The list of states refers to the various vassal tribes and city states during the Shang dynasty in ancient China. Today, scholars' understanding of these states (Chinese："方") primarily comes from oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the late Shang dynasty Yinxu. In these inscriptions, these tribal states are often referred to as name + "方".[1] In modern style Chinese the term can be duplicated to Fangguo (Traditional Chinese: 方國).
The Latin names of Fangs are pronounced according to the Pinyin system established by the People's Republic of China in 1958, which is completely different from its ancient pronunciation.
| Name of Fang | Period of existence | Rough geographical location | Relations with the Shang dynasty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shang (商方) | Xia dynasty, Shang dynasty | Yinxu (「大邑商」"Da Yi Shang", "Shang, the Great City") (Present Anyang, Henan Province) | ||
| Zi (子方) | Xia dynasty, Shang dynasty | Near the Yin (Present Shangqiu, Henan Province) | swing | |
| Tu (土方) | Early to middle Shang dynasty, conquered by Wu Ding | Northwest of Yin, east of Hong Fang (Present Fen River Basin, Shanxi Province) | enemy | |
| Hong (方) | Shang dynasty, to period of Zu Geng | Northwest of Yin, West of Tu Fang (Present North of Shaanxi Province, Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Gui (鬼方) | Shang dynasty | Northwest of Yin (Present central Shanxi Province and northern Shaanxi province, Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | ally | |
| Qiang (羌方) | Shang dynasty | Northwest of Yin (Present Shaanxi Province、the area around Gansu Province, Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Northern Qiang (北羌) | Shang dynasty | Northwest of Yin, north of Qiang Fang | swing | |
| Ren (人方) | Shang dynasty | Southeast of Yin, The coast of the Donghai (Present the basin of the Huai River and the coast of the Yellow Sea at the Shandong Peninsula, northern Anhui and southern Shandong)) | swing | |
| Zhou1 (周方) | Middle to late Shang dynasty, overthrew King Zhou of Shang and established the Zhou dynasty. | West of Yin (Present Qishan County, Baoji, Shaanxi Province) | swing | |
| Dapeng (大彭) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Tongshan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu) | swing | |
| Tang (唐方) | Shang dynasty | Northwest of Yin | ||
| Jing (井方) | Shang dynasty | Northwest of Yin (Present Shanxi Province Yuncheng City Hejin City to the west, Shaanxi Province Baoji City Qishan County to the south) | ally | |
| Lin (林方) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin, south of Huai river | swing | |
| Xing (興方) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | swing | |
| Ma (馬方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Shanxi Province Lüliang City Shilou County) | enemy | |
| Shi (豕方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Wei (危方) | Shang dynasty | swing | ||
| Yu (盂方)1 | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | ||
| East Yu (東盂方) | Shang dynasty | swing | ||
| West Yu (西盂方) | Shang dynasty | swing | ||
| Zhi (沚方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Pang (旁方) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Shandong Province Qufu City) | swing | |
| Ge (戈方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present South of Shanxi Province) | ally | |
| Mu (木方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Ba (巴方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | enemy | |
| Geng (亙方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Long (龍方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Ji (基方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Shanxi Province Linfen City Puxian) | enemy | |
| Jian (湔方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | enemy | |
| Ya (亞方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Jiyuan, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Ji (祭方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin, between Shang and Zhou | swing | |
| Shi (示方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Mao (髳方) | Shang dynasty | enemy | ||
| Zhao (召方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Yin (印方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Hu (虎方) | Shang dynasty | ally | ||
| Wei (微方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Xi (息方) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Henan Province, Xinyang city, Luoshan County) | ally | |
| Mie (眣方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Zhi (止方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Yin (尹方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Bu (步方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Gui (歸方) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Present Zigui, Yichang, Hubei) | enemy | |
| Zeng (曾方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Zhu (祝方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Nong (弄方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Chui (吹方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| Che (屮方) (艸方？) | Shang dynasty | |||
| (月丮 方) | Shang dynasty | |||
| 10px方 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin, Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau | enemy | |
| 方 | Shang dynasty | ally | ||
| You (㠱方) | Shang dynasty | North of Yin (Present Northeastern of Hebei, Beijing to West of Liaoning) | ally | |
| 方 | Shang dynasty | |||
| 方 | Shang dynasty | |||
| 方 | Shang dynasty | |||
| 方 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| 方 | Shang dynasty | |||
| Xiawei (下危) | Shang dynasty | North of Yin | enemy | |
| Gu (雇) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Present Southwest of Yuanyang County, Northwest of Yuanwu Town, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Bao (暴) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Present Yuanyang County, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Lu (盧) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Present Zhushan County, Hubei and Ankang City, Shaanxi Province) | ||
| Que (雀方) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin (Present region of Poyang Lake, Jiangxi) | ally | |
| Shi (矢方) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | enemy | |
| Dian (奠) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | ally | |
| Shu (黍) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | ally | |
| Zhu (竹) | Shang dynasty | North of Yin (Centered around Lulong County in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, this area encompasses the northeastern part of Hebei, the western part of Liaoning Province, and the southeastern corner of the Inner Mongolia) | ally | |
| You (攸) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present southern part of Yongcheng City, Henan Province and the northwestern part of Suzhou City in Anhui Province. ) | ally | |
| Yuan (元) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Yongcheng City, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Ji (及) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Yongcheng City, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Shen (侁) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Cao County, Heze City, Shandong Province) | ||
| Gao (告) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Chengwu County, Heze City, Shandong Province) | ally | |
| Dun (盾) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | ally | |
| Tui (魋) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | enemy | |
| Chou (醜) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Qingzhou, Weifang, Shandong) | ally | |
| Ji (紀) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Shouguang, Weifang, Shandong) | ||
| Xue (薛) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Tengzhou, Shandong) | ||
| Er (兒) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Tengzhou, Shandong) | swing | |
| Feng (豐)1 | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | swing | |
| Pang (逢) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | ally | |
| Bogu (薄姑) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin | ally | |
| Yufang (鬱方) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | ally | |
| Xuan (宣方) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | ally | |
| Xiu 羞方 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Qi (杞方) | Shang dynasty | East of Yin (Present Qi County, Kaifeng, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Song (宋方) | Shang dynasty | North of Yin (Present Zhao County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei province) | ally | |
| Bei (貝方) | Shang dynasty | South of Yin | ||
| Cang (倉方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Shangzhou District, Shangluo, Shaanxi Province) | ally | |
| Quan (犬方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | swing | |
| Yang (昜方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Hongdong, Linfen, Shanxi Province) | ||
| Fou (缶方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | ||
| Peng (彭方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Dan (丹方) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Qinyang, Jiaozuo, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Qu (去) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | ally | |
| Shangsi (上絲) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | ally | |
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| He (禾) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | ||
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Guang (光) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin | ally | |
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Ke (可) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo, Henan Province) | ally | |
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Er (耳) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Lü (呂) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau) | swing | |
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Bing (丙) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Lingshi, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province) | ||
| Xian (先) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Fushan, Linfen, Shanxi Province) | ||
| Shang dynasty | West of Yin | |||
| Feng 豐2 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present West of Feng river, Shaanxi Province) | ally | |
| Hao (鎬) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present East of Feng river, Shaanxi Province) | swing | |
| Na 郍 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Xinzheng, Zhengzhou, Henan Province) | ||
| Yu (盂方)2 | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Northwest of Qinyang, Jiaozuo, Henan Province) | ||
| Lu (鹿) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Song County, Luoyang, Henan Province) | swing | |
| Qi (耆) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Licheng, Changzhi, Shanxi Province) | swing | |
| Chong (崇國) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) | swing | |
| Mixu (密須) | Shang dynasty | West of Yin (Present Lingtai, Pingliang, Gansu province) | swing | |
| Jian (戔) | Shang dynasty | Unknown | ally |