The Shang dynasty: the first historically proven civilization and its earliest medicine

With the Shang dynasty, we enter truly demonstrable historical ground for the first time in Chinese history. While the Xia dynasty still stands partly in the twilight of myth, the Shang is the first dynasty whose existence has been conclusively proven—through oracle bones, bronze inscriptions, and archaeological excavations. For Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Shang period is also of great importance: it is the time when the first recognizable medical instruments appeared and the first steps were taken toward a systematic medicine.

A dynasty of brothers and clans

According to Chinese tradition, the Shang dynasty began when Tang—a man of great wisdom and virtue—overthrew the last ruler of the Xia dynasty, the tyrant Jie, from his throne. In doing so, he established a new dynastic order that would last roughly from 1750 to 1122 BC, although the precise beginning and end dates are still a matter of discussion.

Remarkably, in the Shang succession tradition power did not automatically pass from father to son, but often from brother to younger brother. Ruling clans alternated in supplying new kings. This gave the Shang period a political dynamic that differed fundamentally from later dynasties, in which direct father-to-son succession became the norm.

The first medical instruments: the Bian stone

Medicine during the Shang dynasty was rudimentary but not without significance. The most characteristic medical instrument of this period was the Bian—pronounced "byen"—a sharp stone used to drain abscesses and relieve physical discomfort. In a sense, the Bian stone is the precursor of the acupuncture needle: both are instruments that penetrate the body at a specific location in order to achieve a therapeutic effect.

Besides stone, jade, mica, and asbestos were probably also used for similar purposes. Later in the Shang period, these instruments evolved into sharp thorns, splinters of bamboo, bone, and horn. The transition from rough stone to more refined materials reflects a gradual development in medical thought and the technical skills of the period.

No herbs, no system—but still a beginning

It is important to emphasize what Shang medicine did not yet know. Herbs—which would later play such a central role in TCM—were not yet used medicinally in this period. There was also no theoretical system: no Yin-Yang theory, no Five Elements, no meridians. Medicine was purely practical and empirical: people treated what they saw, using the means at hand.

At the same time, Shang medicine was deeply intertwined with religion and ritual. Illness was seen as the expression of disturbed relationships with ancestral spirits. Oracles—engraved on turtle shells and ox scapulae, the famous "oracle bones"—were consulted to determine the cause of illness and the proper ritual remedy. In this period, the healer and the priest were still one and the same person.

The legacy of the Shang for TCM

Although Shang medicine seems far removed from the refined theory of later TCM, it nevertheless lays an important foundation. The Bian stone is the conceptual precursor of the acupuncture needle. The practice of draining abscesses and treating pain through instrumental penetration of the body is an early expression of the principle that was later refined in acupuncture. The Shang period proves that the search for healing in China is more than three thousand years old—and that this search began with stone, physical effort, and keen powers of observation.