Hong Ming
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RELIGION


Use of oracle bones- the shoulder bone of an ox onto which the priest scratched questions for a person’s ancestors
After the bone was heated, the priest interpreted the cracks

All of the Shang citizens shared a religion, at the core of which was the belief that their ancestors lived in a spirit world and, if they worshipped them and gave them sacrifices, the spirit of their ancestor would guide them and keep away as many bad things as they could. To worship their ancestors, the Shang people would place food in a bronze vessel called the Fang Ding Zun, and put wine into a bronze container called the Jia. Every time someone royal died, there would be human and dog sacrifices to help them in the spirit world. They also believed in two other gods, Ruler Above and God of Earth.

From the images given, such as the ritual vessels and the inscbied ox scapula, we know that there is an existand of priests. Conduct a research to learn more about the religion that the people of Shang Civilisation practiced. Blog your answers supported by pictoral or written sources as your evidence.

The Shang worshipped the “Shang Di,” who was the supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places.8 They also worship8ped their ancestors because they believed that although their ancestors lived in heaven after their death, they were still actively involved in the affairs of family and descendants. The kings communicated with their ancestors using oracle bones and made frequent sacrifices to them. As in many other societies, they sacrificed animals to royal ancestors and to various nature gods,9 using sacrifices to ask the ancestors or gods for help and to feed the ancestors or gods to keep them strong.10 They believed that if they failed to properly worship their ancestors, their family and the kingdom would experience many disasters.
Because the Shang believed in the afterlife and ancestor worship, they thought very seriously about burial and what was to accompany the deceased to his or her grave. The vast and elaborate tombs of the Shang royal family are signs of their strong beliefs. Among the many treasures buried in important people’s tombs were the remains of many other people. Some were nameless individuals who had been captured during battle and used as human sacrifices at burials. Others were relatives or lower-ranking dependents of the deceased. This practice of burying lower-ranking people reflected the Shang’s belief that those related to a king or lord by blood or service in life were expected to continue that relationship in death.