<P> Bronze weapons were an integral part of Shang society . Shang infantry were armed with a variety of stone and bronze weaponry, including máo (矛) spears, yuè (鉞) pole - axes, gē (戈) pole - based dagger - axes, composite bows, and bronze or leather helmets . </P> <P> The chariot first appeared in China around 1200 BC, during the reign of Wu Ding . There is little doubt that the chariot entered China through the Central Asia and the Northern Steppe, possibly indicating some form of contact with the Indo - Europeans . Recent archaeological finds have shown that the late Shang used horses, chariots, bows and practiced horse burials that are similar to the steppe peoples to the west . These influences led Christopher I. Beckwith to speculate that Indo - Europeans "may even have been responsible for the foundation of the Shang Dynasty", though he admits there is no direct evidence . Oracle bone inscriptions suggest that the Shang used chariots in royal hunts and in battle only as mobile command vehicles . In contrast, the western enemies of the Shang, such as the Zhou, began to use limited numbers of chariots in battle towards the end of the Shang period . </P> <P> Although the Shang depended upon the military skills of their nobility, Shang rulers could mobilize the masses of town - dwelling and rural commoners as conscript laborers and soldiers for both campaigns of defense and conquest . Aristocrats and other state rulers were obligated to furnish their local garrisons with all necessary equipment, armor, and armaments . The Shang king maintained a force of about a thousand troops at his capital and would personally lead this force into battle . A rudimentary military bureaucracy was also needed in order to muster forces ranging from three to five thousand troops for border campaigns to thirteen thousand troops for suppressing rebellions against the Shang dynasty . </P> <P> The earliest records are the oracle bones inscribed during the reigns of the Shang kings from Wu Ding . The oracle bones do not contain king lists, but they do record the sacrifices to previous kings and the ancestors of the current king, which follow a standard schedule that scholars have reconstructed . From this evidence, scholars have assembled the implied king list and genealogy, finding that it is in substantial agreement with the later accounts, especially for later kings . </P>

Geographic features of ancient china under the shang dynasty