Ancestor Worship 
Oracle Bones

Ancestor Worship: Ancestor worship was very important to the early Shang kings and nobles. It was a way of life. 

When a man died, the ancient Chinese believed his spirit lived on in the afterworld. They believed their ancestors had magical powers. These magical powers allowed their ancestors to punish them or to help them. 

To keep their ancestors happy, they brought gifts of food and wine to special places or temples. They held many celebrations to honor their ancestors.

Oracle Bones: To communicate with their ancestors, the Shang kings used oracle bones (sometimes called dragon bones). 

Here's how it worked: The king or emperor would ask a question, for example, will it rain tomorrow? The priest would carve the king's question on an oracle bone, which was just an animal bone or turtle shell. (Will it rain tomorrow?) Then, the priest would heat a bronze pin and hold the hot pin to the bone. This created a pattern of cracks over the bone. The priest (who was usually a woman) would study the cracks to find the answer to the question.

 Archaeologists have found over 100,000 oracle bones. Since many questions were asked about daily life, we know something about this civilization. The thing is, they didn't exactly ask "Will it rain tomorrow?" Oracle bones say things like: "If we sacrifice 10 men or 5 oxen, will it rain tomorrow?" 

The Shang kings sacrificed a great number of people to talk to their ancestors. Some of those sacrificed were enemies, captured in war. Some were slaves or people who were sick or deformed. Some were merchants, craftsmen, or farmers who had upset the nobles. Some were nobles who had upset the king.

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