The Shang Dynasty, also called the Yin Dynasty, is said to have been founded around 2,000 B.C. by King Tang, who overthrew the fabled Xia Dynasty, which is said to be the oldest dynasty in China.
However, since the existence of the Xia Dynasty is now only known in myth, the Shang Dynasty is considered to be the oldest dynasty in China.
The name Yin was used during the later Zhou dynasty, but it was originally called Shang, taken from the name of its final capital, Dàyì Shāng.
In the mid-20th century, the remains of the capital Dàyì Shāng were excavated in present-day Anyang County, Henan Province, where bronze, white pottery, ivory, and other artifacts have been found.
The discovery of several carapaces and other objects that are thought to have been used in divination also indicates that society at that time was exclusively guided by the results of the king's divination, everything from farming to succession to the throne was governed by those results.
The Shang Dynasty flourished in the middle basin of the Yellow River for about a thousand years starting in the second millennium B.C., but was overthrown by King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty in 1027 during the reign of King Zhou.
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