Examine the excerpts from the Shang oracle bones. What do these documents reveal about the politics, religion, social structure, and gender relations in ancient China? Please provide specific references to the documents. (125 words) CHAPTER 4China's Classical Ageone hundred thousand examples, only a few of which are printed below. Inaddition to including a question for the ancestors, the bones often revealtheir divined response, and a record of the actual result.to 221 B.C.E.MILITARY CAMPAIGNS[A] Divined: "It should be Zhi Guo whom the king joins to attack theBafang, [for if he does] Di will [confer assistance] on us."[B] "It should not be Zhi Guo whom the king joins to attack theBafang [for if he does] Di may not [confer assistance] on us."he Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500-1050 B.C.E.) was the first Chinesedynasty to leave behind evidence of its culture, including writtentexts and bronze weapons. Following its collapse, China shifted betweenperiods of unified empire and civil war, which often ushered in new dynas-ties. The Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050-256 B.C.E.) helped establish this patternby ascribing the fall of the Shang to the "Mandate of Heaven," whichargued that dynasties lose Heaven's blessing when they become corruptand can be overthrown. After a long period.of rule, even the Zhou Dynastylost control of China, leading to a period of civil war known as the WarringStates Period (403-221 B.C.E.). The political chaos of this time inspired aseries of important political philosophies, such as Confucianism, Daoism,and Legalism, on which later Chinese culture would be built.METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA(A] [Preface:] Crack-making on bingshen [day 33}, Que divined:(Charge:] "On the coming yisi [day 42], [we] will perform the you-ritualto Xia Yi (the twelfth king]." [Prognostication:] The king read the cracksand said: "When [we] perform the you-ritual there will be occasion forcalamities; there may be thunder." [Verification:] On yisi [day 42], {we]performed the you-ritual. At dawn it rained; at the beheading sacrifice itstopped raining; when the beheading sacrifice was all done, it likewiserained; when [we] displayed [the victims] and split them open, it suddenlycleared.[B] [Verification:] In the night of yisi [day 42] there was thunder inthe west.DOCUMENT 4-1AGRICULTURE{A] [Preface:] Crack-making on [bing-ļchen [day 53], Que divined:[Charge:] "We will receive millet harvest."[B] [Preface:] Crack-making on bingchen [day 53], Que divined:[Charge:] "We[C] [Prognostication:] The king read the cracks and said: “Auspicious.We will receive this harvest."Shang Oracle Bonesca. 1200–1050 B.C.E.maynot receive millet harvest." (Postface:) Fourth moon.At the turn of the twentieth century, Chinese peasants were discovering"dragon bones""bones" until scholars realized that the bones were inscribed with the earli-'near ancient sites. The peasants crushed and drank theseSICKNESSest form of Chinese writing. They were not the bones of dragons, but rathertortoise shells or shoulder blade bones of bulls that had been heated untilthey cracked. By cracking the bones, officials in the Shang court attemptedto divine the will of the ancestors (and occasionally the high god Di). Yearsof excavation at the ceremonial center at Anyang have revealed more thanDivined: "There is a sick tooth; it is not Father Yi [the twentieth king,Wu Ding's father] who is harming [it]."CHILDBIRTHPatricia Buckley Ebrey, ed., Chinese Civilization and Society: A Sourcebook, 2d ed.,trans. David N. Keightley (New. York: Free Press, 1993), 4-5.[A} [Preface:] Crack-making on jiashen (day 21], Que divined:[Charge:] "Lady Hao [a consort of Wu Ding] will give birth and it will begood." [Prognostication:] The king read the cracks and said: "If it be on a ding' day that she give birth, it will be good. If it be on a geng? day thatshé give birth, it will be prolonged auspiciousness." {Verification:] [After]thirty-one days, on jiayin [day 51], she gave birth. It was not good. It wasa girl.(B] [Preface:] Crack-making on jiashen [day 21], Que divined:[Charge:] "Lady Hao will give birth and it may not be good." [Verifica-tion:] [After] thirty-one days, on jiayin {day 51], she gave birth. It really wasnot good. It was a girl.HUNTING EXPEDITIONS AND EXCURSIONSOn renzi [day 49] the king made cracks and divined: "[We] hunt atZhi; going and coming back there will be no harm." [Prognostication:}The king read the cracks and said: "Prolonged auspiciousness." [Verifi-cation:] This was used. [We] caught forty-one foxes, eight mi-deer, onerhinoceros.THE TEN-DAY WEEK[A] On guichou [day 50], the king made cracks and divined: "In the[next] ten days, there will be no disasters." [Prognostication:] The kingread the cracks and said: "Auspicious."[B] On guihai [day 60], the king made cracks and divined: "In the[next] ten days, there will be no disasters." [Prognostication:] The kingread the cracks and said: "Auspicious."DISÁSTER, DISTRESS, OR TROUBLE[A] Crack-making on jiashen [day 21], Zheng divined: "This rain willbe disastrous for us."[B] Divined: "This rain will not be disastrous for us."DREAMS[A] Crack-making on jichou [day 26], Que divined: "The king's dreamwas due to Ancestor Yi."[B] Divined: "The king's dream was not due to Ancestor Yi."READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS1. What do these bones reveal about the relationship between the Shangrulers and their ancestors?SETTLEMENT BUILDING[A] Crack-making on renzi [day 49], Zheng divined: "If we build asettlement, Di will not obstruct [but] approve." Third moon....2. What are some of the topics that the Shang rulers asked about? Whatmight this reveal about their interests?DIVINE ASSISTANCE OR APPROVAL3. How might you use these kinds ef documents to understand Shanghistory?[A] Crack-making on xinchou [day 38], Que divined: "Di approvesthe king."[B] Divined: "Di does not approve the king."REQUESTS TO ANCESTRAL OR NATURE POWERSDOCUMENT 2Crack-making on xinhai [day 48], Gu divined: "In praying for har-vest to Yue [a mountain spirit], [we] make a burnt offering of three smallpenned sheep [and] split open three cattle." Second moon.From Book of Documentsca. 900–10Q B.C.ETHE NIGHT OR THE DAY[A] Crack-making on renshen [day 9], Shi divined: "This night therewill be no disasters."[B] Divined: "This night it will not rain." Ninth moon.The Book of Documents is one of the five texts traditionally ascribed toConfucius (531479 B.C.E.) and studied as the basis of Confuçianism.i was compiled in ts original form by300 B.C.E., howeyer, it had to be! ding: The day of the week when sacrifices were usually made.?geng: The seventh day of the Shang ten-day week.Janxes Legge, trans., The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism, inK. Max Mueller, ed, The Sacred Books of the East, 50 yols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press,1879-1910), 3:9295.

Question

Examine the excerpts from the Shang oracle bones. What do these documents reveal about the politics, religion, social structure, and gender relations in ancient China? Please provide specific references to the documents. (125 words) CHAPTER 4China's Classical Ageone hundred thousand examples, only a few of which are printed below. Inaddition to including a question for the ancestors, the bones often revealtheir divined response, and a record of the actual result.to 221 B.C.E.MILITARY CAMPAIGNS[A] Divined: &#34;It should be Zhi Guo whom the king joins to attack theBafang, [for if he does] Di will [confer assistance] on us.&#34;[B] &#34;It should not be Zhi Guo whom the king joins to attack theBafang [for if he does] Di may not [confer assistance] on us.&#34;he Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500-1050 B.C.E.) was the first Chinesedynasty to leave behind evidence of its culture, including writtentexts and bronze weapons. Following its collapse, China shifted betweenperiods of unified empire and civil war, which often ushered in new dynas-ties. The Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050-256 B.C.E.) helped establish this patternby ascribing the fall of the Shang to the &#34;Mandate of Heaven,&#34; whichargued that dynasties lose Heaven's blessing when they become corruptand can be overthrown. After a long period.of rule, even the Zhou Dynastylost control of China, leading to a period of civil war known as the WarringStates Period (403-221 B.C.E.). The political chaos of this time inspired aseries of important political philosophies, such as Confucianism, Daoism,and Legalism, on which later Chinese culture would be built.METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA(A] [Preface:] Crack-making on bingshen [day 33}, Que divined:(Charge:] &#34;On the coming yisi [day 42], [we] will perform the you-ritualto Xia Yi (the twelfth king].&#34; [Prognostication:] The king read the cracksand said: &#34;When [we] perform the you-ritual there will be occasion forcalamities; there may be thunder.&#34; [Verification:] On yisi [day 42], {we]performed the you-ritual. At dawn it rained; at the beheading sacrifice itstopped raining; when the beheading sacrifice was all done, it likewiserained; when [we] displayed [the victims] and split them open, it suddenlycleared.[B] [Verification:] In the night of yisi [day 42] there was thunder inthe west.DOCUMENT 4-1AGRICULTURE{A] [Preface:] Crack-making on [bing-ļchen [day 53], Que divined:[Charge:] &#34;We will receive millet harvest.&#34;[B] [Preface:] Crack-making on bingchen [day 53], Que divined:[Charge:] &#34;We[C] [Prognostication:] The king read the cracks and said: “Auspicious.We will receive this harvest.&#34;Shang Oracle Bonesca. 1200–1050 B.C.E.maynot receive millet harvest.&#34; (Postface:) Fourth moon.At the turn of the twentieth century, Chinese peasants were discovering&#34;dragon bones&#34;&#34;bones&#34; until scholars realized that the bones were inscribed with the earli-'near ancient sites. The peasants crushed and drank theseSICKNESSest form of Chinese writing. They were not the bones of dragons, but rathertortoise shells or shoulder blade bones of bulls that had been heated untilthey cracked. By cracking the bones, officials in the Shang court attemptedto divine the will of the ancestors (and occasionally the high god Di). Yearsof excavation at the ceremonial center at Anyang have revealed more thanDivined: &#34;There is a sick tooth; it is not Father Yi [the twentieth king,Wu Ding's father] who is harming [it].&#34;CHILDBIRTHPatricia Buckley Ebrey, ed., Chinese Civilization and Society: A Sourcebook, 2d ed.,trans. David N. Keightley (New. York: Free Press, 1993), 4-5.[A} [Preface:] Crack-making on jiashen (day 21], Que divined:[Charge:] &#34;Lady Hao [a consort of Wu Ding] will give birth and it will begood.&#34; [Prognostication:] The king read the cracks and said: &#34;If it be on a ding' day that she give birth, it will be good. If it be on a geng? day thatshé give birth, it will be prolonged auspiciousness.&#34; {Verification:] [After]thirty-one days, on jiayin [day 51], she gave birth. It was not good. It wasa girl.(B] [Preface:] Crack-making on jiashen [day 21], Que divined:[Charge:] &#34;Lady Hao will give birth and it may not be good.&#34; [Verifica-tion:] [After] thirty-one days, on jiayin {day 51], she gave birth. It really wasnot good. It was a girl.HUNTING EXPEDITIONS AND EXCURSIONSOn renzi [day 49] the king made cracks and divined: &#34;[We] hunt atZhi; going and coming back there will be no harm.&#34; [Prognostication:}The king read the cracks and said: &#34;Prolonged auspiciousness.&#34; [Verifi-cation:] This was used. [We] caught forty-one foxes, eight mi-deer, onerhinoceros.THE TEN-DAY WEEK[A] On guichou [day 50], the king made cracks and divined: &#34;In the[next] ten days, there will be no disasters.&#34; [Prognostication:] The kingread the cracks and said: &#34;Auspicious.&#34;[B] On guihai [day 60], the king made cracks and divined: &#34;In the[next] ten days, there will be no disasters.&#34; [Prognostication:] The kingread the cracks and said: &#34;Auspicious.&#34;DISÁSTER, DISTRESS, OR TROUBLE[A] Crack-making on jiashen [day 21], Zheng divined: &#34;This rain willbe disastrous for us.&#34;[B] Divined: &#34;This rain will not be disastrous for us.&#34;DREAMS[A] Crack-making on jichou [day 26], Que divined: &#34;The king's dreamwas due to Ancestor Yi.&#34;[B] Divined: &#34;The king's dream was not due to Ancestor Yi.&#34;READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS1. What do these bones reveal about the relationship between the Shangrulers and their ancestors?SETTLEMENT BUILDING[A] Crack-making on renzi [day 49], Zheng divined: &#34;If we build asettlement, Di will not obstruct [but] approve.&#34; Third moon....2. What are some of the topics that the Shang rulers asked about? Whatmight this reveal about their interests?DIVINE ASSISTANCE OR APPROVAL3. How might you use these kinds ef documents to understand Shanghistory?[A] Crack-making on xinchou [day 38], Que divined: &#34;Di approvesthe king.&#34;[B] Divined: &#34;Di does not approve the king.&#34;REQUESTS TO ANCESTRAL OR NATURE POWERSDOCUMENT 2Crack-making on xinhai [day 48], Gu divined: &#34;In praying for har-vest to Yue [a mountain spirit], [we] make a burnt offering of three smallpenned sheep [and] split open three cattle.&#34; Second moon.From Book of Documentsca. 900–10Q B.C.ETHE NIGHT OR THE DAY[A] Crack-making on renshen [day 9], Shi divined: &#34;This night therewill be no disasters.&#34;[B] Divined: &#34;This night it will not rain.&#34; Ninth moon.The Book of Documents is one of the five texts traditionally ascribed toConfucius (531479 B.C.E.) and studied as the basis of Confuçianism.i was compiled in ts original form by300 B.C.E., howeyer, it had to be! ding: The day of the week when sacrifices were usually made.?geng: The seventh day of the Shang ten-day week.Janxes Legge, trans., The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism, inK. Max Mueller, ed, The Sacred Books of the East, 50 yols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press,1879-1910), 3:9295.

Accepted Answer

The Shang dynasty was the oldest kingdom in China. This dynasty ruled ancient China from 1766 to…