From a hazy mixture of history and legend, we learn that China's first ruling family was the Hsia. The legendary first emperors are said to have tamed the rivers, so that farmers could grow millet and wheat. The
first rulers known from archeological evidence were the Shang. From about 1500 BC, they controlled the best farmland-around the Huang He valley-and from here their power spread. The Shang kings were cruel, ruling in barbaric splendour. They built China's first cities, and were expert at making cooking pots, tools and weapons. Shang rule lasted until 1122 Bc. By then the rulers had become tyrants.
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