The reign of the Shang Dynasty (also known as Yin) in China runs from about 1600 BC to about 1045 BC. It is the first dynasty that was confirmed by sources in China. Unlike the military of the Zhou and Han dynasty in particular, the information on the military of the Shang Dynasty is not as comprehensive and in-depth. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the armies during the reign of this dynasty consisted mainly of infantry units and - later - of war chariots, which at that time appeared in the Chinese art of war (around 1200 BC to be exact). The armament of infantry soldiers consisted primarily of stone weapons at the beginning of the Shang period, but was relatively quickly replaced by weapons made of bronze, including spears (Chinese. little ) or war hammers (Chinese. yuè ). Probably also composite bows were used, and as a defensive weapon - mainly helmets, at first leather, later also brown. A certain idea of the number of troops that could take part in a single campaign is given by the Battle of Muye fought around 1045 BC, in which the Shang dynasty troops numbered about 45-50 thousand. people and probably 300-350 war chariots.
The reign of the Zhou dynasty (another name: Chou) in China dates from about 1045 BC to about 256 BC. Chronologically speaking, the reign of the Zhou dynasty is divided into two periods. The first is the period of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1045 to c. 770 BCE), a period of relative political stability and a strong central authority. The second period is the time of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, i.e. the years around 770 - around 250 BC, which period is divided into two more sub-periods: the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Especially the first of these sub-periods was characterized by a far-reaching political breakdown in China and a far-reaching deterioration of the central government. Striving to generalize for the entire, very long reign of the Zhou dynasty, it can be assumed that China's military history of that time was characterized by numerous armed conflicts, fought (especially during the Western Zhou Dynasty) with the help of numerous armies composed of infantry and war chariots. It is assumed that at that time the Chinese army was divided into two large units: the so-called The Six Western Armies The Six Armies of the West) and the so-called The Eight Armies of Chengzhou. Also assume that the commander-in-chief of these units in the field was a king who, however, had many "officers" to help. In the period The Western Zhou Dynasty's basic tactical unit on the battlefield was a 12,500-strong "division" named shi, which in turn was divided into 1,500-strong "regiments" named shi.