Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo

Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo PDF Author: Constance A. Cook
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438499019
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo explores the tremendous wealth of newly unearthed artifacts and manuscripts that have been revolutionizing the study of early China. Leading scholars from China and abroad lend their expertise in archaeology, art history, paleography, intellectual history, and many other disciplines to show how these fascinating finds change our understanding of China's past. Organized in a chronological progression from the Shang to Han periods, and treating bone, bronze, and bamboo-strip artifacts in turn, the book treats a wide breadth of topics, from the status of owls in Shang religion to the Zhou court's economic interest in managing salt resources, and from the conceptual evolution of de 德 in Spring and Autumn covenants to the interplay between materiality and text in Han scribal primers. Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo exemplifies the exciting energy and sense of discovery inspired by these sources in recent years, while surveying the latest debates and developments shaping early China as a field.

Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo

Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo PDF Author: Constance A. Cook
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438499019
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo explores the tremendous wealth of newly unearthed artifacts and manuscripts that have been revolutionizing the study of early China. Leading scholars from China and abroad lend their expertise in archaeology, art history, paleography, intellectual history, and many other disciplines to show how these fascinating finds change our understanding of China's past. Organized in a chronological progression from the Shang to Han periods, and treating bone, bronze, and bamboo-strip artifacts in turn, the book treats a wide breadth of topics, from the status of owls in Shang religion to the Zhou court's economic interest in managing salt resources, and from the conceptual evolution of de 德 in Spring and Autumn covenants to the interplay between materiality and text in Han scribal primers. Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo exemplifies the exciting energy and sense of discovery inspired by these sources in recent years, while surveying the latest debates and developments shaping early China as a field.

Written on Bamboo and Silk

Written on Bamboo and Silk PDF Author: Tsuen-hsuin Tsien
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780226814162
Category : Books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Paleography, which often overlaps with archaeology, deciphers ancient inscriptions and modes of writing to reveal the knowledge and workings of earlier societies. In this now-classic paleographic study of China, Tsuen-Hsuin Tsien traces the development of Chinese writing from the earliest inscriptions to the advent of printing, with specific attention to the tools and media used. This edition includes material that treats the many major documents and ancient Chinese artifacts uncovered over the forty years since the book's first publication, as well as an afterword by Edward L. Shaughnessy. Written on Bamboo and Silk has long been considered a landmark in its field. Critical in this regard is the excavation of numerous sites throughout China, where hundreds of thousands of documents written on bamboo and silk--as well as other media--were found, including some of the earliest copies of historical, medical, astronomical, military, and religious texts that are now essential to the study of early Chinese literature, history, and philosophy. Discoveries such as these have made the amount of material evidence on the origins and evolution of communication throughout Chinese history exceedingly broad and rich, and yet Tsien succeeds in tackling it all and building on the earlier classic work that changed the course of study and understanding of Chinese paleography.

Myth and the Making of History

Myth and the Making of History PDF Author: Constance A. Cook
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438497709
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Myth and the Making of History examines the relationship between myth and history in early China, a topic that has been explored by American paleographer and scholar of ancient China Sarah Allan throughout her career. Allan has worked at a crucial and sensitive intersection, where myth and history collide at the very heart of China's origin story. Her work has created an intellectual space in which the disciplines of philosophy, history, anthropology, archeology, philology, and literature have come together, helping to change the way scholars conceive of historical patterns in China's past. In Myth and the Making of History, eleven senior and emerging scholars, from both China and the West, respond to the intellectual challenge raised by Allan's theoretical model of analysis of mythologized and historical figures (and even dynasties) that have intrigued scholars for generations and play a central role in the Chinese historical imagination. The book will be of great interest to all scholars and students of China—of whatever level and discipline—and, indeed, those concerned with other early civilizations as well.

Metaphor and Meaning

Metaphor and Meaning PDF Author: Constance A. Cook
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438498322
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
In Metaphor and Meaning, scholars from China, the United States, and Europe draw on Sarah Allan's groundbreaking application of conceptual metaphor theory to the study of early Chinese philosophy and material culture. Conceptual metaphor theory treats metaphors not just as linguistic expressions but as fundamental structures of thought that define one's conceptual system and perception of reality. To understand another culture's worldview, then, hinges upon identifying the right metaphors, through which it then becomes possible to navigate between shared and unshared experiences. The contributors pursue lines of argument that complement, enhance, or challenge Allan's prior investigations into these root metaphors of early Chinese philosophy, whether by explicitly engaging with conceptual metaphor theory or, more indirectly, by addressing meaning construction in a broader sense. Like Allan's interpretative works, Metaphor and Meaning interrogates both transmitted traditions and newly unearthed archaeological finds to understand how people in early China thought about the cosmos, society, and themselves.

At Home in Her Tomb

At Home in Her Tomb PDF Author: Christine Liu-Perkins
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN: 1580893708
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Unearth the mysteries of the Mawangdui tombs and take a sneak peek at life in Han dynasty China! This middle-grade chapter book unearths one of China’s top archaeological finds of the last century. Miniature servants, mysterious silk paintings, scrolls of long-lost secrets, and the best preserved mummy in the world (the body of Lady Dai) are just some of the artifacts that shed light upon life in China 2200 years ago. Illustrations include archival photographs as well as gorgeously rendered illustrations of Lady Dai's life. Back matter includes historical notes on the Qin and Han Dynasties, a time line, glossary, author’s note, bibliography, quotation sources, and an index.

The First Writing

The First Writing PDF Author: Stephen D. Houston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521838610
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
In this book, leading scholars in the field discuss and analyse the origins of ancient writing.

The History of Customs in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period

The History of Customs in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period PDF Author: Li Shi
Publisher: DeepLogic
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The book is the volume of “The History of Customs in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period” among a series of books of “Deep into China Histories”. The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC) and the Bamboo Annals (296 BC) describe a Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.The Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) supplanted the Shang and introduced the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. The central Zhou government began to weaken due to external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the country eventually splintered into smaller states during the Spring and Autumn period. These states became independent and warred with one another in the following Warring States period. Much of traditional Chinese culture, literature and philosophy first developed during those troubled times.In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang conquered the various warring states and created for himself the title of Huangdi or "emperor" of the Qin, marking the beginning of imperial China. However, the oppressive government fell soon after his death, and was supplanted by the longer-lived Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly. In the 21 centuries from 206 BC until AD 1912, routine administrative tasks were handled by a special elite of scholar-officials. Young men, well-versed in calligraphy, history, literature, and philosophy, were carefully selected through difficult government examinations. China's last dynasty was the Qing (1644–1912), which was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912, and in the mainland by the People's Republic of China in 1949.Chinese history has alternated between periods of political unity and peace, and periods of war and failed statehood – the most recent being the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949). China was occasionally dominated by steppe peoples, most of whom were eventually assimilated into the Han Chinese culture and population. Between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of China; in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. Traditional culture, and influences from other parts of Asia and the Western world (carried by waves of immigration, cultural assimilation, expansion, and foreign contact), form the basis of the modern culture of China.

A History of Books in Ancient China

A History of Books in Ancient China PDF Author: Li Chen
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 981998940X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description


Bronze Age in China

Bronze Age in China PDF Author: Source Wikipedia
Publisher: University-Press.org
ISBN: 9781230600017
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 30. Chapters: Shang Dynasty, Oracle bone, Oracle bone script, Yinxu, Sanxingdui, Chinese bronzes, Taotie, Tomb of Fu Hao, Battle of Muye, Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project, Battle of Mingtiao, Erlitou culture, Longshan culture, Shang archaeology, Upper Xiajiadian culture, Kayue culture, Zhukaigou culture, Jinsha, Lower Xiajiadian culture, Erligang culture, Qijia culture, Siwa culture, Bo Yi Kao, Baijinbao culture, Panlongcheng, Wucheng culture, List of Bronze Age sites in China, Majiayao culture, Xingan, Tong Bei, Zhaoge. Excerpt: The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: ) or Yin Dynasty ( ) was according to traditional sources the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley. According to the chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled between 1766 BC and 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, they ruled between 1556 BC and 1046 BC. The results of the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project place them between 1600 BC and 1046 BC. According to historical tradition, the Shang Dynasty followed the (possibly mythical) Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty. While some direct information about the Shang Dynasty comes from Shang-era inscriptions on bronze artifacts, most comes from oracle bones - turtle shells, cattle scapulae, or other bones, which bear glyphs that form the first significant corpus of recorded Chinese characters. Other sources on the Shang come from historical records of the later Zhou Dynasty and the Han Dynasty Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian. The inscriptions on the oracle bones are divinations, and because they can be gleaned for information on many topics from the politics and economy to the art and medicine of the period, they provide...

Chinese Publishing

Chinese Publishing PDF Author: Hu Yang
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521186757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
An illustrated introduction to the origins and development of printing and publication in China from ancient to modern times.