What helped the Shang ruling classes achieve great wealth?

What was the primary factor in the decline of the Shang dynasty according to the passage?

What did the Shang use as a form of money? 

How did the Shang obtain cowrie shells for their monetary system?

What did the Shang king and his nobles spend a lot of money on?

 How did the lavish spending of the Shang ruling class affect their economy over time?

 According to a later king, what was the final blow to the Shang dynasty? 

What activity did the last Shang king reportedly spend most of his time on? 

Is there certainty about the report of the last Shang king’s corruption and neglect?

Around what year did the Zhou rise up against the Shang dynasty? 

Who led the Zhou armies in their uprising against the Shang? 

How did the Zhou defeat the Shang?

What reportedly happened to the last Shang king during the fall of his dynasty?

What is the significance of the story about the last Shang king’s fate? 

What material was crucial to the Shang dynasty's technology?

What were some of the tools of war that Shang artisans made using bronze?

Why was bronze-making skill important for the Shang dynasty?

For how long did the Shang dynasty remain in power, partly due to their bronze-making skills?

Which of the following best explains the significance of bronze to the Shang dynasty?

What type of objects did Shang artisans create with bronze besides tools of war?

What types of designs were commonly found on Shang bronze vessels?

what was the most common picture found on Shang bronze vessels

Which of the following features might a taotie have?

What do some scholars believe the taotie masks represented?

What other remarkable type of artwork did the Shang produce besides bronze objects?

How did workers create jade objects?

Why is jade considered a significant material in Chinese culture?

What did the hardness of jade symbolize in Chinese culture?

Which qualities of jade were believed to represent kindness?

What are the inscriptions on oracle bones known for?

In Shang writing, what do characters stand for?

What type of symbols did early Chinese writing contain?

By the Shang dynasty, what additional type of characters were used in Chinese writing?

Which of the following is an example of a Shang logograph?

How did having a written language help unify the Chinese people?

How did the written language differ from the spoken language in ancient China?

What was the central focus of Shang religion?

What do the treasures buried in kings' tombs suggest about Shang beliefs?

How did the Shang show respect to their ancestors?

What power did the Shang believe dead ancestors had over the living?

What was one of the king's responsibilities related to his ancestors in Shang religion?

How did the Shang king's relationship to ancestral spirits affect his right to rule?

What were oracle bones used for in the Shang dynasty?

From what materials were oracle bones typically made?

What would a holy man do to an oracle bone to seek advice?

 How was the advice or message from the ancestors interpreted from the oracle bones?

What would the holy man or king do after interpreting the message from the oracle bone?

Why are the inscriptions on oracle bones valuable to us today?

Which of the following is an example of a question that might be asked using an oracle bone?

How many social classes can Shang society be divided into?

Who was at the top of the social hierarchy in Shang society?

 What was the role of the nobles in Shang society?

Why was the king unlikely to interfere with the nobles' control over the land?

Which group was directly below the king and his relatives in the Shang social hierarchy?

Which social class in Shang society included people responsible for producing weapons and other goods?

In Shang society, which social class was responsible for growing food and providing for the sustenance of the population?

Who were at the bottom of the social hierarchy in Shang society?

How did Shang nobles live?

What activity were Shang nobles known to enjoy?

What evidence suggests that the Shang were great hunters?

What types of animals did Shang nobles hunt with the king?

What symbols of power did the king often give to nobles?

How were the jade discs decorated?

Where did nobles often place the jade discs given to them by the king?

What types of skilled workers were included in the artisan class in Shang society?

How did the status of artisans compare to that of nobles and farmers in Shang society?

Why were artisans skilled in bronze especially valued in Shang society?

For what purposes did artisans make and decorate containers in Shang society?

How did traders rank in Shang society compared to nobles and farmers?

What evidence suggests that the Shang traded extensively?

Who led the Shang government?

How did Shang kings extend their power?

What happened to the king's power when he died?

What was a significant part of Shang kings' military activities?

How were prisoners of war used by the Shang?

Why did Shang kings fight to keep other clans under control?