c. 1600 BCE–c. 1046 BCE
Shang lineage rites and bronzes
Religion · Chinese traditions · Ritual and ancestors
The Shang are the first Chinese dynasty documented archaeologically. Their Yellow River centers combined political authority, bronze ritual vessels and worship of ancestors and other powers. This courtly evidence does not represent all the diversity of ancient China.
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · approximate
- End
- year · approximate
- Dating in the source document
- ca. 1600–1046 a. C.
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- 2026-09-04
Reading the date: duration of a process.
Sources
- A (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- 2004-10-01
- What this date describes
- The cited source or edition; it may postdate the historical event.
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.