Shang Dynasty

Kings

Shang kings are conventionally referred to by posthumous names, of which the last character is one of the heavenly stems.

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. 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 in the dynasty.

The kings, in the order of succession derived from the oracle bones, are here grouped by generation:

Generation	Older brothers of patriarch			Line of descent	Younger brothers
17				大乙 Dà Yǐ
16				大丁 Dà Dīng
15				大甲 Dà Jiǎ	卜丙 Bǔ Bǐng
14				大庚 Dà Gēng	小甲 Xiǎo Jiǎ
13				大戊 Dà Wù	呂己 Lǚ Jǐ
12				中丁 Zhōng Dīng	卜壬 Bǔ Rén
11			戔甲 Jiān Jiǎ	祖乙 Zǔ Yǐ
10				祖辛 Zǔ Xīn	羌甲 Qiāng Jiǎ
9				祖丁 Zǔ Dīng	南庚 Nán Gēng
8	象甲 Xiàng Jiǎ	盤庚 Pán Gēng	小辛 Xiǎo Xīn	小乙 Xiǎo Yǐ
7				武丁 Wǔ Dīng
6			祖庚 Zǔ Gēng	祖甲 Zǔ Jiǎ
5			廩辛 Lǐn Xīn	康丁 Kāng Dīng
4				武乙 Wǔ Yǐ
3				文武丁 Wén Wǔ Dīng
2				帝乙 Dì Yǐ
1				帝辛 Dì Xīn