Šan dinastijas (pazīstama arī kā Iņ) valdīšanas laiks Ķīnā ilgst no aptuveni 1600. gada pirms mūsu ēras līdz aptuveni 1045. gadam pirms mūsu ēras. Tā ir pirmā dinastija, ko apstiprināja avoti Ķīnā. Atšķirībā no Džou un Haņu dinastijas militārpersonām, informācija par Shang dinastijas militārpersonām nav tik visaptveroša un padziļināta. Tomēr var pieņemt, ka šīs dinastijas valdīšanas laikā armijas sastāvēja galvenokārt no kājnieku vienībām un vēlāk - no kara ratiem, kas tolaik parādījās ķīniešu kara mākslā (precīzāk, ap 1200. gadu pirms mūsu ēras). Šanga perioda sākumā kājnieku karavīru bruņojums galvenokārt sastāvēja no akmens ieročiem, taču to salīdzinoši ātri nomainīja bronzas ieroči, tostarp šķēpi (ķīniešu. maz ) vai kara āmuri (ķīniešu. yuè ). Droši vien izmantoja arī kompozītmateriālu lokus, un kā aizsardzības ieroci - galvenokārt ķiveres, sākumā ādas, vēlāk arī brūnas. Zināmu priekšstatu par karaspēka skaitu, kas varētu piedalīties vienā kampaņā, sniedz Muye kauja, kas notika ap 1045. gadu pirms mūsu ēras, kurā Šanu dinastijas karaspēks bija aptuveni 45-50 tūkstoši. cilvēki un droši vien 300-350 kara rati.
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.