B. Comparing the outcome to historical sources
The dynastic genealogy of the late Shang kings ruling from the capital at Yin  (Anyang)
is documented in the well-known Shiji  and Zhúshu Jìnián ¯  (the Bamboo
annals). It is thought that Wu-Ding () moved the capital to Yinxu at around 1250
BC (Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project Team 2000). Ten successive kings then ruled the
domain before the last Shang king, Di-Xin (), was killed and Shang rule was ended
by the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 BC (Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project Team 2000). The
kings documented in Shiji and in the oracle bone scripts coincide fairly well, although some
of the reigns recorded in Shiji (written some 800 years later) are too long to be feasible.
The Shiji entries that coincide with descriptions in the oracle bone scripts, however, can
be trusted. Importantly, King Lin-Xin’s () enthronement is in doubt because his name
does not appear in the oracle bone records, although the Shiji includes him. If Lin-Xin is
removed from the dynastic genealogy, the number of the royal tombs and that of the kings
recorded in these documents match perfectly (Figure 5):1001 = Xiao-Yi () → 1550 = Zu-ji () → 1400 = Wu-Ding () → 1004
= Zu-Geng () → 1003 = Zu-Jia () → 1002 = Geng-Ding () → 1500 =
Wu-Yi () → 1217 = Wen-Wu-Ding () (Figure 5; also see Figures 1 & 4).
It is widely recognised that the number of late Shang kings coincides with the nine large
tombs excavated at the Xibeigang cemetery (e.g. Chang 1980: 110–19, Yang 1986: 52).
As previously mentioned, however, the lack of a precise chronology has made it difficult to
attribute convincingly each tomb to any particular king. As tomb 84M260 (see Figure 1),
which yielded the famous Si-Mu-Wu ( or : Anyang Archaeological Team IA
CASS 1987) ding vessel, is most probably the burial place of Bi-Wu (: Yang & Yang
1977: 14), the lawful wife of King Wu-Ding, it can be inferred that the king himself was
buried in tomb 1400. Intriguingly, tomb 86M260 is placed so as to pay respect to (strategy
X) the occupant of tomb 1400 (Figure 4d). Further evidence for this attribution comes
from the tomb of Fu-Hao (wife of Wu-Ding), in the palace complex at Xiaotun. Her tomb
yielded the assemblage that characterises the earliest stage of the Yinxu II phase (IA CASS
1980: 228). Tomb 1001—the inferred tomb of Xiao-Yi—dates to the final stage of the
Yinxu I phase, and tomb 1550 dates to the earliest stage of the Yinxu II phase. Tomb
1400, according to the bronze items excavated from it, dates to the Yinxu II phase (see
also the OSM). This evidence indicates that Wu-Ding (probably buried in tomb 1400)
organised the funeral ceremonies and buried Kings Xiao-Yi and Zu-Ji. As the Shiji does notrecord the latter’s enthronement, it is speculated that he died young while still a prince. The
oracle bone scripts, however, record various commemorative rituals routinely performed at
his tomb. These observations allow us to attribute tombs 1001 and 1550 to Xiao-Yi and
Zu-Ji, respectively (Figures 4b–d). This enables the tombs in the reconstructed sequence to
be matched to the kings one by one: 1004 (Zu-Geng) → 1003 (Zu-Jia) → 1002 (GengDing) → 1500 (Wu-Yi) → 1217 (Wen-Wu-Ding) (see Figures 4e–i & 5).