Shang Dynasty 商朝

The Shang dynasty 商 was originated during the Chinese Broze Age (1600-1046 BC), and its settlements were in North China, occupying different parts of the present day provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu, its capital was the city of Anyang.

Until recently, archaeologists believed that the Shang kings were the first rulers of northern China. However, new archaeological findings confirmed what the ancient Chinese records said, that there had been another dynasty of kings prior to the Shang kings: the Xia dynasty 夏which ruled northern China between 2100 and 1600 BC. However, it was during the Shang period when one of the main distinctive features of Chinese culture emerged: the Chinese scripture. The first Chinese characters were written on bones and turtle shells by shamans who intended to do divination rituals.  The Shang were also good at casting bronze, their highly skilled casting techniques enabled them to cast thousands of exquisite bronze ritual vessels which were buried in the tombs of their kings because bronze objects symbolized power and wealth. 

Treasure Tomb of the Warrior Queen Fu Hao from Shang Dynasty 妇好墓 (English)