| Religion of the Shang dynasty | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A Shang oracle bone inscribed with the results of divination[1] | |
| Type | Polytheism |
| Theology | |
| Region | Yellow River valley |
| Language | Old Chinese |
| Part of a series on |
| Chinese folk religion |
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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 supernatural gods. Methods of communication with the spirits included divinations inscribed on oracle bones and sacrifice of living beings. The Shang built large tombs,[2] reflecting a belief in the afterlife and in sacred places. Ritual bronze vessels and oracle bones have been excavated at Yinxu, the site of the Shang capital Yin.[3][4] Many of these archaeological discoveries facilitate understandings of Shang religious beliefs and practices through a large amount of evidence.[5] These deities formed a pantheon headed by the high god Di.[6]
Religion played a significant role in Shang court life. Deities consistently received various honorary ceremonies. For this, Shang astronomers created a sophisticated calendar system based on a 60-day cycle.[7] 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.[8]
The Shang religion originated in the Yellow River valley, which comprised the heartland of Chinese civilisation during the dynasty's rule.[a] The earliest inscriptions were made c. 1250 BC, during the reign of the king Wu Ding, roughly a millennium before the end of ancient China in 221 BC, although the script is believed to be older.[10][11][12][13] Throughout over two hundred years, this dynasty increased its religious influence and experienced cultural exchanges by various means. 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 derived elements such as calendar use and ancestor worship still reflected in traditions throughout the Sinosphere.
- ^ Chen et al. (2020), pp. 227–230.
- ^ Mizoguchi & Uchida (2018), pp. 709–712.
- ^ Bai (2002).
- ^ Wilkinson (2022).
- ^ Keightley (1999), pp. 251–252.
- ^ Didier (2009a), p. 161.
- ^ Smith (2011a), p. 1.
- ^ Creel (1960), p. 113.
- ^ Lee (2002), p. 28.
- ^ Boltz (1986), p. 420.
- ^ Liu et al. (2021), p. 165.
- ^ Takashima 2012, p. 142 dates the earliest inscription to 1230 BC.
- ^ Tanner (2010), p. 40.
- ^ Pankenier (1981–1982), p. 23.
- ^ Eno (2008).
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