Shang Dynasty

商朝

Economy and Society

社会与经济

From the findings on the site of Yin, the capital city of the Shang, archeologists found out that the productivity of the Shang Dynasty reached a relatively high level even during the former period.

从商朝都城殷的遗址所发现的东西看来，考古学家们发现商朝的生产力在其前期就已经但到了一个相对高的水平。

As far as agriculture was concerned, farm implements had been improved.

就农业而言，农耕工具已经得到改进。石犁、铁锹和镰刀被广泛运用。基本的作物包括粟和小麦。

Stone ploughs; spades and sickles were widely used. The primary crops included millet and wheat.

更重要的是，商朝的青铜器皿制造空前繁荣。

More important, the Shang Dynasty thrived in the manufacture of bronze vessels.Bronze culture has appeared in China before 3000 BC and achieved its zenith around the 13th century B.C.

青铜器的历史在中国始于公元前3000年，在公元前13世纪左右达到顶峰。

Bronze objects affected not only people’s daily life but the arms of the state.

青铜制品不仅影响着人们的日常生活还影响着国家的武器装备。

Its wide use enabled unprecedented accomplishments of the Shang Dynasty in politics, economy, culture and art.

它的广泛使用使商朝在政治、经济、文化和艺术方面取得了空前的成就。

In the reign of King Wuding, the landmark was the appearance of an alloy of copper, lead and tin.

在武丁执政期间，铜、铅、锡合金的出现是一个里程碑。

Bronzewares were under mass production.

人们大量生产青铜器。

They fell mainly into two classifications ： cooking vessels and alcohol containers.

它们主要被分为两类：烹饪器皿和盛酒的容器。

Among them，the famous works of art include simuwu quadripod， which is 732.84kg in weight as the largest bronzeware ever found anywhere in the world.

在它们之中，司母戊鼎是最著名的工艺品，它重达732.84公斤，是世界上最大的青铜器。

It was made in tribute to the deceased mother of Shang king.

它是献给商朝君主已故母亲的礼物。

Another is a wine container that has four goats resting on its rim.

另外一个是四边都有山羊的一个盛酒的容器。

The Shang Dynasty marked the coming of Bronze Age.

商朝标志着青铜时代的到来。

At the same time, great development came about in other industries as well.

在同一时期，其他工业也取得了很大的发展，

In handicraft, the operation went under much subtler division of labor.

手工业上，手工的操作被划分的更加精细。

It was recorded that a hundred lines emerged in handicraft at that time.

记载显示那时的手工业已有100种线存在。

Shang craftsmen acquired the skill of inlaying and carving and had their jade wares, stone wares and ivory wares brilliantly decorated.

商朝的工匠们需要掌握镶嵌、打磨和华美装饰他们的玉制品、石器和象牙制品的技能。

Textile workers invented the simple jacquard loom, which could produce high-quality silk fabric with a hidden pattern.

纺织品工人发明了简单的提花织机，用这种织机可以织出高质量的带有隐藏图案的丝织品。

Additionally, the Shang people also made significant progress in medicine, transportation and astronomy.

除此之外，商朝人民在医学、交通和天文学上也取得了巨大的进步。

During this period, important events were recorded on tortoise shell and animal bone using Oracle Script, which is the oldest known Chinese form of written communication.

在这段时期，重要的事件由甲骨文记录在龟壳和动物骨头上，这是中国已知的最古老的文字交流。

The tradition of ancestral worship has a long history in China.

祭祖的传统在中国有了很长的历史。

Archeologists have found it was practiced even in Prehistoric Times (1.7 million years to the 21st century B.C.).

考古学家们发现甚至在史前时期（公元前1700000年到公元前21世纪）祭祖就在被实行。

With the emergence of farming，people worshipped the heaven in hope of favorable weather for crops.

随着农业的出现，人们怀着求得对作物来说的好天气而祭天。

It actually was a kind of nature worship.Another kind of worship was ancestor worship, also called soul worship.

另一种祭祀方式是祭祖，也被称为鬼魂崇拜。

People offered sacrifice to their ancestor, praying for blessings bestowed by their ancestors.

人们为祖先供奉祭品，祈求祖先的保佑。

From the Xia Dynasty onwards, Kings were endowed with supreme authority.

从夏朝开始，君主被赋予了至高无上的权力。

In order to secure his power, the king combined ancestral worship and nature worship to create the God or the Heaven, and proclaimed himself the agent or the descendent of the God.

为了守护他的权力，君主会将祭祖与祭天结合起来，创造一个神或天庭，宣称自己是上天的代表和在凡间的后代。

In the Shang Dynasty, slavery system prevailed.

在商朝，奴隶制度盛行。

The aristocrats enjoyed all the luxuries while the slaves lived a dog's life. They belonged to their lord.

贵族享受着荣华富贵，奴隶却过着狗一样的生活。奴隶属于他们的主人。

After the slave owner died, the slaves were often buried alive as human sacrifice together with animal offerings.

当奴隶主去世之后，奴隶会被活埋，与牺牲一起作为活人祭品。