n," for instance, looked much like the sun. This pictographic writing eventually developed into the more
             complex ideographic writing that we are more familiar with. Chinese writing is one of the only contemporary writing
             systems that still prominently bears traces of its pictographic origins.
             The Shang worshipped a figure they called "Shang Ti," or "Lord on High." This supreme god ruled over lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places. Shang-Ti also regulated human affairs as well as ruling over the material universe. This dual function would, in the Chou dynasty, be attributed to a more abstract figure, "t'ien," or "Heaven." The Shang also believed that their ancestors dwelled in heaven after their death and continued to show an interest in their familiy and descendants. The obligations within the family included, therefore, the ancestors. Failing in one's duties to the ancestors could bring all sorts of disaster on a
             family. All of these divine and semi-divine figures, from Shang-Ti to a family's ancestors, were sacrificed to. However, we know little of the nature or the frequency of these sacrifices. We do know, however, that in the Chou dynasty only the king could sacrifice to Shang-Ti; it is highly likely that Shang-Ti was the "local god" of the Shang kings who was subsequently elevated in order to elevate the Shang themselves. The one disturbing fact of Shang sacrifice is that it certainly involved humans; slaves and prisoners of war were often sacrificed by the hundreds when a king died. Lesser numbers were sacrificed at the founding of a palace or temple.
             F. Major reasons for decline and fall:
             2. Chou: dynasty (1122-221 B.C.) that ruled ancient china from almost a thousand years establishing a distinctive political and cultural characteristics which would be identified with China for the next 2,000 years.
             B. Territorial Location & size at height of power (map): The...