China 21B: Shang – classic Bronze Age military aristocracy

Let us temper this tidy neat little package with some reality. While the technological advances of the Shang are undeniable, simultaneously human rights, and as usual, women’s rights, take a huge step backwards. The Shang represents a typical Bronze Age military aristocracy. As described previously in the context of this paper, this means that a Farming culture is dominated, normally by Herding or Hunter culture, but sometimes from within. The dominators become the military overlords of the agricultural peasant base, establishing a hereditary aristocracy. We call it a Bronze Age culture, not because of bronze, but because of the domination of an agri-culture by a military aristocracy. We mentioned that although bronze was not necessary for widespread domination that it certainly helped. Let it be remembered that the beginning of the Shang aristocracy preceded Bronze technology. Let us put the magnificent achievements of the Shang in context, to understand the cultural developments that follow.

Extreme Social Stratification

One of the characteristics of the Bronze Age society is social stratification with warrior kings at the top and the peasantry at the bottom. The woman is degraded to the status of property. The Shang participated in all of these traits.

Shang class structure reflects philosophical traditions

Many have characterized the Shang social structure as a slave culture. While there has been much discussion on this point, the fact is that the lower classes whether serfs or slaves were treated poorly. The Shang society was highly stratified with the peasant farmer at the bottom and the Shang aristocracy at the top. In the lower middle were the crafts people serving the aristocracy[4].

“The Shang dynasty was a hereditary kingdom and displayed marked distinctions in social status. Although the question of whether the Shang kept slaves is controversial, distinctions between commoners, nobility, and the royal family are unmistakable. The state depended upon numerous specialists, including military officers, court retainers, diviners, bureaucrats, and professionals who produced pottery, bronze vessels and weapons, jade ritual objects, jewelry, and many other articles for the nobility and royal family.”[5]

These three classes remain fairly consistent throughout Chinese history. Other classes are added, but these three remain. In terms of tendencies, the ruling class participated in the emerging Confucian tradition; the arts and crafts class became Taoist, while the peasantry participated in a mish-mash of local agri-cultural traditions.

Human sacrifice in the Tombs of the Shang

One way that this extreme social stratification was manifested was in the form of human sacrifice. This is especially seen in the tombs of the rulers. As in Egypt, the most spectacular architectural remains of the Shang dynasty are their tombs. As in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, the ruler was to be accompanied to the afterlife with the things of this life so that he could continue his existence, undisturbed. As in the rest of the Eurasian continent this meant sacrificing harem, servants, and horses with the death of the ruler, so that they could accompany him to his afterlife and serve him there[6]. In one Shang tomb they found the bodies of 22 men, 24 women, and 50 skulls of decapitated humans.[7] The ruler would also be buried with the things of this world including crafts, chariots, and money. These tombs provide us with much of our information about the Shang.

“The Chinese belief that the spirit of the departed must be provided with all he possessed in his earthly life led to immolation and human sacrifice on a gigantic scale.”[8]

No evidence of human sacrifice in previous cultures

There is no evidence of this type of activity in the Longshan or Yangshao culture. While the Longshan buried the bones of their ancestors in their houses, they did not seem to sacrifice the women and servants with the master. Hence human rights were one of the costs of the Shang civilization, with human sacrifice as a manifestation. The beauty of their craft and the cruelty of the Shang towards the peasantry typify the Bronze Age governments. Was the sacrifice of humans at the death of the leader an emergent social phenomenon or was it a result of cultural diffusion? Read on.

Bronze for power, not for agriculture

Accompanying the development of ‘civilization’ is the improvement in technology. One of the prevalent myths of civilization is that this improved technology benefits all classes of society to some extent. This was certainly not true of the Shang bronze technology.

Bronze monopolized by ruling class as a status symbol

“Bronze was always a rare and costly metal jealously monopolized by the ruling class. As the bronze weapons gave these rulers the physical means of suppressing their slaves and serfs, so the sacred vessels of bronze served as their symbols of status, living proof of their exalted rank and noble lineage.”[9]

Thus the Shang aristocracy used their bronze technology to make weapons with which to dominate their citizenry. It then came to represent a status symbol of participation in the aristocracy. But it was not used to enhance the lives of the agricultural populace.

Not available for agriculture

“During the Chinese Bronze Age, the metal was used for the weapons the aristocracy needed for its occupations of hunting and war, but despite its superior efficiency, bronze was less often devoted to common tools such as agricultural implements, which were usually make of the traditional Neolithic materials of stone, bone, and wood until the introduction of iron.”[10]

Thus bronze was deliberately hoarded by the aristocracy for weaponry with which to suppress the peasantry, instead of being used to assist with agriculture.

9 imperial Cauldrons to be melted down for weapons if necessary

This is typified in their exquisite bronze cauldrons. As mentioned earlier Yu, the legendary emperor of the Xia, divided his Empire into 9 parts and created 9 cauldrons to give to the ruler of each state for their support. Why a bronze cauldron? Bronze could easily be melted down for weaponry if necessary.

Bronze means power

“Bronze objects meant power for those who possessed them. In times of war, the bronze from ritual vessels could be used to make weapons; in times of peace weapons might be transformed into ceremonial objects.”[11]

Hence these huge bronze cauldrons were like money in the bank for their owners. Indeed in later times the First Emperor seized all the bronze once he seized control in order to prevent resistance. This same bronze in later times was melted down again and turned into weaponry. Thus the bronze cauldron served as a type of status symbol for the royalty.

“We have enough bronze weapons that we can even cast some of the bronze into ceremonial vessels.”

Even the magnificent crafts of the Shang are associated with weaponry.

Social Organization needed to produce bronze

Centralized government necessary

A distinctive feature of bronze is the social organization needed to produce it.

“The use of bronze is a major watershed in the development of any civilization, requiring a settled, specialized, and tightly organized community. Most of the crafts of earlier periods were based on portable, easily obtainable materials such as clay, stone, shell, and bone. But the production of bronze is a major undertaking. Sources of copper and tin must be located and then protected. The ore must be mined and the metal removed. In the case of copper, this is a mammoth enterprise, since copper accounts for only a very small fraction of the volume of the ore in which it is found. … Melting large batches of metal required elaborate kilns and huge fire of high intensity; controlling the cooling to avoid holes and cracks in the finished object was equally demanding.”[12]

Smelting, refining, mixing, cooling

Prior to the manufacture of bronze, materials were found or came from animals, while bronze was made of copper and tin. Some copper occurs naturally, but most copper comes in the form of ore, which must be smelted. The mined ore is heated to high temperatures, which separates the impurities from the copper. Only a little copper comes from the ore, hence it is a mammoth undertaking to produce the large quantity of the copper needed to make the bronze. Then just the right amount of purified copper must be mixed with just the right amount of purified tin. This blend was then poured into molds, which had to be carefully cooled to yield a bronze weapon or pot.

Protection of sources for national security

Because bronze was used primarily for weaponry, its sources needed to be protected for national security reasons. When bronze was just used for art, national security was not involved. When bronze was just used to dominate the local citizenry, no big deal. However when two Bronze Age cultures came into conflict those with the best and most bronze weapons wins.

Exploration for sources of ore

It is at this point, the point at which weapons are manufactured from raw materials, that cultures began sending explorers and soldiers throughout the globe searching for materials and protecting sources. It is at this point that huge amounts of weaponry are produced. Indeed it is at this point that all artwork is converted to weaponry, except that which is held by the state. Indeed many of the explorations of the ancient world were probably inspired to find sources for copper and tin with which to make weaponry for the warring nations.

Profit-motive main motivation

Sometimes the explorations would be government supported, but many times maritime trading cultures were the ones seeking huge profits. There was a fortune to be made. As always there is wealth to be made in the weapons business. And the stakes are high, domination and control versus servitude. However the general point is that the profit motive is a powerful motivational force towards exploration. When greed is linked to power, i.e. profit motive linked with military domination, as a motivating force it is hard to beat.

Power and Greed, formidable opponents of the Tao

The combination of Power and Greed is one on the more formidable opponents of the Tao. The Ring of Power had to be destroyed. It was too powerful for any mortal not to be engulfed by it. Even Gandalf turned it down. When Confucius was influencing one Duke to treat his subjects fairly. This reflected poorly upon his neighbor’s treatment of his subjects. The neighbor sent the Confucian Duke horses and dancing women. Shortly after the Duke dismissed Confucius and commenced neglecting his subjects. Power and Greed allow one to Fulfill Desires. Thus it is hard for the rich man to enter heaven. But he can get mighty close. And when you’re that close it’s hard to tell the difference. But a hairbreadth’s difference sometimes makes all the difference.