. The Shang also sacrificed xiaochen, who otherwise served as minor royal officers receiving tax revenues.[176]

Some oracle characters denote terms for general sacrificial methods. Some of these names are dou which refers to methods of killing sacrificial humans in bronze vessels, shan denoting single human sacrifice, or shi meaning ritualised offering at temples.[177]

Cycle of sacrifice

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Rubbing of the first two columns of the inscription on the Xiao Chen Yu zun

In the Chu diviner-group inscriptions, the sacrificial schedule evolved into a liturgical calendar for the first time.[178] Researchers have established the calendar system from a series of inscriptions during the reign of the last three kings. The cycle was filled with five sacrificial rituals: ji, zai, xie, yong, and yi. At the beginning of each sacrificial round, a ceremony honouring all recipients called gongdian was held, and in every weekend, priests would make an inscription announcing the sacrifices for the next day.[179] Some academics argue that ji was the opening ritual.[180]

The schedule comprised alternating 36- and 37-week periods, with weeks being 10 days in length. The five sacrifices were scheduled to take place in every week of the year except for one, which was dedicated to preparations for the next offering cycle.[181] Therefore, a full cycle approximated a solar year, and was sometimes used as a term for a year itself.[182] This calendar terminology was occasionally employed in more secular contexts, like in this excerpt from a bronze inscription:[183]

隹王來征人方；
It was when the king returned from marching to regulate the Renfang;

隹王十祀又五肜日
It was the king's fifteenth ritual cycle, (the time of) the yong-day rituals.

— Xiao Chen Yu zun

Shang kings sometimes conducted additional, irregular sacrifices to ancestors who caused them misfortune.[170] Due to the fall of Shang, the last two kings did not receive sacrifices.[184]

Shamanism

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Main article: Wu (shaman)

Many oracle bone inscriptions suggest that the Shang often engaged in communicating with the spiritual world through the 'hosting' (賓; bīn) ritual.[185][186] This type of communication may be considered non-shamanic, as the ritual never involved ecstatic communion or commingling within the king's body.[187] However, interpreters including Kwang-chih Chang assert that this perception is not satisfactory, and that the Shang dynasty's religion must have embraced shamanism.[188] According to Chang et al., the Shang king acted as a shaman himself to connect with the spirits.[189][190]

Oracle bone script features an ancient form of the wu (巫), who seemed to function as a medium between humans and spirits by prayers and astrology, and who was worshipped post-mortem together with other Shang spirits.[191][192] The role of wu in Shang religion is not fully understood.[193] It is uncertain whether the Shang wu actually referred to shamans or those who used other means to communicate with spirits. Evidence suggests that the wu could reasonably come from non-Shang peoples, and sinologist Victor H. Mair supported the view that the wu itself was indirectly connected to that of the magus, priests who communicated with spirits through rituals and manipulative arts rather than shamanic characteristics like trance and mediation.[194][195][n] David Keightley also disagreed with the interpretation of the Shang sense of wu as 'shaman'.[196]

More recent investigations indicate that there is no reasonable evidence for shamanism in the Shang religion. Accordingly, Chang and others have misplaced data from the Zhou religious practices to that of Shang when arguing for the shamanic theory. Furthermore, the theory does not seem to account for the methods whereby the Shang maintained rule – discerning the High God, who is not addressed by the theory's proponents.[197]

Funerary practices

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Map of the royal cemetery, with royal tombs in blue[198]

The largest burial area for Shang elites was the Royal Cemetery, located in what is now Xibeigang, Anyang. The cemetery was split into two zones, apparently for Wu Ding's own political purposes.[199] There are nine tombs for kings, with seven in the cemetery's western zone.[200] Fu Hao's tomb was not in the cemetery but located 150 m (490 ft) from the western palace complex. The cemetery structure was likely designed to align with the celestial northern pole.[201] Over time, the tombs have been looted of most of their contents; as a result, there is uncertainty in the identification of tombs with particular kings.[202]

A royal funeral may involve tombs constructed before the king's death. Alternatively, the king's body would be temporarily preserved while the tombs were built. The coffin and furnishings were prepared elsewhere and then carried to the tomb. The king's coffin would be buried in a wooden chamber in the central shaft, surrounded with animals, servants, and bronze objects, such as vessels and weapons.[203][204] The chamber was then sealed, and the Shang refilled earth into the tomb while performing additional rituals. Several tombs also served for the purpose of rites, and were topped by ancestral shrines.[205] A foundation near the royal tombs may have been an offering hall, but scholars still debate on its identification.[206]

Tombs of smaller sizes have been found all over Anyang but mainly concentrated west of the palace complex.[207] They are probably reserved for minor elites, and bear design similarities to royal tombs.[208] There is a family grave of one diviner whose name appeared in several bronze inscriptions.[209] Outside of the capital, the Shang site of Subutun features a four-ramped tomb which was the only one of that type discovered outside the capital, and may house either a local rival or a favourite of the Shang king.[210] Another site at Tianhu features Late Shang traditions mixed with indigenous cultures, and served as the cemetery of a Shang lineage related to a consort of Wu Ding.[211][212] Non-elite burials outside of the capital area often lack grave goods.[213]

Posthumous naming

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Further information: Posthumous name
 
Table of Heavenly Stems from the reigns of the last two Shang kings, inscribed on a scapula[214]

Aside from the supernatural beings, the ancestors of the Shang kings were also revered. Those included both dynastic and pre-dynastic ancestral individuals, who were given posthumous names, based on a structured system of typically using calendrical names for days.[215][216] There were 10 weekdays whose names were used for ancestors: jia (甲), yi (乙), bing (丙), ding (丁), wu (戊), ji (己), geng (庚), xin (辛), ren (壬), and gui (癸).[217][218] One sole special case concerns Wang Hai, a shadowy proto-ancestor whose name incorporates the 12th Earthly Branch instead of one among the ten Stems.[219] It seems that the process of assigning day-names to the dead involved divination, which would allow deterministic elements and human manipulation. There is no comprehensive explanation as to why the calendar was used for naming ancestors.[220]

David Nivison has speculated seemingly inherent patterns in the naming tradition, such as naming after first day of inaugural year, restraint from naming gui for dynastic spirits, and avoiding the same name as the previous king.[221] Queen consorts of Shang kings were given stem names not compliant with rules as for the kings. Ancestral spirits tended to receive sacrifices on the weekday of their stem-name – for example: out of 90 dates taken from a sample, Zu Yi received sacrifices on the yi day 53 times.[222]

Posthumous names of some kings might be related to Shang cosmology, especially name with stems jia, ding and yi, which were probably projections of the celestial square. By being referred to by such stems, the spirits became perceived as powerful gods whose will significantly affected the living realm.[223]

As there were more kings than stems, the Shang added epithet-like prefixes to their names.[224] Some prefixes indicate the specific familial relationship between the addressed ancestor and the reigning ruler; the characters are often used for a much broader range of meanings than their modern equivalents:[225]

  1. Relatives who were two or more generations before the incumbent ruler would be referred to as zu (祖; 'grandfather', 'great uncle') and bi (妣; 'grandmother', 'great aunt').
  2. Fu (父; 'father', 'uncle') and mu (母; 'mother', 'aunt') were used for spirits of the previous generation. For example, Wu Ding's sons referred to him as Father "Ding".[226]
  3. Only the graph for males of the same generation is found, which is xiong (兄; 'older brother', 'cousin').
  4. The Shang referred to spouses of the reigning king as fu (婦).[227]
  5. The king's sons and nephews were referred to as zi (子). The word is sometimes understood as a surname, while some understand it as a designation of the eldest son who led a family.[228] It can be translated as 'lord'.[229]

The Shang also applied other prefixes such as Da (大; 'greater') and Xiao (小; 'smaller'). There are three kings – Jian Jia, Qiang Jia and Yang Jia – whose prefixes are of uncertain meaning.[230]

Temples and altars

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Burial pits at a Shang sanctuary
 
Mount Song in Henan, most likely associated with the Shang mountain god Yue (岳)

The ritual centre of the Shang lay on a hill separated by the Huan River, and was refurbished throughout the course of the late Shang state. The condition of the excavated site does not allow a definitive layout to be made. Nevertheless, modern studies agree on some points, that the central area of the centre was the major locus of ritual sacrifices, called Yi, while the southern one houses small ritual buildings.[231] Inscriptions refer to ritual buildings (宗; zōng) as generally consisted of elevated halls (堂; táng), courtyards (庭; tíng) and gates (門; mén).[232] The Shang graph for a temple shows that it possibly contains spirit tablets, although no such tablets have ever been unequivocally attested.[233] Some names that the Shang used to specifically refer to ritual buildings may be related to the celestial square, as those graphs usually embody the squared graph.[234]

In the case of the central Yi complex, the major ritual locus of the Shang, those parts were all separated from the residential buildings. This complex began with a large entrance with matching towers, which indirectly connected with a central bridge, which in turn led to a reception hall with six stairways. Behind it lay a pair of colonnaded halls with nine rooms, together with a large platform on which the ritual focus, an open-air pyramidal altar with a higher altitude than any other parts, was located. The southern buildings seemed to be smaller projections of the Yi design, with a ratio of one to ten. The Shang also constructed columned halls without walls on top of royal burials, such as the temple of Fu Hao, which was built upon her tomb.[235]

Exclusive access to religious buildings were granted for the royal family and ritual groups. Pictographs suggest that the king routinely prayed in temples, in a posture of kneeling with his hands holding ritual objects.[236] Inscriptions indicate that the Shang also announced to spirits with written ritual reports in temples.[237][133] Outdoor altars, not housed within roof structures, seemed to be reserved for only two purposes. These include serving as the beng altar, where the Shang performed sacrifices and worshipped spirits of nature, and serving as the earthen altar for the Earth Power. The five cyclical sacrifices were often performed to ancestors at the buildings topping their tombs, which the Shang often referred to.[238]

Royal practitioners

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Main article: Shang dynasty religious practitioners
 
Shang character for 'dancer' (舞), depicting a dancer holding oxtails

The Shang notion of practitioners centred around the king, who acted as the highest intermediary between the human and spiritual realms; he was considered a 'thearch'.[239] He was assisted by religious groups, divided into specialised teams, despite not being bureaucratic as conventionally described.[240] It seems likely that religious positions played a central role in the Shang government.[241]

The assisting groups typically included diviners (多卜; duōbǔ), scribes (史; shǐ), dancers (舞; wǔ), liturgists (祝; zhù), and the shamans.[242][243] Diviners were numerous; there are about 120 of them, many of whose names are found on oracle bones.[244][130] The profession of dancers is sometimes associated with the shamans.[243] Besides, there were astronomers who observed Mars and comets.[245] Wu Ding's consort Fu Hao also seemed to play a role in religious matters. For example, an inscription records that she hosted a sacrifice in which 500 Qiang prisoners were offered.[246]

It seemed that religious professions of the Shang might be acquired through forms of schooling.[247] Texts written by Wu Ding's scribal officials contain the word 'learn' (學; xué), which can come with a ritual name to imply a course of ritual education for people. In addition, there are inscriptions that seem to be used for teaching, described by Guo Moruo as possible model inscriptions used by teachers. However, the nature of those inscriptions as practice work has been questioned. Other suggestions have been proposed. It is also generally believed that the Shang might have institutionalised training locations for religious teaching.[248]

Regional traditions

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Further information: Shang dynasty religious practitioners

The Shang state directly controlled the area directly surrounding the capital at Yin. Greater swaths of territory were administered by other members of the royal family, with the nature and extent of Shang control over these lands being difficult to fully discern and varying over time.[249][250] The Shang also culturally culturally influenced regions beyond their dominion entirely; there is some evidence to indicate external practice of the Shang religion. In Zhengzhou, a site located 200 km (120 mi) south of Yinxu, four pieces of oracle bone were discovered with short inscriptions possibly dating to the reign of Wu Ding.[251] Some turtle plastrons were unearthed in Daxinzhuang, Shandong, containing some divinatory inscriptions which bear similarities to Wu Ding's diviner groups.[252][253] Hundreds of bones with inscriptions have been unearthed from the site of Zhouyuan, the homeland of the Zhou dynasty. These were probably produced during the last two reigns of the Shang and the early years of Western Zhou, with a distinct writing and calligraphy.[254][255] They mention Zhou worship of Shang ancestors, especially the nearest kings to their time.[256] Though, scholars still disagree about the nature of these divinations.[257] Aside from oracle bones, Shang ritual bronzes from outside lands seem to display both Shang and local characteristics, such as those collected from Hanzhong, Shaanxi.[258]

The prince associated with the Huayuanzhuang East oracle bones probably settled in Rong (戎), a conquered land that was a member of the Shang state.[o][262] He ordered an ancestral temple with spirit tablets to be built, made sacrifices with both local and imported materials, and authorised relatives to participate in common rituals.[263] This prince even acted as the diviner in 26 divinations, a practice different from Wu Ding.[264] However, he rarely worshipped the predynastic and nature powers.[265] Some of Wu Ding's divinations refer to Zi (子), a territory sometimes sanctioned to practice Shang sacrifices.[266]

It is difficult to have a clear view of non-royal practices, since Shang inscriptions hardly mention about those.[148] However, other sites have also yielded materials that indicate Shang religious influence. At the Shang site of Guandimiao, tombs nearly identical to those of Anyang have been excavated.[267] The region that was traditionally called Dapeng probably practised human sacrifice.[268]

Political influence

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Shang character for Kui (夔)

The Shang state relied on allies who lacked a stable relationship with the royal clan. As a result, the king is thought to have incorporated the allies' deities into the Shang religion to gain their support and influence them.[269] One such deity was probably Kui, a mysterious cult recipient who later featured as a personage in classical Chinese texts.[270][271] In addition, worship of the Sun might have been a way for the king to hold sway over other lineages, since offerings to the Sun concerned everyone.[272]

For the Shang, men still played a greater role than women just as ancestors were more influential than ancestresses.[273] The conception of male children was considered a serious matter by the Shang dynasty; ancestral intervention played a role in deciding the children's gender, though according to inscriptions the Shang also considered the child's birthday related to gender formation. This may be demonstrated by the divinations about the conception of Fu Hao, which reveal the days that would make the child a boy or girl.[274]

History

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Neolithic precursors

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The Yangshao culture (c. 5000 – c. 3000 BC)
 
Longshan culture (c. 3000 – c. 1900 BC)

Before the dawn of organised states in China, the area was inhabited by various tribal confederations, which in many cases shared a common belief in the spiritual world, usually integrating elements similar to those of shamanism. Academics such as Kwang-chih Chang propose the existence of shamanic practices in these Neolithic cultures' tradition, but their theory is not supported by any clear evidence.[275] The spirits were thought to be powerful; therefore, Neolithic Chinese peoples engaged in communication with them, through a variety of methods ranging from prayers, grave goods to animal sacrifice.[276] Also in many regions of China, Neolithic cultures practised divination with bones, namely scapulae from cattle, sheep, pigs and deer.[277][278]

Evidence has suggested that Shang cosmology may have its origin in earlier cultures. Some prehistoric Chinese cultures produced artefacts that bear the AZ motif, probably the ancestor of the Shang's taotie.[279] The pattern is probably a Neolithic projection of the same celestial pole the Shang observed.[280] A connection possibly exists between the AZ motif and the Shang tradition of ancestor worship, since the motif itself may have represented Neolithic ancestral spirits, or at least a spiritual object of worship that offered protection to humans.[281][282] A rectangular design from the northern Qijia culture might also be the ancestor of the motif found on Shang ritual bronzes.[283]

In the Chinese traditional history, the tradition of venerating deities was already ongoing during the Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC) that directly preceded the Shang.[284] For example, the Xia's second sovereign Qi was described in multiple texts as a spirit-medium who communicated with Shangdi and performed sacrifices to the deceased.[285][286] The Book of Documents also mentions Shangdi receiving annual sacrifices from Emperor Shun – one of the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors whose reign predated even the Xia.[287] Although these periods are often considered mythical, their corresponding site of Erlitou (c. 2100 – c. 1500 BC) offers evidence of religious activities making use of bronze that were later adopted and developed by the Shang dynasty, such as the use of scapulae for divination.[288]

Early and Late Shang

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Bronze masks, 16th – 14th centuries BC
 
Bronze jue with masks, c. 1300 – c. 1050 BC

Shang practices were not apparently confined to the capital city. Despite limited evidence, as in the case of the inscribed bone in Daxinzhuang that have multiple divination texts.[289] However, little evidence indicates pre-late Shang religious writing.[290] Oracle bones before the Late Shang period are not of the same ordered style as Late Shang materials. A large amount of such bones appear in pre–Late Shang sites, suggesting the prevalence of divination, although it was also likely to be practised by the non-royal people together with those elites.[291]

Some Late Shang kings made religious reforms, such as one unspecified king, whose reforms were documented in the Book of Documents, and Zu Jia, who was indicated by oracle bones to have initiated reforms.[292][293] The reforms of Zu Jia was a thorough ritual schedule that Edward Shaughnessy described as "rigidly conservative" and a "reflection on the great constriction of the Shang kingdom".[294] In the 20th century, sinologists also noticed a deviation from old diviner styles accepted by the last reigns that was a product of the reforms.[295]

By the final years of the Shang, the nature of Shang religious activities had changed. The high god Di and nature spirits frequently appeared in divinations during Wu Ding's reign, but were rarely mentioned during the last reigns when ancestors became dominant.[296] These later divinations tended to be optimistic and were not likely to request actions from ancestors, which probably shows that the Shang changed their beliefs about ancestral powers and the ability of the living to influence these spirits.[297] At the same time, worship of ancestors became more systematised, and a new sacrificial system may have been employed.[298][299] The Shang also switched their worship of some ancestor-like spirits, such as Huang Yin whose cult was prevalent during Wu Ding's reign, but was replaced by Yi Yin during the reign of Wu Yi.[300]

Zhou dynasty continuation

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Further information: Religion of the Predynastic and Western Zhou, Sexagenary cycle, and Chinese gods and immortals
 
Western Zhou tureen dated to the reign of King Wu (1046–1043 BC)
 
Tian Wang gui, containing inscription praising the high god Di and Zhou ancestors

In 1046 BC, the Shang dynasty under the regime of Di Xin collapsed and was replaced by the victorious Zhou dynasty, which used the practices of Shang religion to explain his fall at the Battle of Muye. Western Zhou literature denounces the last kings not only for licentiousness and drunkenness, but also for their purported ignorance of ancestor worship.[301][302][p] Simultaneously, the Zhou also adopted many Shang traditions to ensure legitimacy.[304]

The Shang liturgical calendar was surely adopted by the Zhou, although it is uncertain whether the Zhou court reset the day counting after the dynasty's establishment.[q][306] There still exist distinctions between the Shang and Zhou's use of the cycle, such as the Shang name for a year si (祀) being replaced by the Zhou term nian (年). Towards the end of the Western Zhou, the last term of the 60-cycle, dinghai (丁亥), became frequently used. This calendar was revised through the regime's eight centuries of existence, and the diversification of its use took place during the Warring States period when cultural distinctions became more apparent. The sexagenary cycle central to the calendar remained the exclusive means of day counting throughout the entire Zhou period, but it was not extended to the naming of years.[307] A new system of posthumous names for dead relatives was devised, although some early Zhou people still used the old tradition, including exceptional Zhou kings.[308]

During the Western Zhou (c. 1046 – 771 BC), the notion of Di and Shangdi, as seen in classical texts, was integrated with that of Tian.[309] Di was seen as the one who supported the existence of a dynasty, which coincidentally[clarification needed] links the Shang's downfall to their historical neglect of Di during the last decades.[310] Di was supported by a court filled by Zhou ancestors.[311] For example, during King Wu's reign, Zhou liturgists made an inscription on the Tian Wang gui tureen about King Wen assisting Di.[r][312][313] Di and Tian were sometimes used interchangeably in inscriptional contexts, demonstrated by the inscription on the Fu gui tureen.[314] However, distinctions still exist between the two notions: while Tian was seen as the universal order and the source of calamities, Di was always known as a protecting force of the royal clan.[315][s]

The early Zhou retained their prior Predynastic tradition of inscribing, on oracle bones, inquiries to Shang ancestral deities, such as Di Yi, as their former status was a state recognising Shang suzerainty, and as a result of Di Yi's connection to the Zhou royal family as King Wen of Zhou's in-law.[317] Some early Western Zhou tombs near modern Beijing were constructed in accordance with Shang burial customs, suggesting that these could have been tombs of Shang remnants after the replacement of the dynastic state by the Zhou.[318]

 
Annual Sacrifice to Heaven

Some mass human sacrifices as practised by the Shang was still employed under the Zhou, though at a critically reduced level.[319] Oracle bones gradually ceased to be inscribed, as the Zhou compiled the I Ching, which represented a different tradition of divinatory practice. Zhou royal divinations were not recorded extensively as in the Shang case.[320] The populace in later dynasties practised distinct traditions, mainly due to the influence of Confucianism, Taoism, and other currents that flourished during the Zhou period; however, there were still some parallels between the two dynasties regarding sacrifices.[107]

Legacy

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Further information: Chinese ritual bronzes, Ritual and music system, and Sexagenary cycle
 
Chinese calendar for 2017

Elements of the Shang high god Di persist in Shangdi, a deity that is still worshipped throughout the countries of the Sinosphere. The word Shangdi is sometimes used to denote the Christian God, and the Jade Emperor.[t][321]

Traditional festivals in China, Vietnam and other influenced countries make use of the sexagenary cycle.[u] The lunar calendar's organisation of days names the years, months, days and even hours after the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. The symbolic significance of males that the Shang believed even extends to contemporary China, with families expecting sons more than daughters.[322]

Bronze vessels produced during the Shang are considered an important constituent of the cultural heritage of ancient Chinese civilisation.

Relation to traditional accounts

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Zhou dynasty

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One of the Zhou's classical texts, the Book of Documents, contains moral discourse on Shang tradition, such as the belief in the Shang ancestor Tang to send down calamities on unworthy men. Additionally, this text highlights Shang pyromantic divination by referring to Pan Geng emphasising on those who did not 'presumptuously oppose the decision of the tortoise'.[323] However, the Zhou writers also seemed to focus on criticising the lavish lifestyle and ignorance of the last Shang kings, and Western Zhou works do not mention either human sacrifice or female deities, both playing significant roles during the Shang.[301][324]

Han dynasty

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Sima Qian wrote about Shang religious practices a millennium after the dynasty's fall.

The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian, writing a millennium after the Shang's fall, wrote about their religion. Sima claimed that the Shang people were marked by their utmost devotion to divination and sacrifices, and had decayed from the mark of piety into a state of superstition, which Burton Watson considered substantiated claims that resonate with evidence collected from modern archaeology.[325] He went on to describe the practices of the Shang dynasty, praise religious kings, and detail the negative impacts of offending the gods committed by Wu Yi and Di Xin.[326][327] Sima's posthumous names in terms of both stem and prefix for late Shang kings largely match those given by the Shang inscriptions.[328] However, his descriptions of the Shang religion is not without flaw, as it was coloured with characteristics of the Han dynasty during which Sima lived.[329]

By the time of the Han dynasty, the perception of Di had been significantly altered. While the character retained its meaning as 'High Deity', it was used mainly as a prefix or suffix to add to another word for deifying its meaning. The Han-era Huainanzi, a compilation of debates led by imperial prince Liu An, describes Di as stretching out "over the four weft-cords of Heaven" and lying on a polar referential star similar to the Shang dynasty, the star Kochab (Beta Ursa Minoris).[330] Han texts also identify Di with 'the Great One' (太一; Tàiyī), who was believed to have been worshipped by the early Zhou.[331]

Notes

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  1. ^ The periodisation 1600 to 1046 BC is given by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project.[13] However, many other possible suggestions have been proposed. Most of them place the Shang dynasty's beginning c. 1550 BC, while deviating the end date for a few years.
  2. ^ Modern scholars studying Di often refer to the deity as Shangdi.[21] The Shang conception of Di as a supreme god has been challenged by scholars including Zhu Fenghan (朱鳳翰), who argues instead that Di was a cosmic spirit that had been newly invented by the Shang.[22]
  3. ^ The non-divinatory Jiaguwen Heji 14294 inscription gives the names of the four wind gods and winds they command:[43]
    • The eastern wind god Xi (析) commanded the xie (劦) wind
    • The western wind god Yi (彝) commanded the wei (韋) wind
    • The southern wind god Wei (𡵂) commanded the yi (夷) wind
    • The northern wind god Fu (伏) commanded the yi (伇) wind
    [44][40] Cai Zhemao argues that these names had nomenclatural reasons.[45][clarification needed]
  4. ^ It has been argued that the Shang ancestor cult was motivated by the notion that ancestor spirits would lead other spirits to act favourably towards the human realm—that is, to attempt to make the spirits controllable by humans.[63]
  5. ^ Da Yi was the first traditional Shang king. In Shang inscriptions, his other names can be rendered as Cheng (成), Táng (唐) and Tāng (湯).[64] The last two Shang kings' posthumous names were not found anywhere in the oracle bones due to the termination of Shang rule. They were conventionally referred to as Di Yi and Di Xin, which are anachronistic names.[65]
  6. ^ There is another common variation on the square graph found in inscriptions.[87]
  7. ^ Wang Tao notes that the name taotie was a mere adoption of a later Zhou term for the pattern. He warned that the meaning of the taotie as 'greedy glutton' as now understood was inaccurate.[92]
  8. ^ Other materials for pyromancy have also been found. Oracle bones were probably obtained via the tributary polities of the Shang; for example, one inscription indicates a small state named Que (雀) had sent the Shang 250 shells.[120][121] Excavators of the Yinxu site were informed of pens which might be used by the Shang to keep turtles.[122]
  9. ^ Twenty-six oracle bones from the era of Wu Ding have been dated to 1254 – 1197 BC, with the oldest dated to 1254 – 1221 BC. The probability range given is 68%, but simulation studies indicate that each sample's true age has a probability of 80–90% of falling in the range.[125]
  10. ^ The prognostication and verification are very rare in Shang inscriptions. Most often, the decision to include verification in divinations indicate that the subject divined was of crucial importance to the socio-political situation of the Shang state. Similarly, prognostications are seldom found in inscriptions; for example, only 1.2% of the Bin-group divinations contain this part.[127]
  11. ^ Most divinations about weather, agriculture or wars were made by the court of Wu Ding.
  12. ^ Many divinations were 'divining for the week ahead' (卜旬; buxun), in which diviners would predict events for the next ten-day week after the said ritual.[136]
  13. ^ The Prince of Huayuanzhuang was probably a son of Wu Ding, indicated in seven different oracle bones, though it is uncertain whether he was born by Fu Hao. Inscriptions of his own indicate that Wu Ding and Fu Hao were both in a close relationship with the patron, which supports this position. Besides, modern studies have identified that he worshipped Wu Ding's father Xiao Yi and his wife, addressing them as grandfather or grandmother.[143]
  14. ^ Old Chinese reads wu as myag (Bernhard Karlgren), mjuo < *mjwaɣ (Zhou Fagao), *mjag (Li Fanggui), mju < *ma (Axel Schuessler).
  15. ^ The Shang state was made up of territories administered by the royal family and non-Shang leaders who were related to the king by marriage or supremacy recognition.[259] These were called 'our lands' by the king. In the case of this Shang prince, Wu Ding established rule over his land by issuing commands to him, allocated resources to the estate, and was the one to whom the prince reported.[260] Wu Ding also assigned a royal official to the prince's land.[261]
  16. ^ The Shang inscriptions, however, reveal that the last Shang king was not as religiously ignorant as traditionally described.[303]
  17. ^ The wide geographical distribution of the day-name tradition towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC has been demonstrated. An example is a cemetery in Gaojiapu, Shaanxi.[305]
  18. ^ Original bronze inscription c. 1046 BC: 乙亥，王又（有）大丰（豐），王凡三方，王祀于天室，降，天亡又（佑）王，衣祀于王，不（丕）显考文王，事喜上帝，文王德才(在)上，不（丕）显王乍省，不（丕）□(？)王乍庸。不（丕）克气衣王祀，丁丑，王乡（饗），大宜，王降，乍勋爵后□，隹朕又蔑，每（敏）杨王休于尊簋。
  19. ^ The Zhou strategically forged their own royal lineage coming back directly to Di, which transformed the being into their own guardian.[316]
  20. ^ Matteo Ricci first coined the term Shangdi to denote God in Chinese.
  21. ^ For example, the annual Lunar New Year's Eve CCTV New Year's Gala gala has continued to announce the sexagenary term of the upcoming year.

References

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Works cited

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Further reading

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