Chinese civilization blossomed with the development of a writing system, the discovery of advanced bronze metallurgy, and the beginning of urban centers, with palaces, temples, and workshops of specialized industries. In this highly stratified society, hundreds of polities emerged, including three powerful dynasties states, Xia, Shang, Zhou. The Xia culture was discovered through the archaeological finds in 1959 at Erlitou in Henan (South of Yellow River). The unearthed bronze artifacts marked the beginning of the Bronze Age in Ancient China.

The most important ritual symbols of this age were bronze vessels. The manufacture of bronze vessels required abundant resources and intensive labor. While the finest flowering of Shang art is seen in its bronzes, primitive greenware pottery appeared in the late Shang period. There has been considerable speculation as to how it originated. Archeological sites of the middle of the Shang period have been discovered in modern Honan, Hoph, and Shansi that show numerous examples of a hard pottery with impressed decoration, with a purplish-brown body. This high temperature porcelleanous glaze used at this time and during the late Shang period reveals the development of primitive porcelain. Still much remains unknown about Shang culture.