Predynastic Shang or Proto-Shang (; ) refers to the state of Shang that is believed to have existed during the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...

in ancient China, before its conquest of the Xia in approximately 1600 BC that led to the establishment of the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally suc ...

. The Predynastic Shang started from Xie, a son of

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and th ...

and the first known Shang ancestor. Xie is said to have helped

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures promine ...

, the founder of the Xia dynasty, to control the

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeva ...

and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief. The period would last until

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

defeated

Jie of Xia King Jie (; traditionally 1728–1675 BC) was the 17th and last ruler of the Xia dynasty of China. He is traditionally regarded as a tyrant and oppressor who brought about the collapse of a dynasty.劉煒/著. 002(2002) Chinese civilization in a ...

in the

Battle of Mingtiao The Battle of Mingtiao was a battle between the Shang dynasty and the Xia dynasty, resulting in a Shang victory which created the elevation circumstances of the Duke of Shang to the throne of China. Background When the throne of Xia dynasty wa ...

, eventually overthrowing the Xia dynasty. During the period of the 14 predynastic Shang rulers before Tang, the capital changed eight times. The area where early forms of Predynastic Shang culture are found include the eastern foothills of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

and the area around the city of

Weihui Weihui (), formerly Jixian or Ji County (), is a county-level city in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinxiang Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, north of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan ...

. These sites are close to places traditionally considered Xia dynasty sites, including the area of the

Erlitou culture The Erlitou culture was an early Bronze Age urban society and archaeological culture that existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. A 2007 study of radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750 to 1530 ...

Yanshi Yanshi District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, China. Yanshi lies on the Luo River and is the easternmost county-level division of Luoyang. History After the Zhou conquest of Shang in mid-11th ...

, although there are differences between the two cultures.

List of rulers

Six Spirits

Among Predynastic Shang rulers Shang Jia (1st generation) and the five other leaders including Bao Yi (2nd generation), Bao Bing (3rd generation), Bao Ding (4th generation), Zhu Ren (5th generation), and Zhu Gui (6th generation) were addressed the ''Six Spirits'', the beings who dictated harvests, by the kings of the

who practiced a spiritual religion that includes veneration of deceased royal ancestors. Among of the six, Shang Jia was the highest, commonly interpreted to be identical with Di; meanwhile, the remaining five were commonly referred to as the "Lesser Spirits". The "Six Spirits" appear frequently on Shang

oracle bone Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. '' Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used fo ...

s, where they receive considerable numbers of sacrifices.

References

{{Shang dynasty topics Former countries in Chinese history Xia dynasty Shang dynasty

List of rulers

Six Spirits

See also

References