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` @c @ ` `  `   @  @  D x x x cnt kindsof bronze vessels
- further development of carving and drilling technology for ritual jadeobjects

The Chinese Calendar
Shang times on until the twentieth century, today even sometimesused in art, the cyclic lunar calendar (yueli 月曆) was the instrumentto date every event. It is composed of two different cylces, the ten CelestialStems (tiangan 天干) and the twelve Terrestrial Branches (dizhi 地支).To count the days, a combination of two characters - each being oneof the two cycles - came up to sixty days, divided in two months and sixten-day weeks (xun 旬). Once the 60 unit cycle has ended, it is repeatedtime after time. Thus, one 360 day year includes six complete stem-branch-cycles. Twelve months made up one moon year, and to adjust it to the sun year, oneweek (runyue 閏月) was added each 19 years ("year" is nian 年,a character that originally meant "harvest"). In later dynasties, the yearshave been counted in the same manner, resulting in sixty-years-cycles whichmade it possible to define a year if the name of the ruler was known. Sometimesthe ten Stems and Branches just serve as numbers. The Shang rulers used tocount their ancestors in this way.

The Chinese Script
The first appearance of Chinese script in Wuding's reign is no proofit had been invented and was used exclusively there and in this time. Thefirst Chinese characters appear in oracle bone inscriptions (jiaguwen) aswell as in bronze vessels (jinwen). We must assume it had been used beforeon non-durable material like bamboo. The Zhou Dynasty totally inherited thescript and therewith a part of the "construed" Chinese culture. The languageof the inscriptions is full of specific terms and hardly to understand evenif one has learned to read Classical Chinese.

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外丙Sheng 勝Bo (2 years)Zhong Ren "Middle IX" 帝中壬 (or 仲任)Yong 庸Bo (4 years)Tai Jia "Great I" 帝太甲 (or Da Jia 大甲), temple name Taizong "Great Ancestor" 太宗

He killed the meritorious minister Yi Yin because Yi Yin wanted to make himself ruler); residence:

Zhi 至Bo (12 years)Wo Ding "Fertile IV" 帝沃丁Xun 絢Bo (19 years)Tai Geng "Great VII" 帝太庚 (or Da Geng 大庚), also called Xiao Geng 小 庚 "Small VII"Bian 辨Bo (5 years)Xiao Jia "Small I" 帝小甲Gao 高Bo (17 years)Yong Ji "Harmonious VI" 帝雍己Dian 佃Bo (12 years)Tai Wu "Great V" 帝太戊 (or Da Wu 大戊), temple name Zhongzong "Middle Ancestor" 中宗Mi 密Bo (75 years)Zhong Ding "Middle IV" 帝中丁 (or 仲丁)Zhuang 莊Ao (9 years)Wai Ren "Outer IX" 帝外壬Fa 發Ao (10 years)Hedan Jia "River Altar I" 帝河亶甲Zheng 整Xiang (9 years)Zu Yi "Ancestor II" 帝祖乙, temple name Zhongzong "Middle Ancestor" 中宗 (the Second)Teng 滕Geng (19 years)Zu Xin "Ancestor VIII" 帝祖辛Dan 旦Bi (4 years)Wo Jia "Fertile I" 帝沃甲, also called Kai Jia 開 甲 "Opening I"Yu 踰Bi (5 years)Zu Ding "Ancestor IV" 帝祖丁Xin 新Bi (9 years)Nan Geng "Southern VII" 帝南庚Geng 更Bi, later Yan (6 years)Yang Jia "Male I" 帝陽甲, also called He Jia 和甲 "Harmonizing I"He 和Yan (4 years)Pan Geng "Entwining VII" 帝盤庚Xun 旬Yan, later Yin (28 years)Xiao Xin "Small VIII" 帝小辛Song 頌Yin (3 years)Xiao Yi "Small II" 帝小乙Jian 歛Yin (10 years)Wu Ding "Martial IV" 帝武丁, temple name Gaozong "Great Ancestor" 高宗

Wu Ding is the first historic ruler, ca. 1150 BC; his minister was Fu Yue 傅說

Zhao 昭Yin (59 years)Zu Geng "Ancestor VII" 帝祖庚Yao 曜Yin (11 years)Zu Jia "Ancestor I" 帝祖甲, also called Di Jia 帝甲 "Nr. I"Dai 載Yin (33 years)Lin Xin "Supplying VIII" 帝廩辛, also called Ping Xin 馮辛 "Rushing VIII"Xian 先Yin (4 years)Kang Ding "Strong IV" 帝康丁Ao 囂Yin (8 years)Wu Yi "Martial II" 帝武乙

He enfeoffed the ancestor of Zhou, Danfu 亶父, with the fiefdom Qi 岐邑

Di 瞿Yin, later Hebei, later Mo (35 years)Wen Ding "Cultured IV" 帝文丁, also called Tai Ding 太丁 or Da Ding 大丁"Great IV", or Wenwu Ding "Cultured-Martial IV" 文武丁

He imprisoned the Li Ji 季歷, the Duke of Zhou, who died in prison

Tuo 托Yin (13 years)Di Yi "Godlike II" 帝乙

His oldest son, Prince Qi of Wei 微子啟 did not succeed; Prince Qi was later enfeoffed as Duke of Song 宋 by King Wu of Zhou 周武王

Xian 羨Yin (9 years)Di Xin "Godlike VIII" 帝辛

King Zhou was the last depraved ruler of Shang; he imprisoned the Viscount of the West 西伯, the father of later King Wu of Zhou

Zhou 紂, Shou 受Yin (52 years, ca. 1050 BC)

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