Predynastic Shang

{{Short description|21st century BC precursor to the Shang dynasty}}

{{Original research|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox Former Country

| native_name = 先商

| conventional_long_name = Predynastic Shang

| common_name =

| status = Autonomous state within Xia dynasty

| government_type = Chiefdom

| title_leader = Leader

| year_start = {{Circa|21st century BC}}

| year_end = {{Circa|1600 BC}}

| s1 = Shang dynasty

| event_start = Start of Xie's rule

| event_end = Established dynasty

| event1 = Battle of Mingtiao

| date_event1 = {{Circa|1600 BC}}

| capital =

| common_languages = Old Chinese

| religion = Shang state religion

| leader1 = Xie (first)

| leader2= Tang (last)

| today = China

}}

{{History of China}}

Predynastic Shang or Proto-Shang ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|æ|ŋ}};[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/shang "Shang"]. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. {{zh|c=先商}}) refers to the state of Shang that is believed to have existed during the Xia dynasty in ancient China, before its conquest of the Xia in approximately 1600 BC that led to the establishment of the Shang dynasty.{{Cite book|title = The Magic Square: Cities in Ancient China|author = Alfred Schinz|publisher = Axel Menges|year = 1996|isbn = 9783930698028|page = 27}} The Predynastic Shang started from Xie, a son of Emperor Ku and the first known Shang ancestor. Xie is said to have helped Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty, to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief. The period would last until Tang defeated Jie of Xia in the Battle of Mingtiao, eventually overthrowing the Xia dynasty.

During the period of the 14 predynastic Shang rulers before Tang, the capital changed eight times.{{cite web | url = https://www.thoughtco.com/shang-dynasty-walled-cities-ancient-china-117664 | title = The Walled Shang Dynasty Cities of Ancient China | access-date = June 29, 2024}} The area where early forms of Predynastic Shang culture are found include the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains in Hebei and the area around the city of Weihui in Henan, north of the Yellow River. These sites are close to places traditionally considered Xia dynasty sites, including the area of the Erlitou culture in Yanshi, although there are differences between the two cultures.{{Cite book|title = China: A New Cultural History|author = Zhuoyun Xu|publisher = Columbia University Press|year = 2012|isbn = 9780231159203|page = 73}}