Bronze

The Shang

 * advanced for their time
 * around 2000 BCE
 * heavy emphasis on war and practicality
 * first of the Chinese to urbanize (palaces, workshops, large cities)

**Ways that Bronze Helped the Shang**

 * -made the Shang powerful in war**
 * bronze battle-axes
 * bronze spears
 * bronze-wheeled chariots
 * -gave the Shang power**
 * Tzu clan were the only ones with enough money and power for resources for bronze
 * metal ore, wood fuel, and human labor
 * farmers generally relied on wood and stone
 * bronze became a symbol of wealth, power, and luxury
 * -made vessels for communication with Shang ancestor gods**
 * common inscription was the "taotie"
 * other designs: dragons, birds, cows, geometric shapes

**Method for Molding Bronze**

 * called "piece-mold casting"
 * 1) model is made of the object
 * 2) a clay mold is made of the model
 * 3) designs are made of the clay mold
 * 4) fired to harden

**Bronze Tripods**

 * symbol of power
 * 9 were given to Cheng Tang in the beginning of Shang rule
 * names and history engraved on tripods

**Mao Gong Ding**

 * longest inscription of a bronze instrument ever discovered in China
 * 497 characters
 * reveals instability of the Zhou dynasty