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 | ||||
- Notes
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