{{Short description|21st-century BC precursor to the Shang dynasty}} {{Infobox Former Country | image_map = Xiaqiyuan map.svg | image_map_alt = Relief map of eastern China with a north-south oval marking an area in western Hebei and northern Henan | image_map_caption = Location of the [[Xiaqiyuan culture]], proposed by many archaeologists as the Proto-Shang | native_name = 先商 | conventional_long_name = Predynastic Shang | common_name = | status = Autonomous state within [[Xia dynasty]] | government_type = Chiefdom | title_leader = Leader | year_start = {{Circa|21st century BC}} | year_end = {{Circa|1600 BC}} | s1 = Shang dynasty | event_start = Start of [[Xie of Shang|Xie]]'s rule | event_end = Established dynasty | event1 = [[Battle of Mingtiao]] | date_event1 = {{Circa|1600 BC}} | capital = | common_languages = [[Old Chinese]] | religion = [[Religion of the Shang dynasty|Shang state religion]] | leader1 = [[Xie of Shang|Xie]] (first) | leader2= [[Tang of Shang|Tang]] (last) | today = [[China]] }} {{History of China}} '''Predynastic Shang''' or '''Proto-Shang''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|æ|ŋ}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHANG Definition & Meaning {{!}} Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/shang |access-date=2026-02-14 |website=www.dictionary.com}}</ref> {{lang-zh|c=先商}}) was the tribal [[Shang dynasty]] chiefdom situated within the [[Xia dynasty]] prior the overthrow of their ruler, [[Jie of Xia]], in traditional Chinese historiography.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Magic Square: Cities in Ancient China|author = Alfred Schinz|publisher = Axel Menges|year = 1996|isbn = 9783930698028|page = 27}}</ref><ref name="k1999">{{cite book |last1=Keightley |first1=David N |title=The Cambridge history of ancient China: from the origins of civilization to 221 B.C |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |isbn=978-0-521-47030-8 |chapter=The Shang: China's first historical dynasty}}</ref> The [[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project]] identifies the end of Predynastic Shang as {{circa|1600 B.C.}}, with the founding of the [[Erligang culture]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Yun Kuen |title=Building the Chronology of Early Chinese History |journal=Asian Perspectives |date=March 2002 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=15–42 |doi=10.1353/asi.2002.0006}} {{twlac|doi=10.1353/asi.2002.0006}}</ref> which is traditionally considered to be the rough date of the [[Battle of Mingtiao]].<ref name="zgts">{{Cite book|last1=戴|first1=逸|last2=龔|first2=書鐸|script-title=zh:史前‧夏‧商‧西周|location=Hong Kong|series=中國通史（學生彩圖版）|pages=50,51; 60–63|isbn=978-962-8792-80-1|language=Chinese}}</ref>
==Traditional historiography== ===Founding myth=== [[File:Xie of Shang.png|thumb|200px|Xie, the legendary founder of Predynastic Shang.]] Traditional Chinese historiography as it pertains to Predynastic Shang is typically derived from [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', which claims that Predynastic Shang began with [[Xie of Shang]], the son of [[Emperor Ku]] and a descendant of the [[Yellow Emperor]].<ref name="shiji">{{cite book |last1=Sima |first1=Qian |editor1-last=Sturgeon |editor1-first=Donald |title=史記 |publisher=Chinese Text Project |url=https://ctext.org/shiji |language=lzh |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian}}</ref> Xie is said to have been born from an egg laid by a "dark bird" (''xuanniao'' 玄鳥) that was eaten by his mother, Jian Di ({{lang|zh|簡狄}}) of the Yousong clan ({{lang|zh|有娀氏}}). As he grew up, Xie is said to have helped [[Yu the Great]] control the [[Great Flood (China)|flooding of the Yellow River]] that decimated cultures at the time. After succeeding in his work, [[Emperor Shun]] offered him a fief and the role of Minister of Instruction, which thereby founded Shang as a ''fang'' state. Over time, Shang flourished, going through several rulers, such as [[Wang Hai of Shang|Wang Hai]] and [[Shi Ren of Shang|Shi Ren]],<ref name="shiji" /> who would go on to be revered as High Ancestors ({{lang|zh|高祖)}}.<ref name="k1999" /> During this period,<ref name="Smith & Fan 2021"/> the capital changed eight times, eventually landing at [[Yinxu|Yin]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.thoughtco.com/shang-dynasty-walled-cities-ancient-china-117664 | title = The Walled Shang Dynasty Cities of Ancient China | access-date = June 29, 2024}}</ref> which would be the post-Shang name for the tribe used by Sima Qian.<ref name="shiji" />
After the passing of Yu the Great, the rulers of Xia became progressively more belligerent, corrupt, and irresponsible. This came to a head when [[Jie of Xia]] ordered that a new palace be built, which took 7 years and left the people resentful of him. As [[Tang of Shang]], then-ruler of Shang, treated his allies with respect and virtue, they banded together with him to rebel against Xia hegemony in the [[Battle of Mingtiao]].<ref name="shiji" />
===Relationship with the Xia dynasty=== ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' documents a heavy association with the [[Xia dynasty]], a semi-legendary culture said to have been located around modern-day [[Henan]] and [[Shanxi]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Qian |first1=Mu |title=史记地名考 [Examination of Placenames in Records of the Grand Historian] |date=2001 |publisher=The Commercial Press |location=Beijing |isbn=978-7-100-03240-7 |edition=2nd impr. 2004}}</ref> However, archaeological evidence for the Xia dynasty's existence is tenuous, given the lack of written records,<ref name="corpus">{{cite web |title=先秦甲骨金文簡牘詞彙庫 |url=https://inscription.asdc.sinica.edu.tw/c_index.php |publisher=Academia Sinica}}</ref> and strong arguments have been made that it was an invention made by the [[Zhou dynasty]] used to post-hoc justify its takeover of the [[Late Shang]].<ref name="liu2007">{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Li |last2=Xu |first2=Hong |title=Rethinking Erlitou: legend, history and Chinese archaeology |journal=Antiquity |date=December 2007 |volume=81 |issue=314 |pages=886–901 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00095983}}</ref>
If the assumption that the Xia dynasty existed is taken as fact, then the Shang concept of ''fang'' 方 nations could potentially be incompatible with the Xia's concept of the [[Nine Provinces]]. However, scholars such as Tong Zhuchen have argued that it could be that ''fang'' nations were tribes not within the Xia sphere of influence, but within the Nine Provinces regardless.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Tong Zhuchen 佟柱臣|year=1991|title=中国夏商王国文明与方国文明试论 [A tentative discussion on the civilization of Xia and Shang Kingdoms and the civilization of Fang Kingdom in China]|journal=考古|volume=11|pages=1003–1018|location=Beijing|publisher=中国社会科学院考古研究所考古杂志社}}</ref>
== List of rulers == {| class="wikitable" style="margin: left;" ! # ! English name ! Chinese name |- | align="center" | 1 || [[Xie of Shang|Xie]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 契 |- | align="center" | 2 || [[Zhao Ming of Shang|Zhao Ming]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 昭明 |- | align="center" | 3 || [[Xiang Tu]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 相土 |- | align="center" | 4 || [[Chang Ruo]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 昌若 |- | align="center" | 5 || [[Cao Yu of Shang|Cao Yu]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 曹圉 |- | align="center" | 6 || [[Ming of Shang|Ming]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 冥 |- | align="center" | 7 || [[Wang Hai of Shang|Wang Hai]]<ref name="shiji" /> || 王亥 |- | align="center" | 8 || [[Wang Gen of Shang|Wang Gen]]<ref name="Smith & Fan 2021">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jonathan |last2=Fan |first2=Yuzhou |editor1-first=Elizabeth |editor1-last=Childs-Johnson|chapter=The Cultural and Historical Setting of the Shang |title=The Oxford Handbook of Early China |date=14 January 2021 |at=Page 252, note 3 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199328369.013.12 |isbn=978-0-19-932836-9}} {{twlac|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199328369.013.12}}</ref> || 王亙 |- | align="center" | 9 || [[Shang Jia]]<ref name="k1985">{{cite book |last1=Keightley |first1=David N. |title=Sources of Shang history: The Oracle-bone inscriptions of bronze age China |date=1985 |publisher=University of California press |location=Berkeley Los Angeles London |isbn=0-520-05455-5 |pages=185–187 |url=https://archive.org/details/keightley-sources-of-shang-history-1978/page/185/mode/2up |access-date=14 February 2026}}</ref><ref name="shiji" /> || 上甲 |- | align="center" | 10 || [[Bao Yi of Shang|Bao Yi]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 匚乙 |- | align="center" | 11 || [[Bao Bing of Shang|Bao Bing]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 匚丙 |- | align="center" | 12 || [[Bao Ding of Shang|Bao Ding]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 匚丁 |- | align="center" | 13 || [[Shi Ren of Shang|Shi Ren]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 示壬 |- | align="center" | 14 || [[Shi Gui of Shang|Shi Gui]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 示癸 |- | align="center" | 15 || [[Tang of Shang|Tang]]<ref name="k1985" /><ref name="shiji" /> || 太乙 |}
==Legacy== ===During the [[Shang dynasty]]=== ==== Six Spirits ==== {{see also|Shang ancestral deification}} Six of the later Predynastic Shang rulers; [[Shang Jia]], [[Bao Yi of Shang|Bao Yi]], [[Bao Bing of Shang|Bao Bing]], [[Bao Ding of Shang|Bao Ding]], [[Shi Ren of Shang|Shi Ren]], and [[Shi Gui of Shang|Shi Gui]], would go on to be venerated in the [[Religion of the Shang dynasty]] as ancestral deities during the Shang dynasty, with reverence being displayed into the [[Late Shang]] period. These individuals, dubbed the Six Spirits ({{lang|zh|六示}}), would receive wealthy sacrifices, be consulted for administrative guidance, receive requests for protection and good harvest, among numerous other requests.
Among the six, Shang Jia was the highest, commonly interpreted to be identical with Di<ref>{{cite journal|last=Didier|first=John C.|title=In and Outside the Square: The Sky and the Power of Belief in Ancient China and the World, c. 4500 BC – AD 200|journal=[[Sino-Platonic Papers]]|issue=192|publisher=Victor H. Mair|date=2009}}</ref> and was seen as a sun deity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Childs-Johnson |first1=Elizabeth |title=Urban daemons of early Shang |journal=Archaeological Research in Asia |date=June 2018 |volume=14 |pages=135–150 |doi=10.1016/j.ara.2016.08.001}}</ref> Meanwhile, the remaining five were commonly referred to as the "Lesser Spirits" and saw less extravagant rituals.<ref>{{cite web |last=Eno |first=Robert |date=2010a |title=History G380: Shang Religion |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/23460/3.6-Shang_Religion-2010.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y |publisher=Indiana University}}</ref> The "Six Spirits" appear frequently on Shang [[oracle bone]]s, sometimes being revered in groups, or otherwise individually.
===[[Zhou dynasty]] mentions=== [[Tang of Shang]] is mentioned prominently in Zhou dynasty materials, particularly [[Confucianist]] materials such as the ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'', where he is mentioned in all Sacrificial Odes of Shang ({{lang|zh|商頌}}).<ref>{{cite wikisource|author=孔丘|title=詩經|wslanguage=zh}}</ref> Furthermore, speeches made by [[Yi Yin]] and Tang are recorded in the ''[[Book of Documents]]'',<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=尚書|wslanguage=zh}}</ref> ''[[Xunzi (book)|Xunzi]]'',<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=荀子|wslanguage=zh}}</ref> and the ''[[Bamboo Annals]]'', where he is typically described as a sage-king.
Tang is mentioned as an example by [[Zi Xia]] in the ''[[Analects]]'' as an example of [[Ren (Confucianism)|ren]].<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=論語|chapter=顏淵}}</ref> <blockquote> 樊遲問仁。子曰：「愛人。」問知。子曰：「知人。」樊遲未達。子曰：「舉直錯諸枉，能使枉者直。」樊遲退，見子夏。曰：「鄉也吾見於夫子而問知，子曰，『舉直錯諸枉，能使枉者直』，何謂也？」子夏曰：「富哉言乎！舜有天下，選於眾，舉皋陶，不仁者遠矣。湯有天下，選於眾，舉伊尹，不仁者遠矣。」<br> Fan Chi asked about benevolence. The Master said, "It is to love all men." He asked about knowledge. The Master said, "It is to know all men." Fan Chi did not immediately understand these answers. The Master said, "Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in this way the crooked can be made to be upright." Fan Chi retired, and, seeing Zi Xia, he said to him, "A Little while ago, I had an interview with our Master, and asked him about knowledge. He said, 'Employ the upright, and put aside all the crooked; in this way, the crooked will be made to be upright.' What did he mean?" Zi Xia said, "Truly rich is his saying! Shun, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed Gao Yao, on which all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. Tang, being in possession of the kingdom, selected from among all the people, and employed Yi Yin, and all who were devoid of virtue disappeared." - James Legge translation, 1888 </blockquote>
== Archaeology == No written records from Predynastic Shang have been uncovered; the earliest date back to the [[Late Shang]] period of [[Wu Ding]]. Archaeologists in China have sought to divide the earlier part of the Shang dynasty, and the preceding Xia dynasty, between the dominant bronze-using civilizations of the period, the [[Erligang culture]] (c. 1600–1400 BC) and the aforementioned [[Erlitou culture]] (c. 1880–1520 BC). The current dominant view, adopted by the [[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project]], is to identify the later part of Xia with Erlitou and the early Shang with Erligang.<ref name="liu2007"/>
The [[Xiaqiyuan culture]], recognised by their distinct style of pottery,<ref>{{cite book | surname = Liu | given = Li | author-link = Liu Li (archaeologist) | title = The Chinese Neolithic: trajectories to early states | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-521-81184-2}}</ref> was a contemporary of the Erlitou, occupying the eastern foothills of the [[Taihang Mountains]] to its north. Many archaeologists identify this culture, or one of its variants, as the Proto-Shang, primarily on the basis of geographical proximity and similar pottery types to those of Erligang.<ref>{{cite book | surname1 = Liu | given1 = Li | surname2 = Chen | given2 = Xingcan | author2-link = Chen Xingcan | title = The Archaeology of China: From the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0-521-64310-8 | pages = 274–275 }}</ref>
== See also == * [[Shang archaeology]] * [[Periodization of the Shang dynasty]] * [[Late Shang]] * [[Predynastic Zhou]] * [[List of Chinese monarchs]]
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Shang dynasty topics}}
[[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]] [[Category:Xia dynasty]] [[Category:Shang dynasty]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 16th century BC]] [[Category:21st-century BC establishments]]