Religion of the Shang dynasty

The state religion of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC) involved trained practitioners communicating with deities, including deceased ancestors and nature spirits. These deities formed a pantheon headed by the high god Di.^[2] Methods of communication with spirits included divinations written on oracle bones and sacrifice of living beings. Much of what is known about Shang religion has been discovered through archaeological work at Yinxu – the site of Yin, the final Shang capital – among other sites.^[3] At the site, inscriptions on oracle bones and ritual bronze vessels have been excavated.^[4][5] The earliest attested writings were made c. 1250 BC, during the reign of King Wu Ding – though the attested script is fully mature, and is believed to have emerged significantly earlier.^[6][7][8][9]

Religion played a significant role in Shang court life. The Shang built large tombs,^[10] reflecting a belief in the afterlife and in sacred places. Deities were constantly honoured with ceremonies, the scheduling of which was facilitated by Shang astronomers via the invention of a sophisticated calendar system based on a 60-day cycle.^[11] 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.^[12]

The Shang originated in the Yellow River valley,^[a] and for over two hundred years, their religion influenced and was influenced by the traditions of neighbouring peoples. After 1046 BC, the Zhou dynasty, which replaced the Shang, gradually assimilated elements of Di into its own cosmology. Elements of Shang beliefs and practices were integrated into later Chinese culture, with ancestor worship and the calendar still reflected in traditions throughout the Sinosphere.

Certain characteristics of the Shang state religion have been identified as prefiguring later elements of Chinese bureaucratic culture.^[14][15][16] The Shang articulated a pantheon led by a supreme being and filled with deities of various origins, particularly ancestral and natural.^[17] Despite the diversity of spirits, Shang religion was dominated by ancestor worship, with the majority of cultic attention dedicated to ancestral spirits.^[18]

The highest in the Shang pantheon was Di (帝), the 'High God'.^[20][21][b] In many oracle bone inscriptions, Di is described as presiding over a hierarchy of spirits, including former humans and nature deities, of which all were under Di's control.^[24][25] Di was not described by Shang priests in works of scripture; instead, the will of Di could only be known through the practice of divination using oracle bones.^[26][27][c]

The Shang believed that Di exercised authority over both the natural and human worlds, which included controlling the climate, influencing the harvest, and overseeing the outcomes of battles.^[25][29] Di expressed approval or disapproval over the everyday actions of humans, and was thought to be capable of either providing aid or sending down disasters.^[29][30] Di was also the only deity who could issue commands (令; lìng).^[30] While the Shang conducted rituals to ensure Di would not harm them, there is no evidence that they made sacrifices to Di as they did to other spirits, implying a significant distinction in how Di was perceived.^[2][31]

The identity of Di has been the subject of debate.^[32] Some scholars proposed that the Shang conceived of Di in a manner similar to the Judeo-Christian God.^[20] Another approach conflates Di with the legendary Emperor Ku, the third of the Five Emperors mentioned as preceding the Shang in Sima Qian's Shiji (c. 91 BC), and who was addressed as "High Ancestor" in at least four Shang inscriptions.^[33][34] Some historians assert that having the highest god as their ancestor, the Shang would ensure their rule on earth.^[35]

Another view is that Shang religion did not conceive of a high god as such, and that Di was a generic word applicable to all divine powers.^[36] According to Robert Eno, Di was applied to the names of some ancestors, despite the fact that these spirits were not considered comparably powerful to Di.^[37] From this, Eno infers that Di was not a name for one god in particular, but could refer to any spirit.^[38][39] While agreeing with Eno against the existence of a singular god, John C. Didier states instead that the Shang likely had a particularised, impersonal conception of Di as a composite of ancestor and nature powers.^[40]

The Shang worshipped spirits of the cardinal directions, which acted as the controllers of four winds.^[41][42] The winds, in turn, were associated with the four seasons.^[43][d] Together, the four winds and their associated deities represented the cosmic will of Di and carried its authority to affect agriculture. Rituals were conducted to appease the wind gods, and to pray for successful harvests. Wind also appears in inscriptions as a deity on its own, and there are other spirits could control winds.^[45][46]

The Shang economy depended heavily on agriculture, and they attached agricultural failures to various nature powers.^[47] The Earth Power She (社) – or Tu (土) in Shang inscriptions – was associated with protection from misfortune, and potentially also with the feminine.^[48][49] Tu may have been related in some manner to the Tufang (土方) tribe that neighboured the Shang, and with whom the Shang maintained agricultural relations.^[50] The Shang nature cult also recognised the Mountain Power Yue (岳), which modern scholars identify as Mount Song, and the River Power He (河), a god representing the Yellow River.^[51][52][e] Yue and He were the only nature spirits with clearly defined roles, and the Shang practice of treating them as ancestor-like deities was likely to allow them to exercise their authority together with ancestor spirits.^[54][55]

Some inscriptions refer to gendered spirits such as the Mother of the West (西母; Xīmǔ) and Mother of the East (東母; Dōngmǔ) who respectively controlled sunset and sunrise.^[56][57][f] Some identify these two spirits as goddesses of celestial objects, while others say that they were more likely earth deities with possible origins from agricultural and fertility cults.^[59][57]

The Shang concerned rituals dedicated to the gods that controlled water, diseases, and locusts.^[60] Dance and sacrifices acted as Shang prayers to the rains.^[61][62] The Sun was an independent deity to which the Shang prayed for harvests, although it did not usually receive rituals.^[63][64] Similarly, worship of the Moon is existent but rarely seen in Shang texts.^[55][65] Shang kings also worshipped the spirit of the Huan River, which served as a place where they conducted rituals.^[66][g] Oracle texts mention a certain 'Shang River' and its own river spirit, whose name may be the origin of the dynasty's name itself.^[68]

The Shang royal family established an extensive ancestor cult, with most ancestor spirits being former kings and queen consorts.^[32][h] Six Predynastic ancestor deities were recognised:^[71]

1. Shang Jia (上甲)
2. Bao Yi (報乙)
3. Bao Bing (報丙)
4. Bao Ding (報丁)
5. Shi Ren (示壬)
6. Shi Gui (示癸)

The Shang referred to these Predynastic ancestors as the 'Six Spirits' (六示; lìushì), with the junior five called the 'Lesser Spirits' (小示; xiǎoshì).^[72] The Shang dynastic line was recognised to begin with Shi Gui's child Da Yi – and ultimately ended with Di Xin, the final Shang king.^{[73][74][75][i]} All Shang kings whose both father and son also ruled as kings were grouped as mainline ancestors – a lineage anachronistically referred to as the dazong (大宗) – and formed the major subject of Shang ancestor worship, at the expense of collateral ancestors.^[78]

The pantheon of ancestor spirits has been described as a "generational hierarchy", with the power of its members determined by seniority.^[79][80] Predynastic ancestors were the most powerful, and influenced weather and the harvest.^[81][82] In contrast, recently dead ancestors might only cause personal trouble – one inscription records that one ancestor of a king had brought nightmares to him.^[79][83] Ancestor spirits possessed the ability to intercede with the high god Di.^[84] If ancestors were not appeased with the proper rituals, they could inflict what was described as a curse, potentially resulting in poor harvests and natural catastrophes.^[85]

The Shang also revered female ancestor spirits, especially the consorts and mothers of mainline kings.^[86] Shang texts mention female ancestors causing the living kings' illness.^[87] They also occasionally describe female ancestors as being unfriendly and angry, which would thereafter result in the ancestors receiving offerings.^[88] In general, female ancestors did not receive a similar level of reverence as male ancestors, being the focus of only one-sixth of Shang rituals. This was due to the fact that their jurisdiction was seen as being limited to reproduction.^[89] Women attested in oracle bone inscriptions included Mu Ji (母己), Bi Bing (妣丙), and most prominently Fu Hao, the consort of Wu Ding, who was posthumously referred to as Mu Xin (母辛) and Bi Xin (妣辛).^[90][91]

Several spirits were addressed by the Shang as ancestors, but they were likely mythological rather than historical spirits. These include 'Former Lords' (先公; xiāngōng) such as Wang Hai (王亥) and Nao (獶, alternatively called Kui or Jun), whose names were written with pictographic characters.^[92][93] Other spirits revered alongside ancestors include Mo Xi and Yi Yin – who apparently commanded rains and assured good harvests^[94] – as well as his consort Yi Shi.^[55][95][96] Yi Yin, together with spirits named Huang Yin, Xian Wu, and Xue Wu, have been identified as former ministers to earlier Shang kings, with the postmortem ability to curse the living.^[97][98] Some of these beings later reappeared within classic works of Chinese literature.^[99][100]

Shang cosmology was exemplified by a belief in the area around the northern celestial pole, constituted of various stars that formed a squared shape. This celestial square to the Shang was at the center of the heavens, with a role that Didier describes as the Shang's 'absolute centre'.^[101] The squared shape appears as a character in Shang inscriptions (口), denoting the fourth Heavenly Stem ding.^[102][j] The pictograph signifies various meanings, including the subject of a given cult, the space for a ritual, or the ritual itself.^[104]

A visualisation of the polar square referred to as the taotie appears on Shang ritual bronzes.^[105][k] Taotie typically represents spirits assuming the forms of various animals, similar to the traditions of the earlier Yangshao and Liangzhu cultures.^[107][108] Most of the evidence indicates that the taotie encompassed a clear religious dimension.^[109] The faces forming the taotie patterns – specifically, the nasal ridges surrounded by dots – bear a strong resemblance to the celestial pole and adjacent stars. Didier states that the similarities indicate that spirits of great importance to the Shang were being depicted.^[110]

Shang theology pictured the high god Di as dwelling at the center of the heavens and the celestial pole.^[111] The Shang likely believed that the being of Di consisted of two components. The upper one of these, Shangdi, was a manifestation of Shang mainline ancestors through the polar square, representing Di's will to act favourably towards humans.^[112] The Shang oracle characters denoting Di acted accordingly as projections of the celestial pole, the stars surrounding it, and eventually, Di's heavenly divinity.^[113][114]

Conversely, the Shang believed that Shangdi, as Di's superior component, possessed a negative counterpart named Xiadi (下帝), composed of non-ancestor deities like cloud spirits, rain spirits and the Earth Power.^[116] As such, Di was believed to be both Shangdi (heavenly and positive) and Xiadi (earthly and negative), with the latter still able to influence earthly matters of importance to the Shang, despite endeavours to make Shangdi dominate Di.^[117] The Shang sometimes referred to these two components in bronze inscriptions via the binome Shangxiadi (上下帝).^[118]

Shang theology conceived of the world also with both the positive and negative, with a worldview variously described as complementary, shamanistic, and correlative.^[119][120] Within that cosmology were the bipolar modes of the pessimistic and optimistic, reminiscent of the Yin and yang doctrine, and through it the Shang attempted to influence the spirits.^[119]

The Shang recognised five special subordinates under Di, whom they called the 'five adjutants' or 'five ministers' (五臣; wǔchén), which transmitted messages to the human world about Di and may have been associated with the five classical planets.^[121][122]

The characters used in the names of spirits such as Wang Hai, together with a particular Shang bronze inscription on a wine container, likely indicate the existence of a bird symbol that constituted Shang totemism.^[123] Most academics identify the Shang bird totem with the xuanniao (玄鳥), a divine bird which was mentioned in later Zhou accounts as giving birth to the Shang high ancestor Xie, and some take this as an indication that the Shang considered themselves descendants of birds.^[124] However, most evidence indicates that the Shang likely worshipped general bird features rather than a particular species.^[125] It is also possible that these names represented beasts instead of birds.^[126]

Sarah Allan contends that the Shang may also have forged a totemic identification of their highest ancestors with the ten suns which in turn were associated with birds, and that this belief might be one of the primary basis for the late Shang ritual calendar. Although Shang inscriptions do not directly mention the ten suns, which appeared as a myth discussed in Zhou and Han literature, Allan claims that this totemic tradition was implied by many later texts.^[127] Aside from birds, tigers and dragons depicted on Shang bronzes have been interpreted as totems.^[128][129]

Shang ritual was based on an ancestral hierarchy. The king was able to convene directly with his most recent ancestors, who could themselves provide access to more senior spirits – who in turn passed the king's requests to Di.^[130] Over 50 separate rituals have been identified in oracle bone inscriptions, including practices such as libation, exorcism, dances, and holocaust.^{[131][132][133]} There was also an archery rite that Shang kings often conducted on the Huan River, demonstrated by an inscribed bronze turtle rewarded to a scribe named Zuoce Ban.^[134] In addition, the Shang may have had undocumented religious practices within a more extensive cultic structure, making modern understanding about Shang rituals inadequate.^[135][136]

The Shang practised pyromantic divination to communicate indirectly with spirits.^[139][140] Divination typically took place in temples, but also could be conducted outside of ritual centres.^[141] Materials primarily included scapulae or turtle plastrons, to which the staff applied heat after cleaning and preparing.^{[142][143][l]} The heat produced cracks on the bones, which were interpreted as a response and given to scribes who wrote the interpretation on the bones.^[147][148] The oldest examples of inscriptions have been radiocarbon dated to c. 1250 BC, and represent the Shang state religion.^[7][149][m] Typically, an inscription includes a preface, the charge, and occasionally prognostication along with verification.^{[151][152][153][n]} Many divinations follow a formula of positive and negative charges accompanying each other, reflecting the Shang dualistic theology of complementarity.^[156] It is common for multiple numbers of the same divination to appear on a single bone, in which case the date records help establish their sequence.^[157] Alternative divination methods, likely with polygrams, also appear on inscriptions.^[158]

Through the oracle bones, the Shang communicated with spirits about warfare, agriculture, well-being, sacrifices, and weather, often with specified dates.^{[160][161][162][o]} For example, there are certain divinations about outside attacks, although none of them appeared during Yinxu Period V when the Shang had established control over a small, stable area.^[164] Additionally, divinations were carried out to determine suitable policies for public works and royal commissions, such as walling cities and mobilizing people.^[165]

It has been recognised that some divinations were not made on the king's behalf. Rather, members of the aristocracy created divinations themselves; there are four groups of these so-called 'non-king divinations'^[166][167] made during the early and middle periods of Wu Ding's reign:^[168] one group comprises 500 inscriptions excavated at the Huayuanzhuang East site that were originally commissioned by a Shang prince,^[169][p] and reflect a distinct writing style from that of the royal divinations.^{[171][172][173]} Recurring topics include the construction of temples on the prince's estate, his relations with Wu Ding and the royal family, and matters of war.^[169]

Aside from the royal and noble traditions, some academics identify a third type of divination that served public needs in the capital area. These divinations were likely conducted with less careful preparation, as evidenced by a number of oracle bones with rudimentary preparation found outside the Shang palace complex. However, some divinations identified as public may have, in reality, belonged to the royal tradition.^[174]

The Shang religion featured a typical sacrificial system in which violence was ritualised to obtain divine appeasement.^[175][176] Shang sacrifices conformed to a bureaucratic logic, with each ancestor associated with a particular ritual jurisdiction, and together with that, his or her own unique offerings.^[177] By the 11th century BC, the king had to perform sacrifices to his ancestors every day, with many objects for that purpose.^[178][179] The demand for such sacrificial materials spurred technological innovations for Shang society.^[180]

Non-living sacrificial offerings were mainly bones, stones and bronze. Some of the bone products were shaped into hairpins or arrowheads, and there are instances of ivory found in elite tombs.^[182][183] Stone objects such as jade were moulded into decorative ritual objects, such as those discovered in the Tomb of Fu Hao.^[184][185] Offering ceremonies involved bronze vessels with short inscriptions, such as the ding (鼎), of which access seemed to be exclusively granted to the king and heirs partaking in rituals.^{[135][186][187]} There were also accepted minor materials like ceramics, the designs on which were inherited from earlier cultures.^[188][189]

Certain species of game animal were sacrificed, both to the ancestral and supernatural sections of the pantheon.^[190] There were four types of animal sacrifice corresponding to two criteria, which are completeness and location.^[191] Canines were usually sacrificed in a flexible manner, with intentions ranging from their serving as food for ancestors to serving as their postmortem attendants.^[192] It was also common for the Shang to sacrifice sheep, cattle, and pigs – which were offered to the River, Earth and Mountain powers respectively with the wood-burning ritual.^[193][194] The Shang also sacrificed millet, ale, and grains alongside the animals.^[195]

The Shang practised large-scale human sacrifice, a practice deriving from their belief in the afterlife.^[196][197] At least 14,197 human victims were mentioned in inscriptions, although 1,145 inscriptions do not mention exact figures.^[198] Victims were often enemy prisoners, such as the Qiang (羌) who were either captured or sent as gifts by the Shang's neighbours.^[199][200] While some prisoners were spared, many, including women, were killed, and their remains sacrificed to Shang spirits.^[201] A single ritual sacrifice could involve hundreds or thousands of victims.^[202][203] Different methods were used to kill victims depending on which spirit they were being offered to: drowning was used for sacrifices to the River Power, being buried alive for the Earth Power, being cut into pieces for the wind spirits, and being burned to death for sky spirits.^[204]

Inscriptions contain a rich number of words related to sacrifice. The lexicon includes terms such as 'females' (女; nǚ), 'dependent women' (妻; qī), and 'servants' (妾; qiè), all of which referred to objects of sacrifice. Another term observed in inscriptions is 'minor servants' (小臣; xiǎochén), indicating that the Shang even sacrificed minor officers.^[205]

Shang texts refer to methods of sacrifice, including dou (豆), which refers to methods for the sacrificial killing of humans in bronze vessels, shan (刪) denoting single human sacrifice, or shi (氏) referring to ritualised offering at temples.^[206] Inscriptions also name sacrifices such as liao (燎; lit. 'burning'), mao (卯; lit. 'splitting'), chen (沉; lit. 'drowning'), and da yu (大禦; lit. 'great exorcism'), which all fall within the group of exorcist rituals conducted to counteract negative forces.^[207][208] Particularly, the Shang ritual verb yong (用) continued to be used in classical texts where the phrase yongren (用人) was employed to refer to human sacrifice.^[198]

In the Chu diviner-group inscriptions, the sacrificial schedule evolved into a liturgical calendar for the first time.^[209] Researchers have inferred the calendar system from a series of inscriptions during the reign of the last three kings. The cycle consisted of five sacrificial rituals: ji (祭), zai (洅), xie (劦), yong (肜), and yi (翌).^[210][211] Each ancestor received only one of the five rituals at one time.^[212] At the beginning of each sacrificial round, a ceremony honouring all recipients called gongdian was held, and in every weekend, priests would make an inscription announcing the sacrifices for the next day.^[213][214] The basic sequence started with yi and ended with yong, although some believe that ji was the opening round.^[212][214]

The schedule comprised alternating 36- and 37-week periods, with weeks being 10 days in length.^[215][q] The five sacrifices were scheduled to take place in every week of the year except for one, which was dedicated to preparations for the next offering cycle.^[215] Therefore, a full cycle approximated a solar year, and was sometimes used as a term for a year itself.^[217] This calendar terminology was occasionally employed in more secular contexts, like in this excerpt from a bronze inscription:^[218]

隹王來征人方；
It was when the king returned from marching to regulate the Renfang;

隹王十祀又五肜日
It was the king's fifteenth ritual cycle, (the time of) the yong-day rituals.

— Xiao Chen Yu zun

Shang kings sometimes conducted additional, irregular sacrifices to ancestors who caused them misfortune.^[199] Due to the fall of the Shang, the last two kings did not receive sacrifices.^[219]

Many oracle bone inscriptions suggest that the Shang often communicated with the spiritual world through a 'hosting' (賓; bīn) ritual.^[220][221] The hosting ritual may be considered non-shamanic, as it never involved ecstatic communion or commingling within the king's body;^[222] however, interpreters including Kwang-chih Chang state that this is not a satisfactory interpretation, and that the Shang dynasty's religion must have embraced shamanism.^[223] According to Chang et al., the king himself acted as a shaman to connect with the spirits.^[224][225]

The oracle bone script features an ancient form of the character for wu (巫). While the role of wu in Shang religion is not fully understood,^[226] they were seemingly a profession that made use of prayer and astrology to act as a medium between humans and spirits.^[227] Wu were worshipped after death alongside other Shang spirits.^[228][229] It is uncertain whether the wu of the Shang were shamans per se, or if they used other means to communicate with spirits. Evidence suggests that non-Shang peoples could reasonably serve as wu; sinologist Victor H. Mair supported the view that the occupation was indirectly connected to that of the magus, Zoroastrian priests who communicated with spirits via ritual and the manipulative arts, rather than through shamanic techniques such as trance and mediation.^{[230][231][r]} David Keightley also disagreed with the interpretation of wu in the Shang context as meaning 'shaman'.^[233]

More recent investigation has demonstrated a lack of convincing evidence for shamanism in the Shang religion. As such, the arguments of Chang et al. for a shamanic theory ultimately relied on data from later Zhou religious practice that was being conflated with that of Shang. Furthermore, their theory seemingly did not account for the methods by which the Shang perpetuated their rule – i.e. discerning the High God, a figure that is not addressed by the theory's proponents.^[234]

The largest burial area for Shang elites was the Royal Cemetery, located in what is now Xibeigang, Anyang. The cemetery was designed to align with the celestial pole, and it was also split into two zones to suit Wu Ding's political purposes.^{[236][237][238]} There are nine tombs for kings, with seven in the cemetery's western zone.^[239] Fu Hao's tomb was not in the cemetery, but located within the temple-palace complex.^[240] Over time, Xibeigang tombs have been looted of most of their contents; as a result, identification of individual tombs with particular kings is uncertain.^[241] Xibeigang was also a place where the Shang performed sacrifices – even to ancestors not buried there.^[242]

A royal funeral could involve tombs being constructed while the king was still alive; alternatively, his body could be temporarily preserved following his death while they were built.^[243] The coffin and furnishings were prepared elsewhere, and then carried to the tomb. The king's coffin would be buried in a wooden chamber in the central shaft, surrounded with animals, servants, and bronze objects such as vessels and weapons, and were cardinally oriented.^[244][245] The chamber was then sealed, and the tomb refilled with earth as additional rituals were performed.^[246] Several tombs also served for the purpose of rites, and were topped by ancestral shrines.^[247] A foundation near the royal tombs may have been an offering hall, but its purpose is still debated by scholars.^[243]

Smaller tombs have been discovered across Anyang, though mainly concentrated to the west of the palace complex.^[248] They are probably reserved for minor elites, and bear design similarities to royal tombs.^[249] Each elite tomb typically features 3 to 8 items, which range from ceramic vessels, bronze vessels to various types of weapon. In addition, tens of graves feature agricultural tools accompanying the dead. Burials of lower-ranked individuals might not feature coffins.^[250] There is a family grave of one diviner whose name appeared in several bronze inscriptions.^[251]

Shang ancestors were given posthumous names including Heavenly Stems that were used in the sexagenary system:^[253][254] at this time, each weekday was associated with one of the ten Stems, creating a cycle of names in a fixed order. Stems were assigned to ancestors according to this order, with jia (甲) first, then yi (乙), bing (丙), ding (丁), wu (戊), ji (己), geng (庚), xin (辛), ren (壬), and gui (癸).^[255][256] The sole exception to this convention is Wang Hai (王亥), an enigmatic proto-ancestor whose name instead incorporates the 12th Earthly Branch (亥) – with the Earthly Branches being another cycle of 12 signs used alongside the Heavenly Stems by the calendar – instead of one of the ten Stems.^[257] It seems that the process of assigning day-names to the dead involved divination, which would allow deterministic elements and human manipulation. Explanations have been given as to why the calendar was used for naming ancestors, but none is supported by direct evidence.^[258]

David Nivison has speculated seemingly inherent patterns in the naming tradition, such as naming after first day of inaugural year, restraint from naming gui for dynastic spirits, and avoiding the same name as the previous king.^[259] Ancestors may also have been named after days that the Shang considered auspicious.^[260] Shang queen consorts were also given Stem names, but not according to the rules for kings. Ancestral spirits tended to receive sacrifices on the weekday of their stem-name – for example: out of 90 dates taken from a sample, Zu Yi received sacrifices on the yi day 53 times.^[261][262]

Posthumous names of some kings might be related to Shang cosmology, especially names with stems jia, ding and yi, which were probably projections of the celestial square. As such, the spirits that were referred to using them became perceived as powerful gods whose will significantly affected the living realm.^[263]

As there were more spirits than stems, the Shang added epithet-like prefixes to their names.^[264] Some prefixes indicate the specific familial relationship between the addressed ancestor and the reigning ruler; the characters are often used for a much broader range of meanings than their modern equivalents:^[265][266]

1. Relatives senior to the reigning king by two or more generations were referred to as zu (祖; 'grandfather', 'great uncle') and bi (妣; 'grandmother', 'great aunt').
2. Relatives of the generation prior to the reigning king were referred to as fu (父; 'father', 'uncle') and mu (母; 'mother', 'aunt'). For example, Wu Ding's sons referred to him as 'Father Ding' (父丁; Fù Dīng).^[267] Reigning kings sometimes replaced fu with di (帝), the name of the High God, to refer to their deceased fathers.^[37]
3. For relatives of the same generation, only the graph for males has been attested, which is xiong (兄; 'older brother', 'cousin').
4. Spouses of the reigning king were referred to as fu (婦).
5. Sons and nephews of the reigning king were referred to as zi (子). Some interpret this word as the royal surname, while others interpret it as a designation of the eldest son who led a family.^[268] It can be also be translated as 'lord'.^[269]

Other prefixes applied to Shang names include Da (大; 'greater') and Xiao (小; 'smaller'). There are three kings – Jian Jia, Qiang Jia and Yang Jia – whose prefixes are of uncertain meaning.^[160] Since ancestors' posthumous names varied with their generational relationship with the worshipper, some ancestors received multiple posthumous names.^[270]

The Shang's centre of ritual within Yin lay on a hill near the Huan River, and was refurbished throughout the course of the late Shang state. The site's condition is such that the original layout of where buildings stood cannot be fully discerned. Nevertheless, modern studies agree on some points: the complex's innermost central area, called Yi (乙), was the primary locus for ritual sacrifices, while smaller ritual buildings were situated to the south.^[271] Various names that the Shang used to refer to ritual buildings may also be related to the celestial square.^[272] The Shang housed in their temples spirit tablets that were used for ancestor commemoration, though no unequivocal evidence for the existence of these tablets has been attested.^[273]

In inscriptions, temples (宗; zōng) are generally described as including elevated halls (堂; táng), courtyards (庭; tíng) and gates (門; mén).^[274] Such constructions were named for the Former Lords, the nature spirits, and individual ancestors starting from Da Yi. Temples dedicated to mainline ancestors were maintained continuously through generations, while those for collateral kings were scarcely recorded and tended to be dismantled after a certain period. Several temples reserved for royal ancestresses are mentioned in Shang inscriptions, and there were also joint temples for multiple ancestor spirits.^[273]

The Shang also conducted rituals in altars, many of which are open-air and located within several ritual loci in the capital. For example, at the locus Yi, a central open-air pyramidal altar stood together with colonnaded halls and bridges. Modern academics identify this altar with the beng (祊), which Shang inscriptions describe as the altar for worshipping Di as well as nature and ancestor spirits. Altars of the other loci were modeled after the Yi design.^[275]

Access to religious buildings was exclusively granted to the royal family and ritual groups. Temples served as the place where the Shang dedicated cult to their ancestors.^[195] Shang inscriptions suggest that the king routinely prayed to invoke in the temples, assuming a kneeling posture while holding ritual objects in his hands.^[276] The five cyclical sacrifices were often performed to ancestors at the buildings topping their tombs, which the Shang often referred to.^[277]

The Shang notion of practitioners centred around the king, who acted as the highest intermediary between the human and spiritual realms; he was considered a 'thearch'.^[279] He was assisted by religious groups whose organization suggests the existence of an incipient bureaucracy.^[280] It seems likely that religious positions played a central role in the Shang government.^[280]

The assisting groups typically included diviners (多卜; duōbǔ), scribes (史; shǐ), dancers (舞; wǔ), liturgists (祝; zhù), and the shamans.^[281][282] There were about 120 attested diviners in total, many of whose names are found on oracle bones.^[283][153] Dancing as a profession is sometimes associated with that of the shamans.^[282] Shang astronomers observed Mars and comets, as well as stars such as Antares.^[129][284] Royal princes participated in ancestral sacrifices together with the king.^[285] Wu Ding's consort Fu Hao apparently also played a role in religious matters: for example, an inscription records a sacrifice she hosted which involved the offering of 500 Qiang prisoners.^[286]

The religious professions recognised by the Shang may have been acquired through forms of schooling.^[287] It is generally believed that the Shang had institutions of some kind for religious teaching. Texts written by Wu Ding's scribes contain the word 'learn' (學; xué), which in context could imply a course of ritual education. In addition, some attested inscriptions appear to have been used for teaching – described by Guo Moruo as possibly being example inscriptions used by teachers. However, the hypothesis that these inscriptions served as practice work for students has been questioned, and alternative theories have been proposed.^[288]

The Shang state directly controlled the area immediately surrounding the capital at Yinxu (in modern Anyang). Greater swaths of territory were administered by members of the royal family, with the nature and extent of Shang control over these lands being difficult to fully discern and varying over time.^{[289][290][s]} The Shang also culturally influenced regions beyond their dominion; there is some evidence to indicate external practice of the Shang religion. At a site located in modern-day Zhengzhou, 200 km (120 mi) south of Yinxu, four pieces of oracle bone were discovered with short inscriptions possibly dating to the reign of Wu Ding.^[293] Some turtle plastrons were unearthed in Daxinzhuang (occupied c. 1300 – c. 1100 BC, in modern Jinan, Shandong), containing some divinatory inscriptions which bear similarities to Wu Ding's diviner groups.^[294][295] Ritual bronzes discovered beyond Shang territory, such as those collected from Hanzhong, Shaanxi, exhibit characteristics of both Shang and local culture.^[296]

Hundreds of inscribed oracle bones have been unearthed from the site of Zhouyuan, the homeland of the Zhou dynasty – probably produced during the reigns of the last two kings of Shang and the early years of the Western Zhou, with the writing being of a distinct form and calligraphic style.^[297][298] These inscriptions mention Zhou worship of Shang ancestors, especially the kings nearest to their time.^[299] However, scholars still disagree about the nature of these divinations.^[300] While it has been commonly interpreted that these bones were produced by the Predynastic Zhou which existed as a late Shang ally, some scholars assert that they were, in fact, produced either by Shang peoples residing in Zhouyuan or by those at the Shang capital before being carried to the area.^[301]

The prince associated with the Huayuanzhuang East oracle bones probably settled in Rong (戎), a conquered land that was annexed into the Shang state.^[302][t] He ordered an ancestral temple with spirit tablets to be built, made sacrifices with both local and imported materials, and authorised relatives to participate in common rituals.^[305] This prince even acted as the diviner in 26 divinations, a practice different from Wu Ding.^[306] However, he rarely worshipped the predynastic and nature powers, and he also never divined about Di.^[307][308] Some Shang leaders who guarded the western frontier worshipped more distant members of the mainline ancestral pantheon.^[309] Divinations also refer to Zi (子), a territory sometimes sanctioned by the Shang to perform sacrifices.^[310]

Outside of the capital, the Subutun site (modern Shandong) of features a four-ramped tomb which was the only one of that type discovered outside the capital, and may have housed either a local rival or a favourite of the Shang king.^[311] Another site at Tianhu features a mix of Late Shang and indigenous elements, and served as the cemetery of a Shang lineage related to a consort of Wu Ding.^[312][313] At the site of Guandimiao (occupied c. 1250 – c. 1100 BC, in modern Xingyang, Henan), tombs nearly identical to those at the capital have been excavated.^[314] Non-elite burials outside of the capital area often lacked grave goods.^[315]

The details of sacrificial practice conducted by non-royals are unclear, as such sacrifices are rarely mentioned in inscriptions.^[178] However, other sites have also yielded materials that indicate Shang religious influence. Human sacrifice was also practiced at the site of Qiuwan (modern Jiangsu), which Shang inscriptions refer to as Dapeng.^[316]

Shang religion served as a source of political power and legitimation for the ruling elite.^[317] The Shang king is thought to have incorporated his allies' deities into the Shang pantheon to gain their support and influence them.^[318] One such deity was probably Kui, a mysterious cult recipient who later featured as a personage in several Chinese classics.^[319] In addition, worship of the Sun might have been a way for the king to hold sway over other lineages, by inviting them to participate in the state cult.^[320]

Divination was a source of state power for the Shang.^[321] The Shang kings appear in inscriptions to have always prognosticated with absolute accuracy, which possibly results from failed predictions being censored from inscriptions.^[322][323] Scholars interpret this phenomenon to have been a way for the Shang kings to secure their prestige as well as political legitimacy, and that it does not reflect their omniscience.^[323] In addition, the institution of royal sacrifices also influenced Shang state power and the personal authority of the king.^[217]

Akin to how male ancestors were prioritised in Shang worship, men were considered to be more important than women in Shang political affairs.^[324] The Shang considered the birth of boys by royal consorts as auspicious; many inscriptions express concern about such births, particularly that of Fu Hao.^[325][326]

Before the emergence of organised states in China, the area was inhabited by various prehistoric cultures. Academics such as Kwang-chih Chang propose the existence of shamanic practices in these Neolithic cultures' tradition, but their theory is not supported by any clear evidence.^[327] The spirits were thought to be powerful; therefore, Neolithic Chinese peoples engaged in communication with them through a variety of methods – including prayers, grave goods, and animal sacrifice.^[328] Similar to the Shang, they practised pyromantic divination with bones, namely scapulae from cattle, sheep, pigs, and deer.^[329][330] The prehistoric use of ritual jades in spiritual communication was also transmitted to the Shang religion.^[331]

Shang cosmology may have its origin in earlier prehistoric cultures, of which some produced artefacts bearing an anthropo-zoomorphic motif – the likely ancestor of the Shang's visual taotie designs.^[332] The pattern is likely a Neolithic projection of the same celestial pole that the Shang observed.^[333] A connection possibly exists between the anthropo-zoomorphic motif and the Shang tradition of ancestor worship, since the motif itself may have represented Neolithic ancestral spirits, or at least a spiritual object of worship that offered protection to humans.^[334][335] A rectangular design from the northern Qijia culture (c. 2200 – c. 1600 BC) may also be the origin for the motif found on Shang ritual bronzes.^[336]

According to traditional Chinese historiography, the tradition of venerating deities was already current before the Shang period. For example, the second sovereign of the Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC), Qi, was described in multiple texts as a spirit-medium who communicated with Shangdi and performed sacrifices to the deceased.^[337][338] The Book of Documents also mentions Emperor Shun – one of the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors whose reign predated even the Xia – conducting rituals such as divination and sacrifices to Shangdi.^[339][340] Although these periods are often considered mythical, their corresponding site of Erlitou (c. 2100 – c. 1500 BC) offers evidence of religious activities making use of bronze that were later adopted and developed by the Shang dynasty, such as the use of scapulae for divination.^[341]

There is little evidence of religious writing prior to the Late Shang (c. 1300 – c. 1050 BC).^[342] A large amount of such bones appear in pre–Late Shang sites, suggesting the prevalence of divination, although it was also likely to be practised by the non-royal people together with those elites.^[343] Early Shang pyromancy already involved pretreatment of oracle bones, but they were without systematic standardization.^[344] During this phase, cattle bones seemed to be accorded high status, and were likely associated with certain diviners.^[345]

Some Late Shang kings made religious reforms, such as Zu Jia, who was indicated by oracle bones to have initiated changes.^[346] Zu Jia's reign marked the period when the five cyclical sacrifices of the ritual schedule were introduced, and his reforms are described by Shaughnessy as "rigidly conservative" and a "reflection on the great constriction of the Shang kingdom".^[347][348] Under the succeeding reigns of Lin Xin and Geng Ding, the practice of binary divination charges common during Wu Ding's era was neglected, especially with divinations about the five sacrifices.^[349]

By the final years of the Shang, the nature of Shang religion had changed significantly. The high god Di and nature spirits frequently appeared in divinations during Wu Ding's reign, but were rarely mentioned during the last reigns when ancestors became dominant.^[212][350] The Shang also switched their worship from minister spirits such as Huang Yin – whose cult was prevalent during the reign of Wu Ding – to focus instead on Yi Yin by the reign of Wu Yi.^[351][u] The period of Di Yi and Di Xin likely witnessed significant secularisation, with humans increasingly believed to be able to control the world without the need for Di and the spirits.^[353]

During each of the last Shang reigns, the king acted as the sole diviner.^[354] Divination topics of this period were largely confined to royal hunts and cyclical sacrifices, with other concerns virtually abandoned.^[355] These divinations tended to be optimistic and were not likely to request actions from ancestors, which likely shows that the Shang changed their beliefs about the ability of the living to communicate with spirits through divination.^[356][357] At the same time, worship of ancestors became more systematised, and a new sacrificial system may have been employed.^[358][350]

In 1046 BC, the Shang under King Di Xin collapsed, and were replaced by the Zhou dynasty following the Zhou victory in the Battle of Muye. To ensure their own legitimacy, the Zhou then co-opted many of the Shang's traditions. The historiography written by the Zhou denounces each of the final Shang kings, not only for purported licentiousness and drunkenness, but also for their ignorance of ancestor worship.^{[359][360][v]}

Shang elites who survived the Zhou conquest continued the Shang religion as Zhou royal scribes, observing sacrifices to spirits such as Wen Ding.^[362] Some early Western Zhou (c. 1046 – 771 BC) tombs near modern Beijing were constructed in accordance with Shang burial customs, suggesting that these could have been tombs for later members of the Shang line following their usurpation.^[363]

The Shang liturgical calendar was adopted by the Zhou, although it is uncertain whether the Zhou court reset the day count following their establishment.^[364][w] There still exist distinctions between the Shang and Zhou's use of the cycle, such as si (祀), the Shang word meaning 'year', being replaced by the Zhou word nian (年). Towards the end of the Western Zhou, the last term of the 60-cycle, dinghai (丁亥), became frequently used. This calendar was revised through the regime's eight centuries of existence, and the diversification of its use took place during the Warring States period (c. 475 – 221 BC) when cultural distinctions became more apparent. The sexagenary cycle central to the calendar remained the exclusive means of day counting throughout the entire Zhou period, but it was not extended to the naming of years.^[366] A new system of posthumous names for dead relatives was devised, although some early Zhou people still used the old tradition, including exceptional Zhou kings.^[367]

During the Western Zhou, the notion of Di, as seen in classical texts, was integrated with that of Tian.^[135] During King Wu of Zhou's reign (r. 1050–1043 BC), Zhou liturgists made an inscription on the Tian Wang gui tureen about the king pleasing Di with sacrifices.^[368][x] Di and Tian were sometimes used interchangeably in inscriptions, such as in the one attested on the Fu gui tureen.^[370] Di was seen as the one who supported the existence of a dynasty, and the fall of the Shang to Zhou forces was regarded as a consequence of their neglect of Di.^[371] Di was supported by a court filled by Zhou ancestors.^[372] However, distinctions still exist between the two notions: while Tian was seen as the universal order and the source of calamities, Di was always known as a protecting force of the royal clan.^[373][y]

The early Zhou retained their prior Predynastic tradition of inscribing inquiries to Shang ancestor deities such as Di Yi on oracle bones – owing to their former recognition of Shang suzerainty, and reflecting Di Yi's connection to the Zhou royal family as the in-law of King Wen.^[375] Later Zhou divinations still kept the Shang text format of the preface, charge, prognostication and verification.^[376] Similar to the Shang, pyromantic divination in the central Zhou states was interconnected with political power.^[377] The logic of auspicious and ominous weekdays that the Shang often concerned in divinations formed the basis for later development of Eastern Zhou (771 – 256 BC) hemeromancy, including the Wuxing philosophy.^[378]

As early as their establishment in the late 11th century BC, the Zhou had gradually replaced Shang ancestors with their own royal spirits as sacrificial recipients.^[379] The Shang belief in the Former Lords and the nature powers virtually vanished at the same time.^[380] The Western Zhou saw the decline of Shang human sacrifice.^[381] Although oracle bone divination still persisted throughout centuries under Zhou rule, the Zhou also cultivated their distinct divinatory practices through texts such as the Changes of Zhou (周易; Zhōuyì).^[382] Compared to the Shang, the Zhou royal family did not document their oracle bone divinations as extensively.^[383]

The later Chinese god Shangdi, appearing as the supreme deity in Confucian and Taoist classics of the Eastern Han (25 – 220 AD), was derived from the Shang theology of their high god Di.^[384] The word Shangdi (上帝) is sometimes used to refer to the Jade Emperor of Taoism, and it may also be employed as the Chinese name for the Christian God – a tradition initiated by Matteo Ricci in the 16th century AD.^[384][385]

Some Shang nature spirits including the Mother of the West and Mother of the East possibly evolved into later Chinese deities, such as the Taoist Queen Mother of the West (西王母; Xī Wángmǔ) and King Father of the East (東王公; Dōng Wánggōng). They might also have evolved into Changxi and Xihe, whom Han lore mentioned as wives of the purported Shang progenitor Di Jun (i.e. Emperor Ku).^[59]

The Shang practice of pyromantic divination continued to the Han era and lasted even further, with an oracle bone dated to the Tang period (618 – 907 AD).^[386] The Shang sexagenary cycle persisted for over three millennia in China, and, due to their former status as client states of China, countries such as Vietnam, Korea and Japan also adopted the system.^{[387][388][z]} The legacy of the particular significance afforded to males by the Shang can be seen in contemporary Chinese culture, with families expecting sons more than daughters.^[389]

Other legacies that the Shang left to later periods include ancestor worship, the role of divination in politics, as well as the patrimonial state where religion and politics were interwoven together.^[390] Their religion exerted considerable influence even on the secular sphere; particularly, such impact extended to nonreligious institutions of the Han, a millennium after the Shang period.^[317]

One of the Chinese classics written during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC), the Book of Documents, contains moral discourses on Shang traditions, including the belief that the Shang ancestor Tang would send down calamities on unworthy men. The text also includes an oblique description of Shang pyromancy, with a reference to Pan Geng lauding those who did not "presumptuously oppose the decision of the tortoise".^[391] However, Zhou writers generally focused on criticising the lavish lifestyle and ignorance of the final Shang kings, and do not initially mention either the Shang's practice of human sacrifice or their recognition of royal consorts.^[359][392] In addition, the Zhou description that the Shang associated human virtue with the supreme deity is nowhere confirmed in Shang oracle bone inscriptions.^[393] The philosopher Confucius (c. 551 – 479 BC) is believed to have said that Zhou-era records of the state of Song – the successor state of the Shang – were not sufficient to reconstruct Shang religion.^[394]

The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) historian Sima Qian, writing a millennium after the Shang's fall, discoursed about their religion. Sima claimed that the Shang were marked by their utmost devotion to divination and sacrifices, and had decayed from the mark of piety into a state of superstition, which Burton Watson considered substantiated claims that resonate with evidence collected from modern archaeology.^[395] He went on to describe the practices of the Shang dynasty, praising religious kings and their ministers.^[396] Sima's posthumous names in terms of both stem and prefix for late Shang kings largely match those given by the Shang inscriptions.^[397] However, his descriptions of the Shang religion is not without flaw, as it was coloured with characteristics of the Han dynasty during which Sima lived.^[398]

By the time of the Han, the perception of Di had been significantly altered. While the character retained its meaning as 'High Deity', it was used mainly as a prefix or suffix to add to another word for deifying its meaning. The Han-era Huainanzi (c. 139 BCE), a compilation of debates led by imperial prince Liu An, describes Di as stretching out "over the four weft-cords of Heaven" and lying on a polar referential star similar to the Shang dynasty, the star Kochab (Beta Ursa Minoris).^[399] Han texts also identify Di with 'the Great One' (太一; Tàiyī), whom the Han believed to have been worshipped by the early Zhou.^[400]