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[[underline]] Chapter XVII. [[/underline]] 371.
the great North China plain. There they are said to have occupied in succession several capitals, and to have extended their sway ([[underline]] i.e. [[/underline]], their power to extort tribute) over a considerable area in the lower basin of the Yellow River---an area which in that sense, and in that sense only, so far as we know, formed their "empire".
The site at An-yang appears to have been the last capital of the Shangs, taken and destroyed by the invading Chous and their allies when, most probably about the middle of the 11th century B.C., they overthrew the Shangs and established in place of their mere tribute-gathering domination a genuine feudal government in northern China. [[superscript]] (332) [[/superscript]]
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[[superscript]] (332) [[/superscript]] On the Chou conquest of northern China, see Appendix II, page 4 and footnotes 9 and 10; also page 6.
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In view of the paucity of our knowledge of the Shangs and their civilization, it was highly important to undertake the excavation of a site which could be definitely connected with them. Therefore Mr. Tung and Dr. Li, as members of the field-staff of the Freer Gallery of Art, cooperated with the National Research Institute in preliminary work on the An-yang site during the spring and autumn of 1929. They met with many difficulties, particularly in the way of trouble from bandits and unruly soldiers and of opposition from the provincial authorities and the local people; but they nevertheless found enough in the way of ancient remains to show that further excavation of the site would be certain to yield exceedingly rich results. Moreover the political situation seemed to be improving. Accordingly Mr. Lodge decided that I should return to China for further archaeological work there.
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