#6 - Shang 1: Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Or...

In this first of two parts, we look at the first half of the Shang Dynasty beginning with the victory and reign of Tang "The Perfect" and leaving off 21 emperors, five capitals, and 400 years later with the amazing reign of Wu Ding and his warrior-priestess wife Lady Fu Hao. Alon ...  Show more

This episode we chronicle the decline and eventual fall of the once-glorious Shang Dynasty to the same vices and evils that spelled doom for the Xia centuries ago. In the West, a powerful new clan calling itself the Zhou has risen to power, eventually with an eye to make right wh ...  Show more

1750 - 1046 BCE - Plotting the rise and fall of the Shang dynasty where archaeology meets traditional stories.  An incredible bronze age with innovative techniques and the comparison of cultural advances with the rest of the world. 

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the sources for early Chinese history. The first attempts to make a record of historical events in China date from the Shang dynasty of the second millennium BC. The earliest surviving records were inscribed on bones or tortoise shells; in late ...  Show more

In this week's session, we look into a story from the Chinese culture to help us better understand the concept of what is truly good and truly bad for us. Learn more in this week's podcast. 

Let us put some flesh on the bones of our prehistoric hominin story, and discover what our ancestors created to get carved flesh from the bones of animals. We investigate the technological advances from over three million years ago up to the last million years.