For our last bit of work on the Shang Dynasty – I don’t think we’ll use the booklet. It gives quite a lot of detail on just how cruel the last Emperor was, so instead please just read the information below and then watch the clip from BBC Bitesize.
The Shang Dynasty was hugely successful. It lasted for over 500 years and the role of emperor was passed down through 17 generations. In 1075, Wu Deng became emperor. He began to fight battles with other states to gain more land. But soon he became very powerful, greedy and unkind. He stopped looking after he people and began to tax them heavily so that he could become more rich and powerful.
He and his wife began to be really unkind to the people of the state and made cruel punishments for people who didn’t do as they said. The leaders of the other states became angry with Wu Deng’s behaviour. One night they looked at the sky and saw that 5 of the planets were all in a line. This only happens every 512 years. They decided that this was a sign from the Gods to try to overthrow Wu Deng (also known as Di Xin). This means they would remove him from his role as emperor.
The neighbouring states sent their armies to the Shang Capital. Many of the Shang people, surrendered (that means they gave in) and many joined the other army to fight against their emperor. When Wu Deng realised he was going to lose the battle and that the Shang Dynasty would come to an end, he collected all of his treasures in his palace and burned it to the ground so that nobody could steal his treasures. This was the end of the Shang Dynasty.
Then try this quiz…
