law+and+bureaucracy-+Huang+He

 The Shang Dynasty was an advanced society in China. Shang took over in 1600 BC and ruled for over 500 years. It had a system of bureaucracy and laws. Bureaucracy is a complicated system of government and holds positions within the government according to importance (hierarchy). Emperor shang was the person who made the laws and he also was the judge. He took the throne by force and created many territories. For each territory he would a ruler to watch over the region. He would appoint rulers if they supported his military plans. Shang formed strong religious relations to ancestors. He also brought cruel punishment to people who disobeyed or went against him. Anyone who went against the king was killed by soldiers right away. During the shang dynasty, some of the earliest laws were made. When bronze was invented, they would create pots and other objects. On these objects were scripts that were forms of laws and judging systems. Other laws found have been written on bamboo. Some laws were that executions could only take place during Fall and Winter because they were the seasons of decay and death in Nature (www.duhaime.org). They also had a code similar to Hammurabi. You get a punishment according to how bad your crime was.