Day in the Life of A Shang Dynasty Person

January, 1605 BCE

The Shang Dynasty has just started about five years ago. I am an eight year old girl. I live in a family of eight people. I have a mother, a father, three sisters, and two brothers. We are farmers, just like most people in the Shang Dynasty. Family is very important to us Shang people. As a child, I must obey my parents. I cannot complain, whine, or do anything I am not suppose to. My father is the leader of this family. When he does something wrong, the whole family has done something wrong.

March, 1605 BCE

Sorry Dairy that I have not written to you in such a  long time. Everyone is very busy with the farm and my oldest brother has gotten sick. There is more work for all of us now. We are in the process of moving back to our summer home. We have a winter home and a summer home for farming. Our houses are simple. There are dirt floors, tile roofs (we are lucky to have gotten rid of our thatched roof), and no furniture. The walls of our houses are made of mud. Life is not easy for my family, but we get by. We all have to work our hardest, especially right now because of my brother.

April, 1605 BCE

Hello again. I thought I should tell you, my Dairy, about "our" farm. We do not own the land. Our noble does. We have simple tools that we use on '"our" farm made of stone and wood. The work is hard. We are not given any of the food we grow, sadly. Because we do not own our farm land, we have to do something for our noble. We give him gifts like wine and silk. We also have to do work on his house for no pay. We sometimes have to build roads or bridges for our noble. It is hard work that never stops. Never!

January, 1611 BCE

Well, hello there Diary. My father and mother have both died. I was packing up my stuff to move and found you again. I have not spoke with you for six years. Wow! I am fourteen years old now. I am sad there my mother and father have died, but their are more important things in life to do than mope around. I have something important to tell you. One of my brothers has become a foot soldier. That is scary news for me to hear, especially because of my parents' recent deaths. He will be the one to run behind the chariots in the field. Foot soldiers wear nothing but a tunic and trousers! Well the boy has to do what the boy has to do.                 

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