Shang Dynasty Essay

The late Shang dynasty left many oracle bones from the process of divination. These bones show the needs and concerns of the ruler and can therefore be used to gain insights to the history, worldview, and social structure of the Shang dynasty. However, in using the oracle bone inscriptions as a method to study the late Shang dynasty, some limitations exist. The documents portray the history and worldview of the Shang dynasty by showing their religious beliefs. Many of the divination charges center on the high god, Di. The Shang rulers sought his approval as illustrated by one such bone: “If we build a settlement, Di will not obstruct (but) approve.” Also, the bones reveal that the Shang believed Di was the provider of rain: “Di, when it comes …show more content…
First, the bones were dated to mainly the last nine kings of the Shang dynasty. This prevents a reconstruction of the earlier history of the Shang. The bones were also concentrated in one location—the city in which the king resided. Since the diviners were ordered by the rulers as to the issues to be divined, the bones mainly reflected the concerns of the rulers. The bones fail to provide insight to the lower classes and what their daily lives, struggles, and beliefs looked like. Also, the limited location of the bones prevents us from reconstructing a history of the entire Shang dynasty and what society looked like outside of the cities. We are limited to only gaining insight to the history of one area, in one specific time frame, and of one particular class—the ruling class. Therefore, the understanding of the Shang’s history, worldview, and social structure is limited by the spatial and temporal concentration of the bones. They offer us with a strong backbone to understanding the Shang dynasty, but do not provide a way to reconstruct a full history of all the people in the entire Shang