The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 5/13/1999
EAN 9780521470308, ISBN10: 0521470307
Hardcover, 1182 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 6 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
The Cambridge History of Ancient China provides a survey of the cultural history of pre-imperial China. Fourteen leading specialists on early Chinese history and archaeology cover more than one thousand years. There are two chapters for each time-period - Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States: one on institutional history, based on both traditional and palaeographic literature, and one on material culture, based on archaeological evidence. There are also chapters on the Neolithic background, language, intellectual history, relations with Central Asia, and the debts of both the Qin and Han empires to these earlier time-periods. Although written by specialists, this Cambridge history aims to explain and describe pre-imperial China to an audience that will include scholars and students, as well as general readers without specialized knowledge of Chinese history. It can be consulted as a work of reference, or read continuously, alone or as part of The Cambridge History of China series.
List of maps, tables, and figures
Conventions
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy
Calendar and chronology Edward L. Shaughnessy
The environment of ancient China David N. Keightley
1. China on the eve of the historical period Kwang-chih Chang
2. Language and writing William G. Boltz
3. Shang archaeology Robert Bagley
4. The Shang
China's first historical dynasty David N. Keightley
5. Western Zhou history Edward L. Shaughnessy
6. Western Zhou archaeology Jessica Rawson
7. The waning of the Bronze Age
material culture and social developments, 770–481 BC Lothar von Falkenhausen
8. The Spring and Autumn period Cho-yun Hsu
9. Warring States
the political history Mark Edward Lewis
10. The art and architecture of the Warring States period Wu Hung
11. The classical philosophical writings David Sheperd Nivison
12. Warring states
natural philosophy and occult thought Donald Harper
13. The Northern Frontier in pre-Imperial China Nicola Di Cosmo
14. The heritage left to the Empires Michael Loewe
Bibliography
Index.
'The Cambridge History of Ancient China bridges the gap between the earliest material evidence that has come to light through archaeological discoveries and Chinese textual sources ... the present volume dedicates two chapters to each of the periods covered; one on the institutional history and the other on material culture. The results affords a far more comprehensive view of ancient China than a 'primary sources' approach could have yielded ... Whether consulted as a reference or read continuously; the wealth of material in the present volume will be relevant not only to scholars and students, but to the general reading public interested in that cultural melting-pot which is China.' History Today