When Tang of Shang established the Shang dynasty, the first capital was at Bo (pronounced "bó," modern-day Shangqiu, Henan Province). Over the following three hundred years, the capital city was relocated five times. This was due to constant struggles for the throne and internal rebellions within the royal family, compounded by frequent flooding in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On one occasion, a massive flood completely submerged the capital, forcing them to move.
Starting from Tang, the throne passed through twenty kings until it reached Pan Geng. Pan Geng was a capable ruler. To address the prevailing social instability, he resolved to relocate the capital once again.
However, most of the nobility, accustomed to comfort, were unwilling to move. Some powerful nobles even incited the common people to oppose the move, causing serious unrest.
Facing strong opposition, Pan Geng did not waver in his determination to relocate. He summoned the nobles who opposed the move and patiently reasoned with them: "I ask you to relocate in order to stabilize our state. Instead of understanding my intentions, you create unnecessary panic. You wish to change my mind—this is impossible."
Due to Pan Geng's firm insistence on the relocation, he overcame the opposition and finally led the common people and slaves across the Yellow River to settle in Yin (modern-day Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province). There, he reformed the politics of the Shang dynasty, reviving the declining state. For the next two hundred years, the capital remained unchanged. Thus, the Shang dynasty is also known as Yin-Shang or simply the Yin dynasty.
Since then, after more than three thousand years, the Shang capital had long turned into ruins. In modern times, archaeologists excavated a vast number of ancient artifacts in the Xiaotun Village area of Anyang, confirming that the site was once the capital of the Shang dynasty. It is now known as the "Yin Ruins."
Among the artifacts unearthed from the Yin Ruins are over one hundred thousand pieces of turtle shells and animal bones, inscribed with difficult-to-decipher characters. Only after extensive research by archaeologists were these characters understood. It turned out that the Shang ruling class was deeply superstitious about spirits and deities. Whenever they conducted sacrifices, hunting expeditions, or military campaigns, they would use turtle shells and animal bones for divination to determine fortune or misfortune. After the divination, they would inscribe the circumstances and results onto the shells and bones. These characters were vastly different from modern writing and later became known as "oracle bone script." The Chinese characters we use today evolved from this ancient script.
The excavations at the Yin Ruins also revealed a large number of bronze vessels and weapons, diverse in type and exquisitely crafted. One large square ding (cauldron) named "Si Mu Wu" weighed 875 kilograms and stood over 130 centimeters tall, adorned with magnificent decorative patterns. Such a massive bronze artifact demonstrates that the technical and artistic standards of bronze casting during the Yin-Shang period were highly advanced. Yet, one can only imagine how much slave labor and suffering went into creating such a colossal and exquisite masterpiece!
Archaeologists have also unearthed the tombs of Yin-Shang slave owners at the Yin Ruins. In a large royal tomb at Wuguan Village, Anyang, alongside lavish burial goods like jewels and jade, many slaves were found to have been brutally killed as human sacrifices. In the passageways beside the main tomb, piles of headless skeletons lay on one side, while rows of skulls lined the other. Inscriptions on the oracle bones record that they slaughtered large numbers of slaves as sacrificial offerings during ancestral rites—up to 2,600 at a time. This is clear evidence of the slave owners' brutal oppression of their slaves.
From the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed at the Yin Ruins, we have obtained reliable evidence about the social conditions of the Yin-Shang period. Therefore, it is said that China's earliest recorded history begins with the Shang dynasty.