The old Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties was astonishing and epic
Ancient Civilisations of the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties
Ge (dagger-axe) with jade blade and bronze handle, Late Shang dynasty 1300–1046 BCE, Xinxiang Museum collection
The people and treasures of the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties
The history of China is showcased in a exhibition featuring the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties and the people who made these ancient societies in Ancient Civilisation of the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in Henan Province at the Hong Kong Museum of History.
Owl-shaped you (wine vessel), this wine vessel in the form of two owls standing back to back. The wings of the birds, vivid and interesting, are visible on the body of the vessel. Late Shang dynasty, Unearthed from the Xi state cemetery in Mangzhang township, Luoshan, 1980, Xinyang Museum collection
This display of artefacts includes relics classified as grade-one national treasures on loan from prestigious cultural institutions in Henan province. These invaluable treasures provide a chronological narrative of the development of the three oldest dynasties that flourished near the Yellow and Luo rivers.
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Chinese history purportedly extends back over 5,000 years. However, the documentation of the oldest societies and civilisations began only around 841 BCE. China started collaborative and scholarly research with the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project to provide some consensus on its ancestry dates.
Fu Hao gong (wine vessel) with cylindrical foot Late Shang dynasty 1300–1046 BCE Unearthed from the Tomb of Fu Hao, Yinxu, Anyang 1976 Henan Museum collection
Xia-Shang-Zhou dynasties and 5,000 years of history
From 1996 to 2000, scholars confirmed the development of the Xia-Shang-Zhou dynasties by referencing archaeological evidence, ancient scripts, oracle bones and bronze inscriptions on objects from later periods.
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In 2003, using the findings of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project as a basis, The Chinese Civilization Origins Project was launched to continue investigating the inception and early stages of Chinese culture. The projects’ findings substantiate China’s 5,000-plus year heritage.
Fabulous examples of ancient pottery, and jades
Recent excavations and archaeological discoveries provide ample evidence to bolster China’s origin story. Fabulous examples of ancient pottery, bronzes and jades unearthed from sites throughout China in the last century, particularly in the previous decades, verify the birth of Chinese society and its development through diverse and successive dynasties.
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Remnants of ancient walled cities show several distinct civilisations, with sedentary agriculture emerging in the lower basins of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and by small settlements with low populations from as far back as 10,000 years ago.
Back Left: Bronze zun (wine vessel), Warring States period; Middle: Ding (food vessel) with Taotie pattern, Western Zhou, Right: Bronze pan (water vessel) Warring States period, Front: Jade tiger, Western Zhou
Evidence of man-made walls, fortifications and moats built to protect settlements show the emergence of these defensive communities as the start of early civilisation in China.
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These early stages of social development created enduring communities whereby people remained rooted in a primary location for cultivating plants and raising animals. As this societal evolution advanced, it lessened reliance on nomadic hunting and gathering.
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With their strength as a collective and success in growing and storing food, these societies prospered during the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties ensuring population growth. This era progressed through China’s Neolithic period, which was characterised by stone tools dating from 7000 to 1700 BCE.
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With each new archaeological discovery and the dating of the latest findings, scholars began to reveal more evidence of how these societies thrived and were governed. Henan, located in the Central Plains, had long been declared the origin of ancient China and the centre of multiple dynasties.
Bronze lei (wine vessel), Late Shang dynasty 1300–1046 BCE, Unearthed from the Xindian site, Anyang 2018, Anyang Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology collection
Of all these, the earliest, the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, are among the most foundational as they established institutional systems, social hierarchies, and ceremonial, artistic and cultural traditions that persisted through successive dynasties.
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As the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties rose and fell, multiplied and fractured, smaller states and territories emerged and waned. During these dynasties, a writing system inscribed on oracle bones emerged, and the most ancient of these provided a record of the concerns of the day.
Oracle bone with divination inscriptions
Written language played a significant part in laying the basis for the continuous development of the Chinese civilisation.
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The artefacts on display illustrate the progress in each ancient civilisation’s social, political and cultural development. Employing a chronological narrative, the nuances emanating from these three dynasties are deciphered in this curated show.
Xia dynasty 2070-1600 BCE
With no written records from the Xia dynasty, people only knew of a mysterious ancient culture on the Central Plains based on folklore and fables passed on by oral tradition.
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Obscure proof of the existence of the Xia dynasty was first found in ancient text on bamboo manuscripts, stone carvings and inscriptions on bronze artefacts produced in later periods. This evidence shows that the Xia dynasty was known and memorialised through the oral stories handed down from generation to generation.
Bronze and Pottery Artefacts
These early accounts chronicled the fabled story of Yu the Great, The Tamer of the Flood. Yu’s exploits told how he worked tirelessly to tame the chronically flooding Yellow River. He led his people, once besieged by frequent deluge and destruction, to a new era of calm and stability.
His success made Yu the Great a hero and the new ruler of the entire realm. Yu’s ascension marked the first hereditary Chinese dynasty, with seventeen kings over fourteen generations spanning 400 years.
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Supplemental understanding of the artefacts and remains found in archaeological sites further supports the ancestry and history of the Xia dynasty. The ruins of large settlements, such as the Bronze Age Erlitou site in Henan province, are believed to be physical proof of a Xia dynasty-era society.
Jade qi-bi (notched axe in the shape of a disc), Xia dynasty 2070-1600 BCE, Unearthed from the Erlitou site, Yanshi, 1975, Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital Collection
Many fine artefacts unearthed from the Erlitou site are on display. A jade qi-bi is one of these. With serrated edges on both sides, this jade item gave its owner status and power. The shape combines the jade qi, an axe and ceremonial weapon and the jade bi, a disc object used in sacrificial rituals.
Jade has been highly desirable in China since pre-history and throughout the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties. Its continuous production in all shapes and for many purposes showed the importance it played in the lives of its people for many millennia.
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For the wealthy elites, jade was used decoratively and as an emblem of their social standing, signifying their status.
Jade’s importance in Chinese culture as a symbol of social ranking is long established, having been found in many archaeological sites as burial objects.
Turquoise beaded necklace, Xia dynasty 2070-1600 BCE, Unearthed from the Erlitou site, Yanshi, 1981, Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital collection
A marvellous example is a green and lustrous beaded necklace of eighty-eight turquoise tube beads strung together. Turquoise was regarded as a type of jade in traditional culture and has long been used in China.
This necklace’s delicate craftsmanship and detail showed immense technical prowess, with the smallest bead only 4 mm long and the largest 2.8 cm.
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It would have been an expensive item to produce in terms of material, time and labour. Thus, this beaded necklace was a burial item reserved for a person of considerable affluence.
A boar head-shaped lid of a pottery vessel Xia dynasty 2070-1600 BCE Unearthed from the Xinzhai site, 2000 Zhengzhou Municipal Institute of Archaeology collection
Items retrieved from burial sites showed that many objects were produced for ritual use. A boar-head-shaped pottery lid was one of these. It shows the sculpted features of a boar’s face, wonderfully crafted.
It is presumed to be reserved for ceremonial or sacrificial offerings as it shows no signs of everyday use.
Many objects were produced for ritual use
A pottery he, a wine vessel with string patterns, would have been made for ordinary use. Pottery was made from inexpensive material and constructed into cooking and food storage receptacles.
Pottery he (wine vessel) with string pattern, Xia dynasty 2070-1600 BCE, Unearthed from the Huadizui site, Gongyi, 2003 Zhengzhou Municipal Institute of Archaeology collection
The pottery he was used to adjust the strength of wine, and this example shows the purposeful design of a bulbous round body connected to three hollow sack-shaped feet for increased capacity and convenient heating over a fire.
Shang dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
In 1600 BCE, the Shang, a regional power, overthrew the Xia dynasty to give rise to a period of over 500 years, with thirty-one kings ruling over seventeen generations. During this era, tremendous innovation was seen in metalwork, particularly in producing bronze items for the elite, with many purposefully created for a ritual context.
Bronze jia (wine vessel), Early Shang dynasty
Sophisticated bronze objects became a highly codified art and were an expression of power and authority. The Shang dynasty’s cultural influence, hierarchy and social stratification extended to territories in the basins of the Yangtze and West Liao rivers.
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The Shang dynasty was the earliest culture to provide written documentation of its society. These were supplied through the scripts inscribed on oracle bones.
Oracle bone characters and their modern equivalent
Nobles in the Shang dynasty used tortoise plastrons or ox scapulae in divination rituals, whereby a hot poker was used to crack the bone, and the resulting cracks were deciphered as divine answers to questions submitted.
After the divination rituals, the oracle bones were inscribed with the questions and answers and then stored. Inscriptions on oracle bones provide details of religious beliefs, sacrifices, births, ageing, illnesses, deaths, war, weather and harvests.
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In 1936, a pit containing 17,000 oracle bones was discovered, which provided ample revelation of the thoughts and concerns of the people during that period.
Bone dagger with a cicada pattern, Early Shang dynasty, 1600–1300 BCE, Unearthed from Shang city, site in Zhengzhou, 1976, Zhengzhou Museum collection
A bone dagger with a cicada pattern indicates that bone was used as a material for other purposes. The remains of bone workshops have been found in the inner and outer cities of a Shang dynasty city in Zhengzhou.
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Bone daggers were made by splitting and grinding the ribs of animals. Usually flat and long, these bones were also likely used as a shuttle for weaving.
White pottery elephant-shaped zun (wine vessel), Late Shang dynasty 1300–1046 BCE, Xinxiang Museum collection
Other Shang dynasty artefacts show a fascination with animals, especially fantastic beasts and hybrid creatures. A white pottery elephant-shaped zun, used as a vessel for wine, shows a delicately crafted elephant’s body elaborately adorned with patterns.
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Another animal-shaped pottery zun, most likely used as a ceremonial wine container, has a head resembling that of a sheep. Still, its belly, tail and feet are different, producing a hybrid creature.
Sacrificial-animal-shaped pottery zun (wine vessel) Early Shang dynasty 1600–1300 BCE Unearthed from the Xiaoshuangqiao site, Zhengzhou, 2000 Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology collection
Zhou dynasty 1046–256 BCE
The Zhou was a regional power during the Shang dynasty. In 1046, they gained power and conquered the ruling Shang, marking the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, which lasted almost 800 years – the longest reign in Chinese history.
Extensive cultural achievements and advancements in agriculture, literature, arts and warfare marked its lengthy legacy.
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The Zhou dynasty was subdivided into the Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE), Eastern Zhou (770-256 BCE), Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BCE) and the Warring States period (476-221 BCE).
Bronze food vessels, Western Zhou 1046–771 BCE, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology collection
As the name states, the Warring States period was one of constant conflict, a consequence of the long decline of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou’s dwindling power was caused by their fractured decentralised governance of a large territory, leading to multiple states ruled by their kings, nobles and feudal systems.
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As these individual states gained wealth and grew more independent, the Zhou dynasty waned.
Qin dynasty rises and unifies China
The importance of the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties is punctuated in 221 BCE, when the story of China’s origin pivots dramatically as the Qin dynasty rises after defeating and then consolidating the territories from multiple states.
Wang Zi Wu ding (food vessel), Spring and Autumn period
This heralded the first unified imperial China, governed and consolidated under one ruler with a single system of weights and measures.
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As the Zhou dynasty declined, the loss of central authority was reflected in the arts as the hierarchy and limitations established during the Shang dynasty weakened. Bronze objects and luxurious goods were no longer reserved for rituals or a select populace.
Jade Yuan (ritual token object), Spring and Autumn period
Lesser nobles, aristocrats and ranking officials could commission and purchase valuable items such as bronze, jade and other desirables to display their rising status during their lifetimes and be remembered after their deaths.
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This led to a flourishing production and the designs of more everyday items, like wine vessels and musical instruments, such as the bianzhongs, fashioned in the shape of a bell.
Bianzhong (musical instruments), Spring and Autumn period, Unearthed from the Zheng state sacrificial site, Xinzheng, 1997, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology collection
A set of bronze bianzhong hanging on a wooden frame on display in the exhibition, as well as the many such relics found in archaeological sites, show the importance that musical instruments held in the society of the Zhou dynasty.
Jade face cover ( Mi Mu), Western Zhou 1046–771 BCE, Unearthed from Tomb No. 2001 of Guo State Cemetery, Sanmenxia, 1990, Henan Museum collection
Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties adorn the deceased
A Jade face cover is another fine example of a Zhou dynasty burial object. Also known as Mi Mu, this was a common burial jade artefact found in ancient noble tombs. The face cover is composed of fifty-eight jade pieces, arranged based on a person’s facial structure, for sewing onto silk fabrics and placing over the face of the deceased.
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Ancient people believed jade could seal the spirit and soul and prevent the body from decaying. Those with the wealth to do so in the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties would adorn their deceased with fabulous treasures in elaborate and heavily laden tombs.
Bronze pan (water vessel) & Bronze yi (water vessel), Western Zhou 1046–771 BCE, Unearthed from Tomb No. 8 of Ying State Cemetery,, Pingdingshan, 1989, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology collection
Many bronze food and vessels used by nobles are on display. A bronze yi and a bronze pan from the Western Zhou period show ancient washing utensils and ritual objects.
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The yi is used to pour water, while the pan is used to catch the water used to wash the hands. The yi and pan were used for a ritual prevalent during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, whereby nobles would perform strict washing ceremonies to clean their hands before and after sacrifices and banquets.
Bronze wine vessels, Late Shang dynasty
These objects and the splendid artefacts chronicling the ancient civilisation of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties enhance our understanding of these three foundational dynasties and the sequential development of Chinese cultures before the founding of the Qin dynasty, which unified China.
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This exhibition is the first part of the General History of China series, launched by the Hong Kong Museum of History in collaboration with the newly established Chinese Culture Promotion Office, set up to enhance awareness and interest in Chinese history and culture.
Bone ware with animal-mask pattern, Xia dynasty, Unearthed from the Erlitou site, Yanshi, 2004, Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital collection
By showcasing the history of the three earliest dynasties of China, Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties, we are provided with the opportunity to learn the broad history and origin of the Chinese nation.
Text & photos by Cammy Yiu
