Shang Dynasty Music & Dancing

This period of history spans the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods and up until the time the Qin Dynasty united China ?about 1,300 years. It can be roughly divided into two phases: the first comprising the Shang Dynasty, and the other from the beginning of Western Zhou onward. There is a fairly clear distinction between the two, although they had something in common in that bells and drums were the dominant musical instruments.

The Shang Dynasty was active over a wider territory than Xia, but they were both based on the same central area, the present Henan region. Shang directly inherited the musical tradition of Xia, and developed it to a remarkably high degree.

An outstanding feature of Shang society was its awe of supernatural beings. Despite what the On Politics of Analects of Confucius says: "The Yin (Shang) Dynasty inherited the system of rites from the Xia Dynasty." sacrificial ceremonies and witchcraft were much more prevalent in the Shang than in the Xia Dynasty, so much so that historians have dubbed Shang a "culture of sorcery". Ceremonial rites were inevitably accompanied by singing and dancing, which had been a tradition since primitive times. Indeed, there was an ancient saying that "rites cannot be performed without music". As late as the middle of the Western Han Dynasty (second century BC), even in the poorest regions, when sacrifices were offered to the local deities, songs would be sung in chorus, accompanied by tapping on ceramic jars and plates. So it goes without saying that sacrifices and other superstitious activities were occasions for grand performances of music and dancing. Another characteristic of Shang society was its veneration for music and dancing. The people of Shang used to communicate with the gods by mean of music, and sing fervently to make the gods hear them. Music and dancing were important means of offering tribute, serving and entertaining the gods, as well as a channel linking the gods and men.

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