This 3000 Year-old ‘Oracle Bone’ Helps Pick a Shang Dynasty Queen 👑 Smithsonian Channel

Рет қаралды 28,918

Күн бұрын

One of the most remarkable Chinese archaeological finds is a 3000 year-old ‘oracle bone’ made of fragmented turtle shell, covered with inscriptions. This artifact relays the divination ceremony of Queen Fu Hao, in her bid to marry a Shang dynasty king.
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Пікірлер: 40

@samhwwg Жыл бұрын

For context, an ancient book in China called the sacred book （尚書）, a noble of Shang talks about the great standards of rulership. The standard to solving a massive trouble is 1) ask of your (the ruler’s) heart’s true desire; 2) ask of your advisors and ministers; 3) ask of your subjects opinions; 4) ask your diviners. (汝則有大疑，謀及乃心，謀及卿士，謀及庶人，謀及卜筮). So obviously these people didn’t just ask the gods for everything. The late Shang rulers did a lot of blasphemous work to the gods, including pouring blood of black dogs onto statues of gods, shooting arrows at the heaven, and punching a wooden statue that had the word “god” written on it. These actions were interpreted by modern scholars to be an act of religious warfare against the diviner’s institution. It’s believed that by middle till late Shang dynasty, no one truly believed in the gods, not the king nor the diviners, it has become a purely earthly power struggle.

@terrellkyles6914 Жыл бұрын

I will use this method next time I pick my queen

@Ukie_Hags_World Жыл бұрын

We need to use this method next time we vote. 😊

@brettnelson7518 Жыл бұрын

@@Ukie_Hags_World Which country votes for a queen? Isn't it a family thing?

@user-fo2uh4rm5c 5 ай бұрын

Prior to Shang Dynasty in China is Xia Dynasty 夏王朝,with a lot of jades and relics unearthed in the palace site (二里頭).

@TheopolisQSmith Жыл бұрын

You have to wonder how this whole idea of using cracked bones to decide anything much less major decisions.

@SiiriCressey Жыл бұрын

Same for chicken + bovine entrails.

@HebaruSan Жыл бұрын

Some have argued that there can be value in having SOME decision that everyone in a social group feels obligated to follow, regardless of which decision it is. Especially for decisions that lack a clear objective basis for choosing, like picking a queen.

@SiiriCressey Жыл бұрын

@@HebaruSan Sure, but.......why these specific methods?

@SpencerLemay Жыл бұрын

@@SiiriCressey Because it could be anything. Many modern people don't believe in coincidences at all and think that patterns in seemingly random numbers are important. In a world before numbers, maybe people saw coincidences and patterns in everyday things like bones in the fire. It's possible they thought these patterns could only be explained by the supernatural and these beliefs were passed on. I knew a guy who liked to throw dice over and over again. He thought that when you rolled a dice, you would be less likely to get that same outcome if you rolled the dice again. As if the universe itself would work to prevent coincidences without meaning. He insisted he had thrown enough dice to know this for a fact... until I pulled out a calculator and explained the odds of such a thing happening.

@SiiriCressey Жыл бұрын

@@SpencerLemay Absolutely. I'm saying, it would be interesting to know what led to these specific methods being used in these specific cultures + situations. I don't necessarily expect you to know.

@thenomad9230 Жыл бұрын

more documentaries about Chinese dynasties please. Particularly Han.

@stillme4084 Жыл бұрын

Its the Original Hanging Chad!

@matthewrundell8879 9 ай бұрын

I had trouble reading the subtitles due to the Smithsonian logo! Could you re-upload?

@meejinhuang Жыл бұрын

China should use this same method and pick a new leader.

@NickMeckler Жыл бұрын

You don’t understand communists

@ancientruth5298 Жыл бұрын

US should borrow this to pick good leader they've got Biden 🤣😂🤣

@whushaw Жыл бұрын

@@ancientruth5298 Who's talking about the US? The video is about Chinese history.

@zhubajie6940 Жыл бұрын

Anyang and especially Yinxu (the Ruins of Yin), a UN World Heritage Site, is a wonderful historic place to visit, and when hopefully things improve more people can visit as it is the true beginning of Chinese civilization.

@rencechannel2240 2 ай бұрын

And Erlitou (二理頭）Xia Dynasty predates Shang is the semi-legendary dynasty